Bobcat on the loose

Yes, Bobcat Goldthwait was in three "Police Academy" films. No, he was not the guy who mimicked all of the funny noises. He makes funny noises, but he is not Michael Winslow.

Goldthwait, the comedian/actor/director/screenwriter, will be doing stand-up at Vaudeville Cafe tonight and Saturday. Goldthwait made a name for himself in the '80s and '90s with his over-the-top humor delivered in a high-pitched, phlegm-coated manner on such projects as "Shakes the Clown" and talk shows such as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," where he set a couch on fire.

More recently, he has been writing and directing films. Among the people he gets to star in them is his good friend Robin Williams, who appeared in Goldthwait's "World's Greatest Dad." Joel Murray of "Mad Men" fame is starring in Goldthwait's latest film project, "God Bless America."

It's a film about a guy who is fed up with who and what America has become. Both Murray and Williams thought they would be doing much smaller roles but either chose or were coerced, willingly, to play bigger parts.

Goldthwait also was friends with Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who asked the comedian to open several Nirvana concerts, and one of his best friends is Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.

"I do stand-up so I don't have to do reality TV," Goldthwait said in an interview. "My concentration is on films. I get a big charge out of making a movie."

Goldthwait, who titled one of his three televised concert specials "Is He Like That All the Time," is well aware of the perception some fans and critics have of him. He has never worried about trying to be something he is not or in trying to fit in.

For him, a successful project is one that connects with people, which makes him proud.

"I don't ever want to feel like I've compromised," he said.