From a comedian who has an entire chapter in his book on vodka, it only seemed appropriate that the start of a reading and book signing Thursday night at the University Book Store involved him drinking a glass.
“Vodka means water in many languages,” Greg Proops said, reading an excerpt from his book. “Water is simply vodka reduced to survival mode.”
The 55-year-old comedian said he had never been offered booze at a book signing, after being handed a cup from Northwest comedian Tracey Conway, who moderated the event.
Proops spoke to an audience of about 50 students, community members, and fans. His new book, “The Smartest Book in the World,” is based off his award-winning podcast, or Proopcast, and covers everything from vodka to feminism, from Butch Cassidy to poetry. Making the transition from podcast to written form came easily for Proops.
“That was easy, it’s just junk I like,” Proops said. “So it was movies I like, books I like, art I like. The part that was difficult was whittling it down.”
His book includes his very own “Prooptionary,” which defines words that are commonly used in media but never really explained or understood, “kleptocracy” and “Orwellian” included.
Proops is best known for his recurring appearances on the improvisational comedy show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and work on “Chelsea Lately.”
“When in doubt, throw the ball to Ryan Stiles,” Proops said about the golden nugget he learned in improv and, specifically, his time on “Whose Line.”
He has been a voice actor in a number of movies and TV shows, including “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” and voice of Bob from “Bob the Builder” fame.
Proops had the audience laughing about his own history in theater, which seemed to include him being naked on stage as a common theme, and about creating his personal all-time baseball teams made up of various historical groups, including kings and queens, dictators, and celebrities.
His podcast, “The Smartest Man In The World,” covers current events, celebrities, and elements from Proops’ personal life presented in front of a live audience, recorded in various locations all over the world.
Taking his acting and improvisation skills to the podcast world and then adapting that to a written form was a new challenge for Proops as he wrote his first book.
“I like to improvise and I like to freestyle,” Proops said, “and I freestyle my podcast, but when you write a book you can’t. It has to be readable.”
Reach Copy Chief Kathryn Altena at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @kkaltena
