Veteran comic prepares for Friday show at the Pixy

Dave Dugan’s wife of 25 years told him a while back that he needed to be more thoughtful when it came to gift giving for her. Soon afterward, he heard she was interested in painting.

Inspiration struck.

“So I got her a 12-foot stepladder,” Dugan said.

The veteran Carmel comic, long a local favorite and a favorite of the nationally syndicated and Indianapolis-based ”Bob and Tom” TV and radio show, will step onto the stage at the 200-seat Pixy Theater in Edinburgh on Friday for a standup performance. He also performed there a while back as a last-minute replacement for comedian/actor Jimmie Walker, who canceled his appearance.

“I didn’t want to disappoint, so I threw in a couple of ‘Dyno-mites’ and an announcement about Medicare open enrollment,” said Dugan, dryly referring to Walker’s TV spots for elder health care.

Since he began performing again after 195 days of pandemic-induced silence, Dugan has done shows at a hardware store, a winery, and a hog roast in nearby St. Paul. Wherever they will will have him, Dugan is ready to sizzle. Years ago, he did his act at a Detroit bowling alley.

“I’ve always liked to do a variety of shows,” he said, speaking by phone from his home.

He also likes to bounce from one topic to another in a fairly fast-paced rhythm.

“I’ve had a little more time on my hands this year,” he said. “For instance, I made my own swimsuit out of CVS receipts. I found it it takes only three of them to keep me modest.”

He stays humble, for sure. For instance, after watching numerous episodes of TV’s “Jeopardy” with his dad in his father’s assisted living home and answering a slew of questions correctly, Dugan figured he should take the online test to see if he could qualify for the taped show. The answer is: What was he thinking?

“I found out that there’s a slight chance that I’m a borderline idiot,” he said.

Actually, though, he believes the creativity for his act in his trademark bass voice still flows.

“I have a lot of new material since the blow to my head,” he said.

The curious can check out his online Dry Bar Comedy special “Human Cannonball” to rate his current material. He talks about his parents, his mother, and the full-body scans for passengers at airports.

“Last time I was in there, I threw in a couple of pelvic thrusts,” he cracked. “I figured they wanted a show.”