He's been Mr. No Depth Perception. He's been Franz. He's been Mr. Subliminal.

But most people don't know that former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Kevin Nealon has been a stand-up comic for 30 years.

"I was a fan of Kevin Nealon from his 'SNL' days and loved his characters," said Keith Stubbs, stand-up comedian and owner of the four Wiseguys comedy clubs in Utah. "However, [not] until I saw him perform his stand-up comedy live at the HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival did I realize how truly funny he is. He has a unique style and will absolutely rock."

Nealon, 56, who perfected his unique straight-man skills as the "Weekend Update" anchor on "Saturday Night Live," will perform at Ogden's Wiseguys on Friday in between shoots for his popular Showtime TV show, "Weeds."

"There's immediate gratification" with stand-up, said Nealon in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune . "There's something about laughter that's contagious. I've always admired the craft."

Nealon grew up in Connecticut and began performing comedy when he wasn't playing football at Fairfield University. After graduating from the Connecticut college, he moved out West to see if cracking jokes would pay the bills.

While in Los Angeles, Nealon roomed with a then-unknown Dana Carvey. They became fast friends with comic Jan Hooks, who at the time was being considered for a position at "Saturday Night Live." Hooks landed a spot on the show, and then Carvey followed suit.

Carvey persuaded "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels to give Nealon a look. Michaels liked what he saw and offered Nealon a job as a writer and cast member.

During the initial phone call, Nealon said he would have to think about it.

Michaels replied, "I'll see you on Monday morning."

Nealon was there on time and ended up staying for nine seasons.

He said he was hired over two other people -- Kevin Pollack and Jim Carrey -- because the show didn't need another impressionist.

Nealon was the straight man in many famous "Saturday Night Live" skits. But he is best-known for the character Franz, a muscle-bound bodybuilder modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger. He still doesn't mind when people he meets try to do a Franz impression. "It wasn't that much suffering," he said about those scenarios. "We even heard some astronauts do it on the [Space] Shuttle."

Nealon landed a role on the TV show "Weeds" and is signed on to do another season, the show's sixth. When "Weeds" is on hiatus, he sharpens his relatively clean, observational humor skills on the road. He just finished up recording his first comedy special, which is being sold on DVD. It is titled "Now Hear Me Out."