Cowboy comic determined to be more than a hat act

Despite his moniker, Saginaw-bred comedian Cowboy Bill Martin does not necessarily do cowboy humor. But he does look the part. He's a big guy, several inches over 6 feet tall, and he sports an oversize belt buckle and a cowboy hat, which he politely doffs during an interview at the Star-Telegram offices.

And that look got the 15-year stand-up veteran some attention when he traveled to perform for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I'd get off the plane and I had the feeling they were looking at me like, 'Is that George Bush?,'" he says. "And some of the looks were not pleasant, either. That made me more prideful to be not only American, but also a Texan, and I made sure that anyone and everyone knew that I was from little Saginaw, Texas."

The man from little Saginaw, Texas, has been around the world, but on Thursday he will be back in North Texas for a show at the Arlington Improv. His routines have included a little bit of country humor, such as the difference between a cowboy and a redneck, and Martin stresses that he is the former. But he's also done bits about, say, why there couldn't have been Tyrannosaurus rex on Noah's Ark and why it would have been a bad idea if there were.

He also takes time to honor the military because of something that happened after a show a few years ago in Oklahoma City. As Martin tells the story on his website, a young man came up to Martin and told him how he and a childhood friend had enlisted in the Marines on the same day and were sent to Iraq together after boot camp.

"I wanted you to know he was killed three months ago, and I haven't laughed since," the young man said. "Till tonight, here at your show.... I wanted to give you this recruiting coin because you gave me back the laughter."

Martin has gotten a lot of reaction from the coin story.

"Since that story came out, there's been soldiers that have sent me coins," Martin says. "They've come up to me after the show ... and they extend their hands, and lo and behold, you'll find another one in your hand. And then they'll share their stories with me."

Cruise control

Martin's travels have taken him to more than just dusty outposts. He has also played cruise ships, a gig that Martin initially balked at when his agent suggested it, because -- as Martin puts it -- cruise ships are usually where a comic takes his career to die. But the ships have comedy clubs, and Martin's agent told him he could do his regular act there.

There was, however, a small catch: Martin, whose material can tend toward the blue, would have to do two family-friendly shows with no sexually related material, or anything that was "religious, political or controversial."

"I looked at my set list and all I had left was 'Good night!,'" Martin says, laughing. "But this reminded me that I can do any type of show now.... It really revitalized my career and my energy. And now when I look at the set list, it's not the just the same thing every time."

During this time, Martin, through a friend, had an opportunity to write a spec script for The Simpsons. The script got as far as an executive producer, who said he thought the script was funny but that it covered material (reality shows) that The Simpsons had covered before. But the producer did ask for five other ideas. So far, nothing has come of that, but it has given Martin the confidence to work on other projects, and the cruise-ship environment has been good for that.

"I've been working on a [screenplay] for about three years, and I couldn't get it to work at all," Martin says. "I got on a ship and said, 'What if I'm going to be isolated?' And you are. You're in the rowing section. And I said, 'In the three months, I'm going to dedicate myself to finishing it.' And now my agent thinks I have a screenplay that he can sell."

Almost blue

Despite having a comedy CD, How's Your Momma?, and a DVD, Power of Laughter (available in PG- and R-rated versions), and despite having toured with acts such as George Jones and George Strait, Martin hasn't reached the level of having a special on Comedy Central or CMT. He has a taping coming up for one of comedian Byron Allen's syndicated comedy shows, but he hasn't made it like "Blue Collar" comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. But he believes he is close.

"You've gotta remember, that was like 2004," he says of the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour," which also featured Bill Engvall and Ron White. "But I feel like we're on the verge of something big. I feel like the country's ready for somebody new, and it's hard to believe that after 15 years in the business, I would still be considered 'new.'"

Martin says that attempts to replicate the success of the "Blue Collar" tour haven't worked because they tried to force the chemistry that came naturally to the first quartet of comedians.

"Those first four guys were funny first, country second," Martin says. "Every person that they've wheeled out there since, they're trying to play up the fact that they're country first, and then you look and see whether or not they're funny. And a lot of times, it's 'Really? The four of you all talked about a trailer park. All four of you talked about Walmart. So what's special? So I try to stay away from that kind of stuff. I do believe that eventually, the work will speak for itself."

Robert Philpot, 817-390-7872