Comedian Max Alexander, who will be performing at The Improv at Harveys through Sunday, is back home after being on the road for what must have seemed like eternity. If Max looks familiar, that’s probably because you have seen him in the movies “Man on the Moon” with Jim Carrey, “Punchline” with Tom Hanks and Sally Field, and “Roxanne” with Steve Martin.

His TV credits include roles on the Emmy Award-winning ABC drama, “The Practice,” “My Wife and Kids” and his long association with “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and Johnny Carson. Max has been a longtime friend of the legendary Jerry Lewis and, along with Richard Belzer and Stu Silver, are working on Lewis’ “The Nutty Professor – The Broadway Musical.”

Max says, “We have a lot of laughs and get work done at the same time. It’s so much fun talking about putting on a Broadway show what with the writing, the music, the dancing and the casting -and to do it with great friends is the frosting on the cake. I’ve know Mr. Lewis and Mr. Belzer for over 20 years and Stu Silver, one of Hollywoods great writers has become a close friend in just three months. Next to doing stand-up, it’s a dream job.”

Writing is just what Max needs in order to take a break from his travels. Last year was probably Max’s most-traveled year performing in Newfoundland, Uganda and Maroomba to most recently in the city of Saskatoon located in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. This year is shaping up to be another international experience for the globe-trotting Alexander. The country of Peru will play host as Max Alexander performs for the newly elected president, Alan Garcia. This marks the return of Garcia as he was a past president from 1985 to 1990. It was during that time Garcia was first introduced to Max through his late-night appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. Seems Garcia was a fan of Carson and happened to also see Max the night he performed on the legendary talk show’s program. The newly elected president had promised to improve social conditions and maintain fiscal responsibility for his country and saw this as a unique opportunity to bring some humor along with the social changes. How fortunate then for Max, that while performing on a cruise ship the president’s wife was on that same cruise and she mentioned to her husband about Max’s availability to perform south of the equator. Can’t wait to see how he’ll be received. For now, though, Max is happy to be back here in the States and especially here in Lake Tahoe. His humor is universal if not very sarcastic at times. Max has performed with some of the best in the business including Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias and Tom Jones. From his early days with Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reiser at The Improv, to his first film role when legendary director Sidney Lumet plucked him from the comedy stage to act opposite Ann Bancroft in the movie, “Garbo Talks,” Max has been working ever since and has never looked back. If anyone keeps their passport current, it’s our Max!

Mar. 20-Mar. 25

Max Alexander

Brant von Hoffmann

For the past 30 years, Brant von Hoffman has been a successful actor, writer, comedian and author. A veteran of over 20 films, Brant has co-starred in such comedy hits as “Guarding Tess” with Nicolas Cage and Shirley MacLaine; “Rustler’s Rhapsody” with Tom Berenger and Sela Ward; and “Police Academy” with Steve Guttenberg. As a stand up comedian he has appeared in comedy clubs and colleges across the country and is a regular performer here at Harveys.

In 1998 he and his brother co-authored the best-selling coffee table book, “The von Hoffmann Brother’s Big Damn Book of Sheer Manliness.” Brant and his brother also wrote, produced and hosted, “American Hombres” for the History Channel in 2004.