Things that most Americans dread-recession, war in the Middle East, corruption in Washington-delight Mark Russell. As one of America`s best-known political satirists, Russell couldn`t live without things going wrong, especially in Washington.
”One of my favorite memories was one day in May of `87,” Russell says.
”That was when the Gary Hart monkey business was breaking, the Iran-contra scandal was peaking, and (D.C. Mayor) Marion Barry`s mother-in-law burned down the house of her husband. That`s when I really miss not spending as much time in Washington.”
Russell, who performs Friday at Harper College in Palatine, now spends most of his time on the road. He sees no imminent danger of running out of inspiration.
”Things are rotten,” he says. ”They actually seem to be a lot worse than when I started. Jefferson said there should be a rebellion every seven years, and I think he was right. Of course, you do go through these little pockets of saccharine good feeling.
”Like the summer of `86, with the Statue of Liberty celebration, everyone was marching in lock step, everybody felt so good. God, it was boring. Then in `87, you had the Iran-contra hearings, which I felt was absolutely appropriate. I felt good telling people on the college campuses,
`You`re seeing a process at work here.` ”
Russell has been lampooning Washington politics since the late `50s, when President Eisenhower`s frequent golf games were the ”Read my lips” of the era. After growing up in New York state listening to Jack Benny and Fred Allen on the radio, Russell joined the Marines, then began playing piano in cocktail lounges in the Washington area.
His off-the-cuff wisecracks addressed to club patrons led to a career as a musical satirist.
”I backed into it; it was no dedicated quest,” Russell says. ”Everyone in the audience thought I worked on the Hill, because I looked like one of those administrative assistants with the glasses. They`d ask, `Where do you work?` I`d say, `This is it!` ”
Although Russell played to audiences that usually included partisans of the very fiascos he was mocking, his show proved popular enough to run 20 years at Washington`s Shoreham Hotel. For 16 years, his monthly ”Mark Russell Comedy Special” has been one of public television`s most popular programs. For all of Russell`s skills, he relies on audience awareness to make his humor work. ”The public has to discover the personalities on their own. A bit is most effective when the audience does 95 percent of the joke on their own, and you just force the laugh to the surface, like popping the cork on a champagne bottle. Sometimes, all you have to do is mention the name. `Good evening, ladies and gentlemen . . . Jimmy Swaggart` and you get a laugh.”
For his Harper College performance, Russell promises material on Chicago politics. ”Sometimes I wonder why I don`t just get it over with and move to Chicago,” he says. ”It`s just about the juiciest place in the country for the kind of thing I do.”
He`ll also offer up a new ditty about the Keating Five and a tribute to Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). He sings the latter to the tune of ”Nothing Could be Finer”: ”Nothing`s more colossal/than to re-elect a fossil/in the morning.”
Russell will perform at Building M, 1200 W. Algonquin, at 8 p.m. A few tickets remain. They are $15, or $10 for senior citizens. Call 397-3000, extension 2547.
