COMEDIAN LIKES TO KEEP HIS AUDIENCES GUESSING.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

With a resume that includes credits on 39 TV shows, 28 movies, 12 stage plays, three comedy albums and a couple of comedy videos, Reynaldo Rey might best be described as a versatile performer.

Rey, who will be performing Thursday in Palmdale, also claims versatility in his stand-up comedy: He says he has never done the same show twice in his 24 years in the business.

``I take pride in my versatility,'' Rey said. ``You don't know what to expect from me. Just expect to laugh.''

Rey will perform at 8:30 and 10 p.m. Thursday at Louisiana Hots, 2728 E. Palmdale Blvd. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased after 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or at the door.

Rey was a school teacher in Cleveland when he first got his chance to perform.

``I was telling jokes at a party, and a nightclub owner happened to be there and asked me to tell the same jokes at his club,'' Rey said. ``I taught school during the week and played at the club Friday and Saturday nights. It got to the point where I was making more at the club than I was teaching.''

One night the singing group, the Ojays, saw Rey perform and signed him up to be their opening act. Rey never taught again.

Another major break came in the mid-1970s when comedian Redd Foxx saw Rey performing at a night club on Hollywood Boulevard. Foxx liked what he saw and took Rey under his wing.

``He managed me for 12 years,'' Rey said. ``I was on every show he did as a writer and as an actor.''

More recently, Rey played Ray the mail carrier on NBC's ``227.'' Rey also wrote, produced and directed a stage show called ``Hollywood P.O.'' that starred himself and Sherman Hemsley of ``The Jeffersons'' and ``Amen.''

``Hollywood P.O.,'' a comic look at postal workers, may become a replacement show for one of the networks, Rey said.

Rey is now a judge on ``Comic View,'' a comedy competition on the BET cable channel.

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Photo

Photo: Reynaldo Rey

Performing in Palmdale