Kevin Downey Jr., Las Vegas Sun

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: ‘Queer Eye’ makeover alters Downey’s attitude Lisa Ferguson Friday, May 14, 2004 | 8:11 a.m. It's funny what a haircut, a couple gallons of paint and a few vintage sport coats will do for a guy -- well, maybe not most guys, but for Kevin Downey Jr. they've made all the difference. "I just feel sexy, I really do," gushes the comic about his new duds and 'do, as well as the remarkable remodeling of his New York apartment -- the results of his appearance on an episode of Bravo's mega-hit series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The show first aired in February and can be seen in frequent reruns on Cox cable channel 53. Being on the episode was "just the most fun I've ever had," Downey, who takes the stage Monday through May 24 at The Comedy Stop at The Trop, said in a recent call during a break from his day job supervising switchboard operators at a New York City consulting firm. He spent four days last fall with the "Queer Eye" guys -- Kyan Douglas, Ted Allen, Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez and Thom Filicia -- gurus of fashion, design and good-taste. The Fab Five (as the team is called) tweaked Downey's personal and professional styles and turned his cluttered, dust-covered abode into a funky palace. The transformation was nothing short of remarkable. The men (whom Downey calls "the nicest guys in the world") had the comedian ditch his favorite '50s-era bowling shirts, replacing them with other vintage and new retro-inspired garb. They also restyled his messy mop of dark hair. Then the guys got to work on the apartment, which was so filthy and overstuffed with items Downey had been hoarding (the result, he says, of his yearslong battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder) that it had been months since longtime girlfriend, actress Matilda Szydagis, had set foot in the place. The efforts yielded big changes in Downey's bedroom, and birthed "The Boom Boom Room," a hip den featuring bamboo-covered walls, fun furniture and kitschy-cool knickknacks. "I can't believe I live there," the comic says. "I just wake up every day going, 'Wow, I live in 'The Boom Boom Room.' " The Fab Five even helped Downey (who, by the way, is not related to actor Robert Downey Jr. or late talk-show host Morton Downey Jr.) propose marriage to Szydagis. They assisted him in selecting the proper foods and champagne for the special occasion, and insisted he call her parents before asking for her hand. "There was a big chance she was gonna say no," he says, explaining how the couple had previously discussed her desire not to wed. But with the cameras rolling -- and Downey on bended knee -- she accepted. The ceremony is scheduled for October. "Matilda said my job is to shut up and show up." Also included in the hourlong episode was a segment where Rodriguez -- the show's "culture vulture" -- schooled Downey on how to improve his stand-up act (comedian Jim David, a Vegas frequenter, provided the technical know-how). Downey started in comedy 15 years ago, after sitting in the audience during an open-mike night at a club in his home state of Michigan. "I thought, 'God, I can at least be as bad as these people,' " he recalls. It was three years before he worked up the nerve to take the "nervous jittery" character he had developed onstage. "And you know what, I was as bad as those guys. I got pounded; it was hysterical." Nevertheless, "Even when I was starting out, I knew I was doing something a little different and a little quirky," he recalls, "and I thought, 'It's gonna take a long time for me to hit, but eventually it's gonna pay off.' " In the years since, his character has evolved into "the weirdo guy," whom a former roommate once described to Downey as being "Kevin concentrate. He said, 'If you get down to the core, you're kind of a weirdo and you're kind of a freak, but you're really interesting.' " Downey's trademark bit is better seen than described: Downey exclaims in an exaggerated fashion the word "sip" before taking hits from the beer he drinks onstage between jokes. "It's so weird," he says. Audiences "never see it coming," but often chant along. "I love when you've got 250 people yelling 'siiiip!' It's the dumbest thing in the world, but it's so much fun for them." Downey performs upwards of 175 shows per year, usually headlining at clubs throughout the country. He says his post-"Queer Eye" career is in overdrive. "I'm selling out shows everywhere," he claims. People who watched the episode "come out and say 'Hi,' and hang out afterwards. They just feel like they're coming out to see a friend." Also, "Strangers will come up to me ... wherever I'm performing and go, 'Oh my god, Kevin, what are you doing here in Louisville? Gimme a hug; I feel like I know you.' " Even more perplexing, the 38-year-old Downey says, is the attention he's receiving from female fans. "There are tons of women who want to sleep with me, even though they just saw me get engaged ... They all say the same thing: 'Your fiancee is so pretty, and you're so romantic. Do you wanna go to the men's room and make out?' ... It's so fun to go from being the king of the slobs to women wanting to sleep with me. It's hysterical. What's funnier than that?" Since he mentioned it, how about the fact that the Fab Five practically begged him to flee his newly remodeled apartment? Citing concerns that the building is "a fire trap," interior-design expert Filicia urged Downey after the show to begin searching for a new place to live. "He goes, 'I promise you, this place is gonna burn ... I want you to leave here as soon as possible. You see this? This is bamboo, this is wallpaper, this is paint -- this is nothing. We bought you the expensive stuff, now go.' " Downey vowed to vacate the premises, albeit reluctantly. "I'm gonna hate to leave 'The Boom Boom Room,' but I'll just find a better one, or a bigger place that's not gonna burn and redo it," he says. "I'm taking the bamboo with me." Out for laughs Todd Glass makes the leap from headlining local comedy clubs to playing showrooms when he opens for David Spade at The Mirage on May 21 and May 22, and June 18 and June 19. Glass -- who recently filmed his role in "Rage Control," the forthcoming Martin Lawrence flick -- will be a guest on Wednesday's installment of CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn"; and "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn" on May 24 on Comedy Central. Catch up with newlywed Wendy Liebman when she opens for Robert Schimmel June 4 and 5 and June 11 and 12 at Monte Carlo.