Still Git'n-R-Done: Larry the Cable Guy plays S.Ga.

Jun. 13—VALDOSTA — If not for Larry the Cable Guy's one professional regret, audiences might be going to see Daniel Lawrence Whitney this weekend at Wild Adventures Theme Park.

Or just Dan Whitney.

That's the famed comedian's real name.

As he ate a breakfast of toast during a phone interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, he said he wished he had used his real name in the credits of the popular animated "Cars" movies, where he voiced the tow-truck Mater.

"Coming up through the ranks at the time, using Larry the Cable Guy, it was like a brand," he said — a brand that took off in a big way. "It was really a crazy thing. I was just a comedian and all of this was such a whirlwind."

His management team at the time pushed him to use the Larry the Cable Guy name for everything. The team was aggressive if media mentioned his real name in stories about the comedian.

Whitney laughed, saying he never had a problem using his real name and doesn't now. and while he wishes he had used his name in the "Cars" movies, he said he's fine being known as Larry the Cable Guy.

He was born in Nebraska farmland. As a teenager, his family moved to Florida.

"I'm a country kid from Nebraska who grew up in Florida and went to school in Georgia," he said. "I've lived in Florida for 30-40 years."

His phone voice is familiar. It sounds close to the voice you expect to hear in a phone interview with the comedian. But it isn't until he starts talking in character that one realizes his real speaking voice has a hint of Southern flavor but nothing like the dipped in kudzu and sweet tea of Larry the Cable Guy. He can turn the voice off and on like water.

The Larry the Cable Guy persona caught on as a stand-up routine in the 1980s. His first gig, he said, was in 1985. In 1988, he quit his day job and began performing full time.

"I loved making people laugh," he said, and audiences loved him.

He sold out one-man stand-up shows. He had TV specials, starred in movies, voiced cartoons, and is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour featuring him, Bill Engvall, Ron White and Jeff Foxworthy.

He said he thinks the Blue Collar Comedy Tour has run its course.

"You've got four guys in their 60s," he said — adding that he's cut back on touring his one-man stand-up shows to spend time with his wife and children and usually books performances to coincide with golf tournaments which he plays with long-time friends — so concerning the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, "it's probably not going to happen but I could see in another five years or so doing a reunion thing in a casino in Vegas."

He said the group doesn't want to force it, either, adding the four comedians could likely never recreate the spontaneous chemistry of the original years of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.

As for playing Valdosta and Wild Adventures, Whitney said he looks forward to returning to South Georgia. He shared a favorite memory from a Wild Adventures show early in his career.

Whitney's brother was traveling with him. His brother peeked out to get a look at the audience and saw the place was packed.

A security guard stepped up beside the brother and looked at the crowd.

"The security guard looks at the crowd then looks at my brother," Whitney said then he slipped into his full Larry the Cable Guy voice. "He says, 'I don't know who this guy is but he's done got more people here than Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Jr.'"

Larry the Cable Guy is scheduled to play 8 p.m. Saturday, June 17, Wild Adventures Theme Park, Old Clyattville Road. More information: Visit wildadventures.com.