Carrot Top bringing signature props to Foxwoods

Scott Thompson is not just a comedian. He’s also an inventor.

You may know him as Carrot Top, the orange-hued man who for 30 years has made people laugh with his jokes and props, and who is coming to perform at Foxwoods Friday and Saturday. That’s where the inventions come in.

Creating a new prop requires an idea and ingenuity. And some are more clever than funny, meaning they don’t last long in the show.

In the 1990s, when major league baseball players were on strike, replacement players were used.

“The games were horrible,” Carrot Top says. “I thought they should have a bat for the replacement players that makes a crack noise. At least they would get this (that way).”

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Not long after that, somebody made a toy bat for children that makes a crack sound.

Then there was the idea of having a toilet paper flipper – so you can have the roll your way: over or under. You can now buy that on the Internet for about $30 – none of which goes to Carrot Top.

But the props he does have? You are in for a treat.

Carrot Top, who turned 50 last month, is bringing a trunk of props for the show that he calls Carrot Classic – original props from his shows in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. And each will have a story.

He has accumulated dozens of trunks over the years, and he can mix and match for each show. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. Maybe even the “Redneck” trunk.

“I’ve got tons,” he says. “I can pick and choose what I want.”

What’s his favorite prop?

“Any one that always works,” he says. “It used to be the Wendy’s routine, with me wearing pigtails and looking through the logo. It was stupid but everybody loves it. I should bring that back.”

Carrot Top says his shows rely less on props and more on jokes and funny stories. What will remain for his shows are meet and greets. He does them during his decade-long stint at the Luxor in Las Vegas (he’s touring on a quick break from there), and he does them on the road.

“I do want to feel like I connect with the crowd,” he says. “At the end, when we have a good rapport with each other, they feel like a part of me.”

Carrot Top, who at one time was a body builder but now says he’s more of a runner, says the fan meet-and-greet is almost a purely positive experience.

“Some people get a little aggressive, but it’s mostly out of love,” he says. “They want to meet you, so it’s cool. Some women say, ‘Take your shirt off so I can see your abs.’ I’ll let them hold onto me, but I’m not taking my shirt off.”