That's probably because they never saw him perform. They only knew his name from the countless newspaper ads run by "Zanies" Comedy Club touting TP Mulrooney as "Our Favorite Comic." A club comic who can survive the rigorous decency standards of PBS? They doubted it.

But the hundreds of thousands of TP Mulrooney fans weren't surprised. They've seen Mulrooney deliver big laughs without descending to the usual tawdriness of the clubs.

Mitzi Shore wasn't surprised. The owner of Hollywood's legendary "Comedy Store," years ago inscripted the name "TP Mulrooney" on the club's "Wall of Fame", not far from "Rodney Dangerfield", who used to pay Mulrooney $50 a joke back in the early 80's.

Commercial TV called Mulrooney, but it's American Stew that whets his appetite for dissection of all things "American." Mulrooney's hilarious and personal evaluation of our growing fascination with the game of golf, for instance, has done more than make him a favorite at golf events across the country. It proves how closely TP Mulrooney monitors our national pulse.

That's why PBS wants TP Mulrooney.

"TP Mulrooney's on-air presence has infused our channel with a humor that is intelligent and thoughtful while at the same time being funny and entertaining," writes WYCC-Chicago PBS Production Manager Claire Wapole. "TP's professionalism could set the PBS standard."