Emo Philips brings his unique persona to Olympic South Side Theater in Cedar Rapids

Imitation isn’t just the sincerest form of flattery in the world of entertainment. Appropriation is an epidemic. Many comics and singer-songwriters take elements from their heroes. However, there is no comedian remotely like Emo Philips.

The veteran self-deprecating humorist with the signature modulated falsetto fidgets like a prepubescent while delivering his unique brand of comedy.

Philips, 68, who performs with a distinctive 1970s style bob, is a rare comic, who is always joking, even during interviews.

When asked about his prior experiences in Cedar Rapids, Philips has a suggestion for locals.

“I’ve played Cedar Rapids many times and am no stranger to its delights,” Philips said while calling from Los Angeles. “My advice for first time visitors is to not try to do the (National) Czech & Slovak Museum (& Library) in one day. Czech first, then come back for the Slovak. Or if you’re a rebel … Slovak first. But accept your limitations as a human. Don’t try to be a superhero.”

Philips is close to the vest when it comes to the comedy he’ll deliver Saturday at the Penguins Comedy Club event held at the Olympic South Side Theater in Cedar Rapids.

“I touch on many topics but your readers can attend my show assured that I will touch on no topic that is controversial, let alone heavy, let alone upsetting, except for coleslaw,” Philips cracked.

If it weren’t for his mother, Philips claims he would have a different vocation.

“When I was a child my mom laughed hysterically at everything I said,” Philips said. “Decades later I realized that she laughed hysterically at everything that everyone said, but by then it was too late, as I was already on (’Late Night with David) Letterman.’”

Philips came of age in Los Angeles during the 1980s with volatile comic Sam Kinison. The oft-screaming late Kinison seemed to have little in common with Philips.

“Sam and I bonded because we both grew up not just Protestant, but ‘Fire & Brimstone’ Protestant,” Philips said. “I remember seeing him perform at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and I caught myself glancing at the ceiling now and then, fearing that God would strike me with lightning for laughing at his religious jokes. I realize now my fear was groundless, as it wasn’t an outdoor venue, but at the time my worry was real.”

Philips joked about his encounter with his comedy hero, the late George Carlin.

“The one time I met him I tried to shower him with praise but such was his modesty that he deflected my attempts as a martial arts master deflects blows,” Philips said. “I walked away inspired, and vowed to someday achieve his level of praise-deflecting, but I’ve fallen short, having not had the real-world practice.”

When it comes to diction, few comics are on Philips level since he is an excellent public speaker.

“I take pains to enunciate, and perhaps I sometimes even over-enunciate, but I come by it honestly,” Phillips said. “As a child I had speech impediments. When I was in first grade, the speech tutor, Mr. Keesaw, would visit our school every Friday. I’d be in his first session, with a few other students, to master the ‘r’ sound; then, after an hour, the ‘r’ kids would leave and the ‘th’ kids would arrive, but I’d stay and in this manner I’d stay with the tutor the entire day, as the other kids came and went. I mispronounced every English sound that one can mispronounce and probably several in the African click tongues.”

Philips is all about telling jokes and was surprised that storytelling humorists, such as Nate Bargatze and Tom Segura, are headlining arenas.

“I had no idea that storytellers were so hot,” Phillips said. “From now on I will preface each joke with ‘Once upon a time …’”

Philips is fine with his career and said he would never change any of his decisions that impacted his gig as a comic.

“Regrets are for the retired,” Philips said. “While one is in the game, regrets and successes happen regularly. They show that one is active. I live in hope that my greatest regret is right around the corner.”