Speaking with … Christopher Titus

When he auditioned actors for his Fox comedy series “Titus,” Christopher Titus took a cue from “Seinfeld.” “Jerry [Seinfeld] was a genius at standup but he wasn’t an actor when his show debuted,” Titus says, phoning from his Los Angeles home. “But he surrounded himself with these fantastic actors.

“That’s what I did. We made sure we cast great actors to make me look good. Everyone in our cast is so talented. There is no liability, unless it’s me. But it’s my show, so I can’t get fired.”

Titus will be in town this weekend to perform four shows at Zanies in Vernon Hills.

“Performing on TV and onstage are different, but I think I need to tour to keep my show fresh. It’s great to see if I’ve still got it and also to be able to work without having to worry whether I can get it past the censors. Also, I can say things on stage that I can’t get away with on TV.”

Of course, he misses his baby, Kennie Marie, when he’s on the road. Already, she gets a kick out of seeing Daddy on television.

“She can’t do any wrong in my eyes,” he says, laughing. “If I have a Balance Bar, she just puts her face down right on it. She’s so funny. She’ll eat these baby cookies that look like they’re made from solid wood. By the end of the day, the cookie has been reduced to paste that gets all around her body. It looks like she’s actually covered in plaster of Paris!”

Kennie Marie was born three weeks before Sept. 11, and Titus says he wondered what kind of world she was entering.

“Women think pushing out a baby is hard,” he says. “Try pushing the baby back in. That’s what I wanted to do after Sept. 11. I wanted to keep her as safe as possible.”

When he’s not playing with his daughter or working on his series, Titus writes a monthly column for a hot rod magazine called Good Guys Rod and Custom Gazette. Told that it sounds like a quaint name for a racing magazine, he laughs heartily.

“Well, that’s good ’cause every hot rod magazine should sound quaint. I love cars, but even I thought the magazine was so boring that I volunteered to write a humor column for them. You’ve got to have some humor in things to keep them interesting.”

HERE’S WHAT ELSE TITUS HAD TO SAY:

Tell us a “Titus” secret: In the last four episodes, Titus ends up in a mental hospital. I’m not going to say how this happens, but it’s a hilarious road there.

Best career advice: Jay Leno once told me that any comic who gets his own TV show should never stop doing standup because he would lose that skill. Being a good comic is like being a good shoe cobbler. There’ll always be work for you even if you show gets canceled.

Favorite Chicago suburb: Glenview. I’ve got a friend who lives there and he takes me everywhere.

Favorite club: I used to work in the Zanies downtown and I loved it. It had this old, 1960s-style feel to it, like the ghost of Lenny Bruce was hanging out there even if he had never been there.

Favorite thing about playing to Chicago audiences: They’re very smart. They don’t take themselves that seriously.

Favorite song: This ska band wrote a song called “Titus is On” and sent it to me. It’s hilarious.

Most fun hobby: I love racing! I’m racing in the Toyota Grand Prix in a few weeks here in Los Angeles.

Favorite movie this year: “Training Day.”

Future goals: I want to do a film. I’m taking meetings on a script I wrote.

The last word on Chicago: It’s a neat town. It’s a city that got over itself, unlike Los Angeles, New York and now Seattle.