As an all-around entertainer, Cedric lives up to his name

For those who can’t imagine the immortal words “One of these days, Alice – Pow! Right in the kisser!” being uttered by anyone other than the beloved Jackie Gleason – who immortalized the character of Ralph Kramden on the 1950s TV series “The Honeymooners” – don’t fret.

Cedric the Entertainer doesn’t say them.

These are different times, and Cedric’s Ralph doesn’t threaten his wife in the new film version of “The Honeymooners.”

Yet he and Gleason’s brash New York City bus driver intersect in a big way: He is the everyman everybody knows.

He was the Original King of Comedy who did the funny-bone-tingling bit on how black people have to turn down their car radios so they can concentrate while parallel parking.

He was the overzealous Casanova who courted his girlfriends with disastrous results in those Bud Light commercials.

And as veteran hair-cutter Eddie in the controversial 2002 comedy “Barbershop,” his social conservatism was as sharp as his seldom-used razor.

The real Cedric (whose given name is Cedric Kyles) is an everyman, too – albeit one with a penchant for fedoras, single-button suits and sparkly jewels.

On a recent afternoon, he sported a rose-tinged gold timepiece encrusted with bezeled diamonds, a gift from wife Lorna.

This has been a pretty good year for the 41-year-old showman. He executive-produced “The Honeymooners” after playing the long-suffering Nate Johnson in the 2004 comedy “Johnson Family Vacation.” He also voices Maurice the lemur in the new animated hit “Madagascar.”

His workmanlike attitude was instilled by his mother, Rosetta, a reading teacher who earned her master’s degree at night. His father wasn’t around much.

The young Cedric was already a joker. “People used to wait in the cafeteria to see who I’d talk about next,” he says.

But he wasn’t a class clown, because his mother was an educator. Seeking an outlet for his talent, he signed up for every stage production his high school offered.

He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a communications degree in 1987 and took a job as a claims adjuster. But after he won first place and $500 at a St. Louis comedy night, he took a leave of absence from his job.

“I told myself I’d give (comedy) three years,” he says.

His pursuit took him to Dallas, where he met fellow comic Steve Harvey, who invited him to be part of a new UPN sitcom. On “The Steve Harvey Show,” he played the best friend, football coach Cedric Jackie Robinson, for six seasons.

In 2002, he created “Cedric the Entertainer Presents,” a comedy-variety series that ended after one season on Fox.

Despite his diverse resume, Cedric says he’ll never stray from his first love: stand-up comedy. He’ll display his sharply drawn observational wit on a 12-city tour that starts Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.

He’s also working with Sony Pictures to develop the story of Louis Armstrong, in which he would star.

The birthday bunch

Singer Vic Damone is 77. Actor-singer Jim Nabors is 75. Jazz musician Chick Corea is 64. Actor Timothy Busfield is 48. Singer Meredith Brooks is 47. Blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 28. Singer Robyn is 26.