Ouch! It's Pablo Francisco

It's impossible to watch comedian Pablo Francisco without wondering if he's hiding some kind of sophisticated sound-effects device in his throat.

A grown-up Gerald McBoing Boing, Francisco delivers dead-on impressions of just about anything, including movie trailer king Don LaFontaine ("In a world…"), Kermit the Frog doing a drug deal with Tony Montana, and a Mexican brass band.

He does it in a rapid-fire high energy style that leave fans breathless.

On Tuesday, Francisco will release his latest DVD, "Ouch!" supported by a special sneak peek on Comedy Central (check local listings).

"I don't know why we called it 'Ouch.' Maybe because it's a fun name we use sometimes." Francisco told The Showbuzz. "(We) make fun of Jackie Chan, the Green Goblin, and also 'Grand Theft Auto,' the video game. (It's) just comedy and jokes, crazy stuff!"

Extras include a visit to Francisco's "crib," a segment about his parents, and a trip to Iceland.

Francisco grew up in Tucson, Ariz., where he and his friends would come up with the crazy sounds that now inspire his routine.

But, surprisingly, he wasn't the class clown.

"In school I was pretty disciplined. I didn't really get crazy," he said.

He got his first taste of professional comedy at 17 when he and a friend entered a contest at a local Black Angus that had a comedy night. They won.

"Then I went into delivering pizza," he said. "I used to deliver to a comedy club, and I used to watch the comics."

Francisco got fired from the pizza job, and decided he'd try his hand at comedy full time.

For two years he paid his dues, performing in comedy clubs and doing routines that included an impression of radio legend Casey Kasem and superheroes rooming together.

"Batman would bring a girl home and then Robin would walk in on Batman having sex," he said.

He moved up to doing solo shows and then landed a gig as a cast member on the Fox sketch comedy show "Mad TV." He still uses improvisation in his stand-up routines.

"The way I go into it is improvised. Every show I go into it differently," he said. "I don't want to go into it word for word. All the topics are planned, unless the audience wants to yell something out. That's where I'll do most of my writing, on stage."

Since leaving "Mad TV," Francisco has been touring constantly, and has appeared on his own "Comedy Central Presents" special, "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and "Mind of Mencia."

"My family didn't take it seriously in the beginning, but then as I started making more money they took it more seriously," he said.

"I can understand, what can you do. You come home and you tell your dad, 'I'm doing comedy at clubs and they pay me." My dad thought I was dealing drugs for a while."

The "Ouch" DVD hits stores on Tuesday, and Comedy Central has been showing a sneak peek of the video (check local listings).

For more tour dates and other info, go to pablofrancisco.com.
By Judy Faber