Leary in Title Quest: Most Valuable Philosopher

Timothy Leary has been a lot of things over a lot of years, but these days he is pretty much a stand-up guy.

Leary, of course, is the psychologist fired from Harvard 25 years ago whose checkered past also includes stints as a lobbyist for LSD and as a convict on the lam (who, after being recaptured, was placed in solitary confinement near Charlie Manson).

Those days are long behind him, though. Now, Leary spends much of his time performing a stand-up act. He will appear tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

He doesn’t consider himself a comic. In fact, as he said at the outset of a recent interview at his home in Beverly Hills, his act “has nothing to do with stand-up comedy.” What is it, then? “I perform philosophy publicly.”

Still, as he continued to speak--caroming wildly from idea to idea, like a pinball machine on the fritz--he acknowledged that he is playing for laughs.

Apparent contradiction is nothing new to Leary, 67. Discussing an earlier version of his show, for instance, he once told The Times: “I’m simply one of the funniest people who’s ever lived.” That in itself may stand as one of the funniest things he has ever said. But when asked about that statement the other day, he replied quickly: “I think my wife said that.”

Pulling on a cigarette, he continued: “See, I don’t use the word ‘comedy.’ I believe in ‘humor’ that comes from the old notion of humors that philosophers used. It was the humors that created phlegmatic and sanguine and all that. So that word ‘humor,’ to me, has a long and respectable tradition in philosophy.

“My humor is philosophic. I put two ideas together that surprise you so much that you laugh. I’m inventing thoughts. And if you invent a thought, a good thought, it usually makes people laugh.”

The Leary Express was really starting to pick up steam (and, significantly, was staying on the same track for what would prove to be the longest stretch of the interview). “The audience that’s going to come to the Coach House is not coming to hear outhouse humor. They know that I’m a philosopher. They’re not just out-of-town sailors looking for a beer and a girl,” he said with a rapid-fire chuckle.

“So it’s a very specialized audience. They’re people who want to be outraged--they want to have their minds pushed and tested and shocked a little bit.”

Leary is well qualified for that job. As the person credited (or blamed) for coining the phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” he knows more than a little something about pushing minds. “I have probably one of the most advanced nervous systems on the planet,” he said, answering a question about how he generates material for his act. “For 20, 30 years, I’ve explored every avenue to activate new thoughts and reprogram my brain. I’m actively reprogramming my brain, so I try to come up with 10 new ideas a day. Now I’ll scribble 10 funny ideas, but like anything else, nine out of 10 you have to (discard).”

So let’s have an example of a keeper, Tim.

“People ask, ‘Who are you supporting for President?’ And I say, ‘My candidate for President is a man who is one of the most respected politicians in the world, who has managed to control his own military, who’s cutting down the bureaucracy, who’s in favor of free enterprise, who’s faithful to his wife--Mikhail Gorbachev.’

“We’re going to make a player deal. We’ll get Gorbachev and swap him for Dole, Kemp, and Bush. Plus, we’ll throw in Ronnie himself. . . .”

Leary explained that his act changes from night to night, partly because he improvises “like any innovative jazz group.” At the same time, he acknowledged that most performances include some “Ronnie” references.

“Naturally, I address a lot of my satire at the Reagan Administration and at Meese and at the war on drugs,” he said. “I have to talk about drugs, simply because it’s expected. And my position on drugs is that I’m a 1000% in agreement with Nancy Reagan about saying no for kids.

“That’s just common sense. My line about ‘Just Say No’ is that the Republicans are so impolite, I tell my grandchildren and my son Zack to say ‘No, thank you.’ ”

When it is pointed out that Jay Leno has been doing a similar joke for quite a while, Leary’s expression turned steely. “Oh, he got that from me.”

Is it possible that the reverse is true? “Well, ah--no, ‘cause I get more publicity than he does. I’ll tell you, I don’t really care. But, you see, that’s the idea of a joke that is moving philosophy around.”

As is Leary himself, as he takes his philosophy on the road, in pursuit of his oft-repeated objective: To be named this century’s MVP (Most Valuable Philosopher). “That, again, is a new idea,” he continued. “Philosophers aren’t supposed to work that way. The average philosopher couldn’t bag groceries at a Safeway.

“But I make my living doing philosophy. And I’m good at it. Because how many philosophers could actually come down to a club? How many?”

TIMOTHY LEARY

Tonight, 8 p.m.

Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano

$15

Information: (714) 496-8930