Bill Bellamy always has time for comedy

A) Comic – He’s the guy to credit or blame for the phrase “booty call.” He’s also a tireless stand-up, frequently touring the country – as he is now with his “Ladies Night Out Tour.” His online comedy special, “Stand Up For Family,” was filmed in Atlanta.

B) Actor – His resume runs from “Love Jones” to “Any Given Sunday” to the short-lived TV series, “Fastlane.” Bellamy also has a recurring role on TBS’ “Meet the Browns,” and co-starred in “Lottery Ticket,” which also filmed in Atlanta.

C) TV host – Younger fans will remember him from his days on MTV (“MTV Jamz” and “MTV Beach House”), while today’s reality TV converts identify him as the “Last Comic Standing” dude.

D) Producer – He’s handled four seasons of the TV One comedy competition show “Who’s Got Jokes” and said he’s put on his producer hat for a new comedy show in discussion.

E) Twitter fan – Though he adheres to the strict rule of “no drunk tweeting,” Bellamy is an avid Twitter fan (@billbellamy) who digs the immediacy of the platform.

Bellamy, 45, took some time while driving around L.A. to talk to the AJC about his tour, his family and his career.

Q: You’ve been in Atlanta a lot lately…

A: This was a really interesting year. My character is doing a lot of stuff on [TBS’] ‘Meet the Browns,’ and we filmed ‘Lottery Ticket’ there last year [Bellamy plays ‘Giovanni’]. You have great Waffle Houses there. I love the Waffle House.

Q: So what’s the gist of the “Ladies Night Out” tour?

A: It’s an experience-driven show. It’s bringing guys and girls together from a relationship standpoint. We give the women a reason to laugh and the guys are just trying to figure out the matrix of a woman. It’s a really fun hour and a half of, ‘Oh my God, I did that, too!’

Q: Are you seeing a lot of tables of women out for a night with their girlfriends?

A: There are still couples coming, but you see tables of all girls or all guys. The guys come because they know the women are going to be there. It’s like ‘Sex and the City’ meets comedy. The women are dressed so nice and I think some of them already tail-gated in the parking lot since they come in a little tipsy.

Q: How has your comedy changed since having kids (Bellamy has a 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son)?

A: It’s evolved in a great way because you have so many things to talk about. It’s like a whole other floor in a department store that you had no idea about. I have a lot of areas to pull from – being an entertainer, a dad, a person in Hollywood. My comedy takes you into the life of Bill Bellamy – what I see, what makes me crazy, what makes me laugh.

Q: How do your kids deal with you being on the road so much?

A: They understand that daddy has to go to work. It was great when they didn’t know the days of the week. Then, it was just ‘Daddy goes bye-bye!’ I can’t get away with that anymore now that they know how long it is between Tuesday and Friday. The lesson there is, don’t overeducate your kids!

Q: You’ve done a lot of hosting gigs. How do you make it fun?

A: I get to depict the flow and energy of whatever I’m hosting, so when I came to ‘Last Comic Standing,’ I thought the show needed some fun energy. I thought it was coming off too much like a competition show and I thought, ‘I’m gonna make this thing sing.’ I accomplished that in a positive way. It helped the comics to come out to a warm room.

Q: What kind of advice did you give any contestants who asked for it?

A: Just to ignore the cameras and do what you do like you would on a Thursday night in the club. It’s different to be in a comedy club and deal with real people and it’s organic and then come into a room with 40 cameras and every word you say has to be perfect. A lot of comics were super nervous. For some, it was their first time on TV, and then you have me on the side going, ‘Don’t choke!’

Comedy preview

“Ladies Night Out” with Bill Bellamy, J Reid, Ali and D'Lai.

8 and 10 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Sunday. $25. The Punchline, 280 Hilderbrand Dr. N.E., Atlanta. 404-252-5233, www.punchline.com .