MORGANTOWN — Stevie Starr says he’s never been sick a day in his life.
What’s the Scottish entertainer’s secret?
A steady diet of liquid soap, butane and pocket change.
The self-proclaimed professional regurgitator has spent 35 years improbably swallowing everyday objects, from pool balls and light bulbs to Rubik’s Cubes and live goldfish, and returning them from his body as dry (and, in the case of the fish, as alive) as when they went in.
One of the latest additions to his act, which he’ll bring back to Morgantown at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Metropolitan Theatre, involves an undissolved Alka-Seltzer tablet.
He also often manipulates the objects for audiences. For instance, he’ll swallow a nut and bolt separately, asking crowd members where they would like to see the nut — in the middle of bolt or near one of the ends — producing whatever finished product they desire.
It’s something many have to see to believe, and throughout his career, Starr has had the chance to show plenty of people.
He’s appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” and was a season 10 contestant on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” finishing fourth. In January, he returned or “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.”
“I get a lot of support,” he said of the show’s panel of judges. “Heidi [Klum] is my biggest fan.”
Starr, who is the only performer to put on such a show around the globe, discovered his singular ability as child.
He lived in an orphanage and hid his change by swallowing it, regurgitating the coins as he needed them. He then discovered he could do the same thing with a wide variety of objects.
So, has he ever attempted to swallow and bring back up something he couldn’t handle?
“No,” he said. “I know the limits of my stomach and what can go in.”
That doesn’t mean that audience members don’t sometimes get nervous.
“During a routine, if I see something lying there or if someone is playing with something, a toy or a key ring, I’ll swallow it, and the person may ask for that back because it’s their front door key,” he said, laughing.
Comedy is a big part of Starr’s act.
“You can’t go up on stage and not be funny,” he said. “Through the years, the comedy has naturally developed.”
And part of that humor comes from people’s reactions.
“Watching someone catch sugar that’s come from my mouth dry, back into their hands, is pretty funny,” he said.
Less amusing, the time an inebriated show-goer decided to attempt to replicate Starr.
“I was working a nightclub in Ireland and one guy said, ‘I can do what you do,’ grabbed the coins and nearly choked to death. He was very, very drunk but managed to cough them up.”
Luckily, crowd members are usually smarter than that. Though he said he does get some interesting requests.
“One man asked me to swallow his wife and not return her.”
- Stevie Starr will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Metropolitan Theatre. Tickets cost between $14.95-$34.95. Info and tickets: showclix. com/event/stevie-starr-com
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