By Nick Osborne, news correspondent
“So, Northeastern University,” comedian Rob Riggle said Tuesday in Blackman Auditorium, “the administration wanted me to talk to you a little bit about STDs.”
Riggle, of “The Daily Show” fame, performed Tuesday to a sold out audience in Blackman.
After duly informing students about just how much fun sex is, Riggle told the audience about spending a day as a hippie to try and win over a girl, the hellish and unmentionable goings-on inside the men’s bathroom at football stadiums and his undying hatred of old people.
“Any cotton-tops here? Any old people?” Riggle said. “Good. I hate old people. They’re just so … old.”
Probably best known for his work on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Riggle joked during his multiple appearances on the show that he could kill any of the other members of the cast with his bare hands. It’s hard to doubt him. Stage hands had to raise the microphone for the 6-foot-3-inch comedian.
Riggle’s stories had great accents, funny voices and a clean, witty delivery. His energy and bouncy dexterity on stage were captivating to watch.
Surprisingly, given his polar bear-like girth, Riggle screamed, flailed, danced about, delivered flying roundhouse kicks to imaginary old people and even reenacted a car killing 39 people.
During one story about how he almost fell out of the shower and to his death, Riggle dodged, whirled and fell in slow motion, “Matrix”-style.
Riggle said he left the “The Daily Show” almost two years ago “to go fight crime,” but he’s clearly still on top of his game.
After the performance, Riggle opened the floor to questions, and showed himself to be a classy and genuine person. He discussed how hard it is to be successful as an entertainer, joking about gigs at bars at one in the morning, and comparing that struggle with his latest work in big-time movies such as “Step Brothers” and “The Hangover.”
Riggle still holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and has served in Liberia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Riggle also described his work for various children’s and veterans’ charities. He told a story about how during his stint with “The Daily Show,” he traveled with the cast and crew to Iraq where they filmed the show for Comedy Central during the day and did benefit performances for the troops at night.
Riggle’s schedule is a hectic one: he has his stand-up tour – he performed at the University of Missouri four days prior to appearing at Northeastern – and the filming his recent movie, “Going the Distance,” with Drew Barrymore in Alaska, for which he said the director ordered him to grow a beard.
But despite all the work it takes to keep going as a comedian, Riggle demonstrated his fascinating depth of character with the respect he showed to an audience of college students.
