IF you have watched Singin’ in the Rain you will have seen and heard a song sung by Donald O’Connor called ‘Make ‘em laugh’.

The opening lines are: “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh, Don’t you know ev’ry one wants to laugh? My dad said, “Be an actor my son, But be a comical one!”....

Speaking to Joe Pasquale I defiantly had the feeling he took this advice to heart due to what he hopes people get from him when they come and see Joe Pasquale – A Few Of His Favourite Things which celebrates his 30 years in show business.

He said: “I hope they will laugh and for the duration of the show they can forget all their problems for two hours and just enjoy themselves.

“I like to do stuff on stage which makes me laugh and I hope the audience find it funny as well so they can laugh.”

Laughter is important to any comedian as it is the recognition by the audience they have told a good joke and are being funny.

The laughter for Joe started just over 30 years ago in 1987 when he appeared on New Faces on ITV.

This talent show launched the careers of Lenny Henry, Roy Walker, Victoria Wood and Les Dennis.

Joe made it all the way through to the final where he scored 92 points,losing out to the eventual winner, Jimmy Tamley, by two points (94).

Being on the show taught Joe so much, nor more than when he spoke to Ken Dodd (one of the judges).

Joe said: “The judges used to watch the show in the afternoon and after all the acts had performed, Ken Dodd came into the dressing room to have his make-up put on.

“He sat next to me and said can I give you some advice? I said yes and he told me what I needed to do. He had written down my act and all the jokes and told me to open with this joke and not that as it was funnier.

“He said do what he had told me and I would win. I did and won the heat. It was amazing for him to do that for me and to give me this help.

“It is something I do for other people in show business not matter what they do.

“Both Ken Dodd and Bob Monkhouse were huge influences on me.”

Looking at his 30-year-career, Joe said he was both delighted and pleased he was still in the business after three decades.

He said: “When I started out I didn’t have a plan and I have been winging it for 30 years.

“Being a comedian is my job. It is just a job and I do not take things too seriously.

“I go out on stage and try and be funny and hope people laugh.

“I enjoy going out on stage as it scares me. I do not know if people are going to laugh.

“I like to be scared that is why I have done skydiving and have got a pilots licence.

“I have not done bungee jumping but I would as it is right up my street.”

One of the clever parts to Joe’s stage act is he gets a member of the audience up on stage and paints their picture. But he paints the picture as the audience is looking at it upside down. Then when he is finished he rotas the painting the right way up and hey presto!

Joe said: “I leant how to paint by someone who taught me to do it upside down.

“They said if you paint a photograph upside down you paint shapes and are not looking at it.

With a career spanning three decades, the multi-talented comic’s energy is boundless and his talent and versatility limitless.

Currently garnering critical acclaim for his comedic and very physical stage performance as the hapless and accident prone Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em on its debut UK theatre tour, Joe has also starred as King Arthur in Spamalot and as Leo Bloom in the touring production of The Producers, amongst others.

You can see Joe Pasquale – A Few Of His Favourite Things when it comes to Somerset.

He will be at the Playhouse Theatre in Weston-Super-Mare on August 16 and The Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on September 5.

Buy tickets online at parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/Playhouse-Theatre or call 01934 645544.

And for the Octagon online at octagon-theatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01935 422884.