By Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn
1999
Improv prince Greg Proops, a dry-witted regular on ABC's Whose Line Is It Anyway?, has secured a second crown-as host of Comedy Central's VS. (Thursdays, 10:30 pm/ET). The show pits polar opposites (e.g., witches versus Santas; marriage counselors versus divorce lawyers; Valley girls versus Jersey chicks) against each other in pop-culture quizzes. It is unpredictable, fast-paced and an ideal gig for this comic.
"At the risk of sounding like a complete [jerk], I was perfect for the job," says the 39-year-old Proops, who is often told that he looks like Buddy Holly. "I like to play the games, I know what I'm talking about and I'm funny." (He credits wife Jennifer for penning his best jokes, however.) Another hosting plus, Proops says, is that the show feeds his competitive spirit. (He is a fan of both baseball and golf, though he confesses that he is no pro in either sport.) "I really like to see a good game. If it's close, and it's getting down to the wire, I'm very into it," he says.
After several weeks of taping back-to-back shows, Proops recently took a little vacation (to Spain) before returning to start taping new episodes of Whose Line later this summer. But he is not griping about his busy schedule. It sure beats some of his previous gigs, delivering pizza and sweeping floors. And it certainly was a breeze, he says, playing one half of a two-headed alien sportscaster in Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace. It's a small part, but "it's Star Wars!" he says enthusiastically. "It's the first picture I've ever done, so it's a pretty good debut." Pretty good, indeed.
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