Alot of people don't know I do stand-up," says Kevin Nealon. No, most of us remember Nealon as the suave, understated fake-news anchor on "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1990s.

In fact, though, the tall comedian came to the attention of "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels after a stellar routine performed on the biggest stage of all, "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," in 1984.

"I did a good set, I got to sit down with Johnny, and nothing has been able to surpass that in my career, even doing 'Saturday Night Live,' " Nealon says. "The thrill of doing 'The Tonight Show,' that natural high."

Nealon is in town at the new Improv at the Majestic Theatre, performing at 7:30 and 9:45 tonight and 7 p.m. Sunday. That means he'll be competing with a new special, "Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found," airing at 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC, which features him prominently.

Nealon joined the cast of "SNL" in 1986 at a decisive moment in its history. Since its original cast members left in 1980, the show had been rudderless. Some weeks it was brilliant, other weeks unwatchable. At one point NBC seriously considered canceling "SNL." But that class of '86 - which also included Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks, and Dennis Miller - restored "SNL's" luster and its future.

Besides touring, Nealon is working on a comedy book for superstar editor Judith Regan and was in the cast of "Weeds," a series that aired this fall on Showtime. In "Weeds," Mary Louise Parker plays a suburban mom who sells dope to make ends meet. The show has had critical praise and enough viewers to eclipse Showtime's overhyped Kirstie Alley comedy "Fat Actress."

I interviewed Nealon at the Improv after his Thursday performance. What have you heard about a second season of "Weeds"?

Still waiting to hear. Critics liked it, and I think it was Showtime's No. 1 show. So it has a pretty good chance.

Were you surprised that no one seemed to object to the show being about marijuana use?

I was. I thought there was gonna be letters, protests ... but I think people liked the show because it was so real. "Desperate Housewives" is a good show, but it's fictitious. But what really goes on in the suburbs is infidelity, eating disorders, alcoholism, pot ... it's all that stuff, passed on from the parents to the kids.

Now, if you had been with "SNL" in the 1970s instead of the '80s, you could have said, "And we had all that on the show."

Yeah, people ask me, "When you guys went on 'SNL,' were there drugs?" And there was absolutely nothing. That's because the show was at the nadir of its existence, and we all wanted the show to work. For the most part we were all responsible people. Some of us were married with kids. We were just trying to revive the show.

The story is that Lorne Michaels offered you the job ...

... and I said, "Well, give me the weekend to think about it." And he said, "OK, you think about it, and we'll see you in New York on Monday."

There's a clip of you at the end of this TV special that's airing Sunday. You say that for a lot of the comics, "SNL" was just a launchpad to another career, but for you it was the pinnacle of your career. When you look back at where a lot of those comics wound up, I think you may have the more realistic outlook.

I didn't see it as the pinnacle of my career, but I did see it as a career. Working with talented writers and all these great hosts and musicians, it was a great job. Why leave? You've got a sure thing. It's fun, it's exciting, it's live TV in New York City - who wants to leave that?
Some people went in there and wanted to be overnight stars. And if they weren't, they weren't getting sketches on, they'd throw furniture, complain And I would just be sitting there. I was like the guy in prison who was a survivor, you know? I knew how to sell the cigarettes and smuggle stuff in. I just didn't have that kind of ambition or desire.

Well, it worked out pretty well for you.

I've done all the things I wanted to do. I've just been offered - have you ever heard of "Dancing With the Stars?"

No kidding! They asked you to do that?

Yeah. I'm not a dancer, I'd have to go learn. But first I want to learn who else is going to be on the show. So far I think they have Jerry Rice, Robert Wagner, Lisa Rinna and Nick Lachey, he's got a brother, Drew Lachey. So if it's a lot of people like that, I'm not sure I want to be part of it.

Oh, you could take all those people.

(Laughs.) It's not a matter of taking them, it's a matter of not being scrutinized too much. It's like when I play "Celebrity Poker Showdown." I don't want to be the first one out. I don't want to look like an idiot. Or clumsy. But I think it'd be fun.