Talking with Bill Engvall

Bill Engvall doesn't envy being the Blue Collar Comedy Tour's trophy husband."Being on Blue Collar was like being married to a rich girl," he says. "It was great, but after a while you want to show people you can earn your own living."Thus, "The Bill Engvall Show," airing 9 p.m. EDT Thursdays on TBS, is his ticket to career independence.On the sitcom, now in its second season, Engvall plays an everyman husband and dad, who also works as a counselor. Most episodes revolve around his harried family life and how he sticks his foot in his mouth.Critics haven't been kind to the series, giving it the kind of bashing usually earmarked for ABC's "According to Jim."However, the audience has another say in the matter. "Bill Engvall" is one of the highest-rated shows on TBS, which is one of the most-watched cable channels in the country.Engvall isn't put off by the critical reception. Instead, he revels in the public's desire to watch. The success seems to signal to him that his career is finally going beyond the Blue Collar Comedy stigma."I have had to try and fight that," he says of the image that Blue Collar gave him.Blue Collar -- one of the most successful comedy tours in history -- had Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, Ron White and Engvall rolling around in Southern-fried jokes. While the tour may have helped Engvall's bank account, it also pigeonholed him."Jeff is Jeff. He is an industry all into himself. Larry has benefited the most. He's doing movies, and Ron stood out," Engvall says. "Of the four, I stood out the least because I was less of a character."After the tour ended, Engvall was offered sitcom roles. Almost all of them had him playing a good ol' boy. The native Texan didn't want that.Despite the success of his sitcom, which doesn't rely on any Southern jokes, Engvall still runs up against his Blue Collar image."When we try and get guest stars, a lot of them want to see the show first," he says."It's like, 'It's "The Bill Engvall Show"; he was on the Blue Collar tour.' And (the potential guest stars say) 'Oh, let me see the show first.'"I didn't want a regional show. I want a show that appeals to everybody -- to Northerners, to Southerners, to Midwesterners, everybody."(E-mail Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at morrow2(at)knews.com.)