Slayton - who comes to Buffalo's Funny Bone Comedy Club tonight through Sunday - has been in the business for longer than most would guess. The picture on the back of "Raging Bully" doesn't seem to show a man working a different club every week for years, and is finally breaking through. There's a lot of energy on the CD, more characteristic of an angry young man than a veteran stand-up comedian.

As the tape starts to roll, Slayton begins talking.

"Are you writing it down? Okay, Bobby Slayton is coming to Buffalo for the first time ever. Bobby Slayton - one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time. He's been doing stand-up comedy for twenty-one years. He should be making a splash this summer as Joey Bishop in the movie "The Rat Pack" starring Ray Liotta and Joe Montegna. Slayton - I'll just write the whole article for you, okay?

I was going to say, life seems good for you - you have the CD out and the movie's coming out.

Well, things are going well. I mean, my career could be a lot farther along than I want it to be, but I've chosen to take a certain path. You know, I've been basically on the road for so long that, a lot of times, opportunities have come up for me, but I haven't been able to read for the stuff because I've been busy on the road making a living.

You know, I've read for so many bad sitcoms, and I've had some really bad management. I've had a couple of bad breaks, you know. But a lot of this business is about luck… Being the right place at the right time. And I have tons and tons of talent and tons and tons of bad luck.

I guess if you're going to have bad luck, talent's a good way to cancel it out.

Yeah, well, at least if I wasn't talented, I'd say the reason I'm not getting anything is because I have no talent. But it makes it a little more frustrating when you see a lot of lesser talents making it, but you know what? It doesn't bother me anymore. I'm making a good living. The CD came out so well. I've had so much incredible response with this CD.

How do you relate to a character like Joey Bishop in a movie like the Rat Pack? How do you get into character?

It's funny because I haven't done that many movies and that many sitcoms. I was in Get Shorty for a few minutes and Ed Wood for a few minutes. I've done about a dozen sitcoms but every part I've always played has been myself. I've never played a real living person. So what I did was I went to this incredible museum of broadcasting in Los Angeles and I went to a lot of the stuff Joey Bishop did. And I've already read everything that was out about Dean and Frank and the Rat Pack even before we started working on this movie. There wasn't a lot of stuff I had to do. I mean, I vaguely resemble Joey already. I've been doing stand-up comedy for twenty years, I'm Jewish, I'm from the East Coast. And if I take the growl out of my voice, the hoarseness out of my voice, I sound like Joey anyway. By the time they gave me the hair cut and the 1960s suit, there wasn't really a lot I had to do

You're known as "the pit bull of comedy." How would you describe your style of comedy, your style of stand-up?

I don't like to compare myself to anybody because I think it's fairly unique, but as far as comparing it to people, certainly Don Rickles has been an influence, Lenny Bruce has been an influence, Robert Klein and George Carlin, and Howard Stern's been an influence. That's a lot of influences. So as for my style, I'd say, search and destroy. Take no prisoners. Kill or be killed.

At one point on the CD you mention that if your wife were in the crowd you wouldn't be saying some of the things you're saying. When you do the more personal material, are you ever concerned at how your family might react?

Not really. If I was concerned about that I wouldn't do it. My wife is fairly convinced that a lot of the material is not really autobiographical. She thinks a lot of it I just make up. She thinks a lot of it is about ex-girlfriends. So I'll let her continue thinking that. To be honest with you, she comes to my shows and I do almost all of it. But I'm just conscious of when she's there. About halfway through the show I forget about it. But I'd rather not have her in the audience. Doing comedy in front of my wife is sort of like having sex in front of our parents. I could do it if I had to, but I'd rather not.

Which do you prefer, acting or stand-up?

What do I prefer? It depends on where I'm doing the acting and where I'm doing the stand-up. If I'm acting in some kid's show as compared to doing stand-up in Carnegie Hall, I guess I'd go for the stand-up. When it comes to doing a great movie like "The Rat Pack," which is going to