If the redheaded comedian looks familiar to Newport residents, they probably remember his performance at last year's comedy festival (Internet buzz suggests he stole the show from headliner Charlie Murphy). But, most likely, Dave Chappelle fans remember him from numerous classic "Chappelle's Show" sketches, including the Racial Draft. In one of the most memorable sketches from the show's 2003 season, Burr was perfectly deadpan as a TV commentator covering a sports-style draft in which the black population claims Tiger Woods, the Jewish people choose Lenny Kravitz, and in a surprise move, China claims the entire Wu-Tang Clan.

"Sketches like the Racial Draft and the Samuel L. Jackson beer parody were particularly fun because I wasn't actively trying to be funny," Burr says. "I was playing it straight. It was the ridiculousness of the situation that made it funny. It was something I learned from watching Jeffrey Tambor on 'The Larry Sanders Show.'"

After the abrupt demise of "Chappelle's Show," Burr hit the ground running. He landed his own HBO "One Night Stand" in 2005. The reaction was immediate and huge. Thanks to HBO's On Demand feature, fans were able to see the performance several times and even hosted viewing parties. Burr watched his MySpace network grow to more than 13,000 fans. Pretty soon, radio bad boys Opie and Anthony came calling, and now Burr is a regular guest on their XM Satellite and CBS Radio show.

He lights up at the very mention of the show. "My experience with radio in the past wasn't that great before I met them - it's hard to get laughs with some people in a radio booth. But Opie and Anthony are almost ridiculously funny. It's a great vibe. Nobody tries to top or talk over each other. When someone's on a roll, they just back off and let him go. They're brilliant."

He also has no trouble landing gigs on big-name stages like Caroline's Comedy Club, which is just up the street from his apartment. In the meantime, he's written an hour's worth of new material that he wants to turn into a DVD release later this year. His biggest problem for now seems to be finding more of a center to the self-described "East Coast angry guy" persona he's become known for.

"I'm getting older now, and I really don't want to be so walled-off anymore," he says. "I want to scale that back a bit without losing the intensity. That's the thing about stand-up - when you're up there, you have to maintain the intensity every single second. You can't just take a round off, leaning against the ropes and taking a few to the body. It never stops."

Copyright 2006 by Jennifer Layton