Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Being a standup comic in 2007 who doesn't work blue or use profanity isn't the easiest thing — but it's paying off for Jim Gaffigan, who is getting ever more popular with his work on Conan O'Brien's show, his "Beyond the Pale" Comedy Central special and his role on TBS's "My Boys."

"I curse in everyday life. I'm not Mr. Filthypants or anything, but I do," he admits. "In my standup, which I've been doing forever, one of my goals has been getting rid of things that are not necessary, but easy laughs. Every comedian out there will admit, if you add a curse word to a joke, it'll help it. And shock gets a laugh. I wanted to weed that out. The topics I talk about don't justify cursing; I don't do Lewis Black social satire or talk about hard-hitting issues of the day." The benefit of all that: "People can bring their mom or their kid to a live show."

Also, "My CD's sold so many copies. I think it's because parents who want to listen to a comedy CD in the car don't want to worry about what their kids will hear."

"My Boys" returns to the tube July 30 — and just wrapped production for the season, leaving Gaffigan to go back to the stage, which he's doing, beginning this week.

He'll make another Comedy Central special, he says, "but I don't want to do a special just for the money. I want it to be really good." Thus, he'll be breaking in new pieces of his observational humor on the absurdities of life while out on the road. "I'm going to tour this summer and fall. I do an hour and 10-minute show — 40 minutes of it is going to be new."

Notes Gaffigan, "It's easy to sell hatred or conflict, but getting people to laugh without that is, to me, a much more fulfilling creative challenge."

ANOTHER TEEN STAR HEARD FROM: Unlike some of his "High School Musical" counterparts, Lucas Grabeel tells us he doesn't plan on cashing in on his recent success by releasing a pop album. He instead wants to focus on being an actor.

"I have an extreme passion for music. I play instruments and sing every day, but it's more of a personal thing for me and never something I feel I need to make money with," he says.

"I really just want to focus on making movies, which is what I came out here to do. 'HSM' has given me an amazing platform to be able to audition for things that I want to audition for, so I want to take advantage of that. Later down the line, when I have a giant gaggle of songs that are just sitting in my head or in my computer, then I can produce it myself, put out a CD, and see what happens."

In the meantime, Lucas is focusing on "High School Musical 2," premiering Aug. 17. "It's a beefed up 'High School Musical,'" says the 22-year-old talent, who plays the brother half of snooty rich brother and sister Ryan and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) in the flicks. "There's a lot of dancing and music and a lot more group numbers. The story continues in the summer time at Ryan and Sharpay's country club. A lot of hilarity ensues. It's hard to tell, though, what made it in the movie because I haven't seen it yet. I can't wait."

AND: Grabeel's fellow "HSM" star Monique Coleman finds the sequel "a bigger, more exciting film than the first one. It's a little bit more emotional, and I definitely feel like the message is just as positive, so we hope that it is just as successful as the first one was." If their springtime Latin America tour is any indication, these kids certainly won't be hurting for viewers. Some shows had up to 70,000 people in attendance. "The tour was by far one of the most incredible experiences that we've had. The fans were so passionate. They were bawling their faces off. It was amazing," notes Monique.

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE: "The Office" regular Melora Hardin says she got to really stretch her comedic chops in the upcoming indie comedy "The Comebacks(cq). "It's a spoof on all of the sports movies," says Hardin of the film that also stars David Koechner, Stacy Keibler and Andy Dick. "David's character is probably the worst coach in history responsible for all the different, horrible sports disasters ever, and I play his ultra-supportive wife. Ultimately, he doesn't satisfy me, so I leave him for a younger man." But that's not the end of their story, she says, and adds, "My character is very slapsticky, and I get to do some really, fun broad comedy and be very, very silly. We have one scene that's almost vaudevillian. We go back and forth like a 'Who's on First?' routine. We got to do some really fun stuff."

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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