The ‘Platypus Man’ Puts New Fare on the Bill : Stand-up: Comic Richard Jeni--make that award-winning comic Richard Jeni--is taking a breather, playing the Improv and preparing for a sitcom pilot.

As a keen observer of the human condition who creates extended anecdotal bits marked by masterful timing and a theatrical flair for character impressions, Richard Jeni has earned a reputation as one of the top comedians on the club scene.

But after five consecutive nominations for the American Comedy Award for best male stand-up comic, Jeni admitted he had begun to think he’d never win.

“I got to the point where I didn’t think about it much this time,� said Jeni, who nabbed the award at the recent American Comedy Awards ceremony. He headlines at the Irvine Improv tonight through Sunday.

“I got myself into the mode of ignoring it, so I wouldn’t have to be disappointed if I didn’t win again. Before the show I was just walking around chatting as though it was any other night and feeling that way too.�

Winning the award at last, he said by phone from his home in Los Angeles last week, “is more personal satisfaction than a career boost. Like I said at the awards show, ‘I was nominated for this thing five times and didn’t expect to win it: Proving once again that a show-biz award is a little like a social disease. Nobody really deserves it, but if you screw around long enough it’s bound to happen.’ �

After spending a year developing new material for his latest HBO comedy special, “Richard Jeni: Platypus Man,� which aired in February, Jeni is taking a breather. But not for long.

In April, he’ll be filming a sitcom pilot for ABC in which he plays “a New York cop who has to leave the force and go to a small town on the Canadian border where I can encounter all these wacky rural types.�

It is, he concedes, “a pretty lame premise as far as network TV shows go. So it’s got a good chance.�

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In the meantime, he said, the only club date he’s got lined up is “this Irvine gig.� He has, in fact, reached the stage in his career where he says he may not even be doing many more club appearances. He’s been booking more theater dates for the spring and summer.

Jeni said his current act includes a 50-50 mixture of the material that appeared on his HBO special and “new stuff.�

“It’s kind of tricky when you do a special,� he said. “When people come out to see you they really want to see a lot of the stuff they saw on TV. But you don’t want to do exclusively that. Otherwise it gives the impression that’s all you have and people won’t come back.�

As a performer, he said, “you like to put in enough stuff that keeps the audience guessing, so when they put their hard-earned money down to buy a ticket they know they’ll be seeing something new.�

* Richard Jeni headlines today through Sunday at the Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive. $10 and $12. (714) 854-5455.