Who better to tell lawyer jokes?

Tommy Savitt went to Brooklyn Law School, but he could have gone to Yale or Harvard. Had he been accepted. Or applied.

Badda Bing.

Seriously folks, Savitt did become a lawyer but left the practice to follow his passion to make people laugh. Real estate law wasn’t cutting it for him. And when Savitt started closing his office early to drive four hours to do stand-up for two-hundred bucks he knew something wasn’t right. So he left his office for good.

Now he gets to tell the lawyer jokes.

“I have several minutes of my act dedicated to lawyer jokes, and I consider mine very good,” said Savitt, whose Brooklyn accent is as thick as a slice of Sicilian pie and is, on its own, just darn funny.

Audiences can laugh at Savitt’s jokes, imbibe some bubbly and dine on a tasty appetizer buffet during the New Year’s Eve Comedy Gala on Wednesday at historic Everett Theatre. Joining Savitt on stage will be comedian Alysia Wood.

Having comedy of the caliber of Savitt is a real coup for Everett what with Savitt’s recent crowning as champion of the 29th annual Seattle International Stand-up Comedy Competition and as 2007 winner of the Boston Comedy Festival.

Savitt also has done dozens of national commercials for such name brands as Adidas, Monster.com and Lowe’s, where he’s the sensitive, blue-collar guy with a power drill who sheds a tear because he loves those tools … so much.

“He’s real,” said Seattle Comedy Competition producer Ron Reid, who called Everett Theatre a perfect intimate venue for Savitt’s type of stand-up. “His character is so lovable. It’s really true. He’s totally lovable and the reason he’s lovable is he’s not mean and that the humor all turns back on him.”

Some samples of Savitt’s relationship humor can be found on his Web site, www.heytommy.net, where Savitt does a question-and-answer format with such entries as:

“Hey Tommy, how do you feel about dating single moms?

“I like dating single moms because after you make love to them, you can play with their video games … and if they’re on welfare, that’s fantastic. I love government cheese.”

Besides his stand-up comedy and commercials, Savitt also is making a big mark performing overseas for the U.S. military in such places as Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Bahrain.

When Savitt, now in his mid-30s, was struggling with what to be when he grew up, he enlisted in the Marines with thoughts of becoming a judge advocate general- officer. He didn’t go through boot camp but discovered he could make even hard-nose drill sergeants laugh and that’s when he began to perform more and more stand-up.

“It’s my way of giving thanks,” Savitt said of his many trips overseas. “I have a fondness for the military. It catapulted my career and it’s my way of paying back.”

As for his career change from law to comedy, Savitt said he has no regrets, especially now that he’s winning competitions and getting steady work. He doesn’t even consider law something he can fall back on.

“I feel I’m en route, that everything is coming into place as it should. My dreams are being realized,” he said. “I could go back to law, but it would never amount to anything significant. Nah. There’s no back. The dice have been cast.”

Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.