Carrot Top discusses Vegas residency and proving 'haters' wrong ahead of Indio show

As many prominent comedians became popular during the ‘90s, Scott Thompson arrived on the scene with an ingenious presentation of prop comedy that helped him quickly become the pop culture sensation known as Carrot Top.

But as Carrot Top, who is known for his peculiar vibe and long red hair, made audiences laugh and became more recognizable through TV appearances and bigger venues, the love turned to hate. Many began to see him as a hack or a comedian with a gimmick and made fun of his appearance.

Love him or hate him, Thompson said one thing he always wanted to do is “make people happy and do my thing." He created an original act to stand out, which he said comes with “the other side of the knife.”

“If you’re clever and come up with something unique, people want to hate you more,” Thompson said.

Thompson described his stage name and persona as a “blessing and a curse.”

“I regret it every day of my life,” Thompson said. “I’ve been lucky and successful going that route with the name. In the beginning, I didn’t want to be Scott Thompson because that’s boring. Being a marketing guy, I always wanted to have a brand and a logo. It was a moniker that fit and I went with it. It’s hard to say ‘Carrot Top’ and people not know what that is.”

Carrot Top will perform Jan. 13 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

How the news cycle affects his jokes' shelf life

Thompson's jokes are always timely, and he uses objects to tell a story. A previous joke about NFL quarterback Tom Brady, for example, utilized a football helmet with tissues coming out of it because “it’s going through a rough time.” During the ‘90s when the O.J. Simpson trial was going on, Thompson put a credit card flatbed on a briefcase referencing the cost of several thousand dollars per day at Simpson’s expense for his high-profile team of defense lawyers.

“The props I come up with are like an invention,” Thompson said. “I do a part in my show about (reality TV series) ‘Shark Tank’ and there’s a lot of jokes I’ve come up with that are ‘Shark Tank’ kind of items if you broke them down. There’s a toilet paper roller where if you pull it one way it goes over the roll and if you flip it it goes under the roll, so you get both and people are happy. It’s funny and it’s clever.”

Many don’t appreciate the brilliance of Thompson’s version of prop comedy, which he describes as a “thought process” of connecting an item to a relevant subject. It has also become harder as news cycles and celebrity culture come and go at an increased pace.

“Back when I started doing topical jokes, which I live on, the shelf life could go for two or three years,” Thompson said. “The news cycle now is so quick and people barely remember anything. It’s too bad when I have a really good one like a Brittney Griner bong. It’s funny now but people are already like ‘who?’ It doesn’t have the shelf life. I just have to keep writing more and more.”

Another thing affecting the comedy world is audience members filming shows with cell phones, which has led to several prominent comedians and comedy clubs banning the use of phones at shows (sometimes by locking them in pouches). This policy is in place because comedians perform the same material at each show for several months and don’t want people to hear the jokes on sites like YouTube or Facebook, giving them less of an incentive to buy tickets to live shows.

When asked how he feels about being filmed by the audience, Thompson said “I don’t have a problem with it.”

“We ask people not to tape and film, but it’s usually because people turn the flash on, and that can be very distracting. But if someone is sitting there recording, I don’t care,” Thompson said. “I think some comedians do, and everyone has their own rules and what they do or don’t like.

Prop comedy is nothing new, and comedy legends such as Steve Martin, Harpo Marx, Rip Taylor and Howie Mandel have gone on stage incorporating various items during performances. But there is one comedian Carrot Top saw as a teenager that left a mark on him – the late Gallagher – who was known for smashing watermelons on stage.

“I loved it and was blown away, but back then (Gallagher) didn’t have as many props. For some reason, I found that style was unique and there weren’t a lot of guys using props,” Thompson said. “There’re all kinds of different ways to present a pop but I never wanted to it in a pun kind of way. If you went to see (Taylor) back in the day, he’d be like ‘booby trap!’ and it’d be a bra with mouse traps on it. Eh, not really my style. It was funny but it was also a pun.”

His Las Vegas residency attracts a broad demographic

Thompson grew up in Cocoa, Florida and his late father was a NASA engineer who worked on the Gemini and Apollo missions. He decided to become a comedian while studying marketing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. After graduating in 1989, he performed sets at college campuses across the country before appearing on late night TV shows such as “The Tonight Show,” “Late Night with David Letterman” and more.

“Being a marketing major in college, I thought ‘Show and Tell’ was the best class because you’re showing and telling people, and you’re more involved because there’s things to see and listen to. I use that in my stand up,” Thompson said. “I’m better standing there telling a story and a joke, but I thought with my act playing to a bunch of drunk college kids back in the day to keep their attention, it was like a ‘Show and Tell’ on stage.”

Since 2005, Thompson has headlined his own residency at Luxor Las Vegas. He performs in other venues during off days, has done several shows at local casinos and filmed a TV commercial in the area. But he notices the crowd is usually made up of older attendees who buy tickets as part of a theater package, or other people who are willing to take a chance on events.

“I always feel bad if they don’t know what they’re getting into,” Thompson quipped. “I’ve always had good shows in Palm Springs and having the younger people in there always helps get the energy going. But playing in Vegas, it’s the same thing. My demographic has always been all over the map because I had a show on Cartoon Network and would get the kids. I’d do ‘The Tonight Show’ and get adults. I’d do ‘Live with Regis and Kathie Lee’ and get the older people. Friends and fans will come back to me and say ‘That was the weirdest audience, I had this old guy sitting in front of me and this young kid next to me.’”

Thompson is currently celebrating 38 years in the business, and despite the haters, has continued to have success in the comedy world. But he said the rancor is diminishing, and audiences are embracing Carrot top.

“People are starting to appreciate the time I’ve put in,” Thompson said. “A lot of my friends in comedy have said to me ‘You’ve been doing this for 38 years.’ To be in comedy for 38 years and still be going, there’s a point where people say ‘OK, you can be in our club and come to the barbecues.’ I think the longevity has helped that.”

If you go

What: Carrot Top

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13

Where: Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84-245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio

How much: $29 to $69

More information: fantasyspringsresort.com

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Carrot Top talks Vegas residency, joke shelf life ahead of Indio show