Rob Bartlett goes from Don Imus to Agatha Christie

For more than 30 years, Rob Bartlett was the resident comedian on shock jock Don Imus’ radio show, a role that had him doing impressions of everyone from Bill Clinton to Hulk Hogan. Bartlett grew up in Massapequa Park, graduating from Farmingdale High School before starting a career that’s taken him from Broadway ("Little Shop of Horrors," "Chicago") to long-running television hits like "Law and Order SVU."

Bartlett, 69, now lives in Farmingdale and in recent years has been teaching and coaching. But when he heard Manes Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst was doing the Agatha Christie classic "Murder on the Orient Express," he couldn’t resist. The show runs Aug. 28-Sept. 13 with Bartlett playing legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Bartlett recently chatted about his career and why he decided to return to the Long Island stage.

You got your start at the White House Inn, a comedy club in North Massapequa. What do you remember about the place?

It was this little bar/restaurant that had an open mic night on Wednesdays. I decided to try my hand at stand-up. I'd always been the quintessential class clown. I went down and there were like 30 people in the show and 11 people in the audience. I was discouraged, but I heard from other comics that the place was becoming huge so I went back.

You met Eddie Murphy there?

We got to be fast friends. Eddie, myself and [comedian] Bob Nelson would go to the movies, we would go bowling, we just hung out. We decided to try to book the same shows. We ended up in a group we called The Identical Triplets. We just made each other laugh.

You joined "Imus in the Morning" in 1987. What brought you to the show?

I was working on the road, I guess 30 weeks a year, but I was miserable. I missed my wife and son. I told my agent we needed to book gigs closer to home. I was doing a one-nighter in Jersey with Imus’ producer and he told me they used comedians on Fridays. I mean, he was on my clock radio when I was in high school. So I went on and we hit it off. He said "come back anytime." I took him at his word. When Imus was picked up by WFAN, they offered me a contract.

Your feelings at the end of such an iconic radio show? Was it a sad time?

Yeah, it really was. It was such an enormous part of my life. There's no doubt in my mind that having that association with him was integral to my success as an actor. Aside from that, it was a steady gig in show business for 31 years, which is unheard of.

Your favorite character on Imus?

Oh, man. It's like trying to pick your favorite child. There’s a combination of the people who I would do impressions of — Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Phil, Mike Tyson. But then I also had my own characters. Sal Monella was a Brooklyn guy, blue collar, just a guy from the neighborhood [cue the accent] you know what I'm saying?

Let's talk about your Broadway career.

Between that and the television stuff, look at how blessed I've been. They all have their special moments. I have a fondness in my heart for Amos in "Chicago." And Mushnik [in "Little Shop"]. I created from the ground up. To originate a role on Broadway and do the cast album ... one of those things about theater I think I love the best is the sense of community. When you're building a new show, it's like you're in the trenches together. There’s a bond there that you can never break.

And what about "SVU?"

First of all, it's a law. If you're gonna be a New York actor, you have to do at least one "Law and Order" franchise. I played a sleazy defense attorney over four or five years.

So why come back to a small regional theater on Long Island?

I’ve known about Studio Theatre since high school, one of my drama teachers (the late Bill Lawrence) starred in "Death of a Salesman."
I’d been teaching and I was poking around, I wanted to try my hand at directing so I sent a couple emails to the powers that be. Then out of the blue I got an email from Rick [Grossman, managing partner] asking if I’d play Poirot. ... It’s amazing what they’re doing for kids and I'm so grateful for the community that provided me the foundation to have the life that I've led. I’m a man of a certain age, it's time to start doing what I can to pass the torch.

You’re playing one of the most famous characters in literature. Discuss.

I didn't realize how much I missed it. I haven't really been on a stage since I did "How to Succeed" with Dan Radcliffe in 2011. I mean he [Poirot] was the only fictional character to get a front-page obituary in The New York Times. I‘ve done extensive research about his traits ... he’s a genius, but he's a little OCD. He can't eat eggs unless they're both the same size, he can't talk to somebody if their tie’s askew. He’s got to have a Hamburg hat and a silver-handled swan walking stick ... and I’ve ordered about 20 different mustaches.