He was the snarky Hollywood Minute reporter on "Saturday Night Live." But David Spade soon became one of the celebrities he was mocking, starring in the big-screen comedy "Tommy Boy" with his good friend Chris Farley. Spade eventually ended up on the successful television sitcom "Just Shoot Me." Most recently he joined the cast of "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter." Spade will be getting back to his stand-up roots this weekend at the Royal Reception XIV to benefit CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa. Also appearing are Lionel Richie and Dennis Miller. For ticktets call 724-329-8555 or 1-800-422-2736.

Q: Do you worry that women love you for your celebrity?

A: Yes, that's what I'm hoping [laughing]. At this point, it's just such a package deal that I'll never know. I'm like, "Well, honey, what if I didn't have a job, and people didn't know who I was?" And she'd be like, "Yeah, it doesn't sound too great. I don't think I'd go out with you." [Laughing.] It's kind of hard to peel it all back right now. I just try to judge character.

Q: What's it like having a famous sister-in-law like Kate Spade?

A: Oh, it's great to have someone to fall back on if I go broke. And someone to share the giving of money to relatives. Andy and Katie have had quite a good run.

Q: Were you and your brothers competitive growing up?

A: Well, I'm the youngest. My older brother kind of did his own thing. He was protective of me but beat me up himself. I was like the beaten wife guys weren't allowed to look at. No, it wasn't really competitive, because the dad wasn't around, so we were all just trying to make it go.

Q: Comic tastes change. How do you adapt?

A: Oh, wow. That is kind of tricky. It is a little bit like the Madonna thing where you kind of have to keep up with the times. I kind of keep doing stand-up and keep going out there and hanging out with people to see who's funny and what's going on. I think my taste changes too. So I don't think [stuff] I did 10 years ago is funny, you know what I mean? I think if you just keep trying and doing your best, it will find its level.

Q: You have found success on television sitcoms.

A: I just saw Chris Rock recently, and he's like, "Funny how it shakes out. Sandler's the movie guy, you're the TV guy and I'm the stand-up." I'm like, "I guess that's how it shook out." I'm more about a lifestyle. I traveled doing stand-up and got beat up doing "Saturday Night Live." I was just living this crazy life. So when I got to stop and do "Just Shoot Me" everyone was cool, and they weren't competitive. I really liked it. "Eight Simple Rules" meant I could stay at home and try to have friends and meet people for dinner. I think I've had enough of the back-stabbing and roughness and competition on the road.

Q: SNL does not seem as clever or funny as it used to be.

A: I think you have a few bright spots, and there's a lot of [junk]. But I do think it's annoying sometimes that they laugh a lot now. We were always told not to do that. It's kind of a cheap trick to get the crowd laughing. I did it once. That's when Farley was doing his first "Motivational Speaker" [bit]. You gotta give me that. It was genuine. He did stuff he didn't do in rehearsal. You know, these guys do the sketch five times during the week in rehearsal. It's not like they are just making it up. It's almost like, lets laugh in this one. That kind of bugs me.

Q: You experienced a lot of loss in your life due to the sudden death of people close to you.

A: When my stepdad died I was 16 or 17, and that was tough, because we grew up with him. When I started stand-up and was goofing around, I did it with my best friend. I was 19. I was just screwing around then, smoking weed and drinking. He died when we were 21. So that was the single biggest kick in the [butt]. I thought, this could be my last week, and what have I done? I haven't done [squat]. So that put the pedal to the metal. When that stuff happened to Farley and Phil Hartman, .... there's no way to even deal with those things. Farley was bad enough. That threw me into a two-year tailspin. I kind of disappeared for that. I think it was just a matter of either you bum out everyday or, at some point, you go back to goofing around because laughing is really the only way to get through it. It doesn't mean I'm normal. I'm all screwed up, but at least I put on a good veneer.