Josh Blue says his life is a laughing matter

When Josh Blue won season four of "Last Comic Standing" on NBC, the audience wondered if it was OK to laugh at the young hippie with the halting speech and trembling right arm, whose woolly hair and beard suggests he once tried to infiltrate Jethro Tull. But they quickly warmed to him. His cracks about being mistaken for a drunk provoked guilt-free guffaws.

The comedian, who performs this weekend at the Pittsburgh Improv, has cerebral palsy. The disorder can weaken muscle coordination and cause slurred speech and spastic movement. It usually results from a brain injury at birth.

"A lot of times people would say 'When I first saw you I thought I was going to have to pity-laugh you.' " he says. "Once you come to my show, you're not pity-laughing me. Within one minute you're on my side and laughing real hard.

"When you come to my show and you don't know who I am, I kind of have a bit of explaining to do so you get comfortable with who I am," Blue says. "Now that I've been on TV, I have less explaining to do."

That gives him the opportunity to expand his comedic repertoire beyond jokes at his own expense. This tour, he's joking about fatherhood and other topics. His wife recently gave birth to a girl, Seika. Their son, Simon, is 2.

"When I won 'Last Comic' I was pretty young," Blue says. "Now I feel like I've matured. I understand how comedy works a little better on a scientific level and a real world level. I feel like I'm becoming a better comedian every show I do."

Blue was born in the central African nation of Cameroon.

"I left at an early age, but I got to move back to Africa when I was 16," he says. "I moved to Senegal for an entire year. That's a very influential age, let me tell you. Now that I live here in the U.S. and I was born in Africa, technically that makes me African-American.

"Being disabled and African-American, I look really good on paper."

Blue also plays soccer for the U.S. Paralympic National Soccer Team. The group competed at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens but missed the cut for the Beijing Games. Blue joined the team in 2003.

He says he's fine-tuning new material for a one-hour comedy special that he'll shoot this fall.

"I'm actually trying to get on 'Dancing with the Stars' as well," he says. "Seriously, I used to dance in college. I'm pretty good at swing dancing."

Additional Information:

Josh Blue

When: 8 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday

Admission: $20

Where: Pittsburgh Improv, the Waterfront, Homestead

Details: 412-462-5233