Gottfried Certainly Leaves an Impression, Mostly Good : Comedy: To many, he’s the comedian’s comedian; others have been known to walk out of his shows. You can decide for yourself tonight when he appears at the Laff Stop.

You won’t find too many people who are indifferent about Gilbert Gottfried.

Some folks dislike intensely his enormously unusual stand-up act--perhaps they don’t get it--as evidenced by the number of times over the years that his performances have cleared the room.

Others hold that Gottfried is perhaps the single most brilliant, most adventurous comedian working today. His rare local appearance tonight at the Laff Stop in Newport Beach is being talked up by many members of the local comedy scene as the must-see show.

He’s long been considered the comedian’s comedian, and in fact was named just that in a Vanity Fair poll that also featured such other peer salutes as “Director’s Director,” “Musician’s Musician,” and “Actor’s Actor.” (His other credits include a yearlong stint on “Saturday Night Live,” a cameo role in “Beverly Hills Cop 2,” two Cinemax specials, and occasional appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman.”)

When the New York-based funnyman made another of his infrequent West Coast visits two years ago with a showcase performance at the Hollywood Improv, the audience was crawling with comedians, including Garry Shandling and Dennis Miller. And in an interview with The Times last year, Allan Havey--himself one of the premier comics around--said: “Probably the best comedian in the country is Gilbert Gottfried.”

So, what’s all the fuss about--pro and con?

The first thing you notice about this diminutive, dark-haired man--and one of the things that may alienate some audience members--is that he performs with his eyes closed. He’s frequently asked about this habit and, fittingly, he not only refuses to give a straight answer, but generally opts for something quite skewed, like:

“It’s a trick I picked up from Helen Keller. You know, with her it was a total gimmick. She had 20/20 vision and perfect hearing. Most people don’t know that. But she figured she’d get better press the other way.”

Another thing you notice is the volume of his delivery. Not that he operates with the blast-furnace intensity of a Sam Kinison or the amped-out dynamics of a Bob Goldthwait. But you certainly don’t have to ask Gottfried to speak up. Or to repeat things.

Indeed, he has transformed repetition into high art: In the course of his act, he will repeat some words or phrases-- successively ; we’re not talking something as conventional as callbacks here. He will do it so many times that he if were a dinner companion, you would quickly ask for the check, or throttle him. But, somehow, in Gottfried’s hands, the repetition generally works.

Intentionally issuing statements from the Dept. of Redundancy Department isn’t the only way Gottfried is manipulating the conventions of stand-up. He lampoons various aspects of the whole joke-telling process--sometimes this is only apparent in the subtext of his act, but other times it’s more obvious, like when he periodically dons horn-rimmed glasses and comments on the show: “That’s not funny,” “I don’t get it,” etc.

Mostly, though, a Gottfried performance is a free-wheeling hodge-podge of distinctive observations, wonderfully obscure references, lightning-fast changes of subjects where the tangents suddenly become the main topic, and impressions that are singularly deft and daft--particularly in the way that he creates unique hybrids of characters and scenes.

For instance, he might do impressions of both James Mason and Richard Burton, but only after casting them in a segment of “The Honeymooners.”

The flip side to that, sort of, would be his portrayal of Ralph Kramden as Humphrey Bogart in the final scene of “Casablanca” (this is the one David Letterman always asks him to do whenever Gottfried appears on “Late Night”).

Similarly, he recounts rather improbable meetings with famous--or infamous--figures. In one such conversation, Gottfried remembers asking a young Adolf Hitler “What do you like to do?,” to which Hitler responded “I don’t know, but I like to work with people.”

In another, he reveals that “I had dinner the other night with Charles Manson. In the middle of the meal he said to me, ‘Gilbert, is it hot in here, or I am I crazy?’ ”

Of course, he’s capable of forging a lot further into left field: “I crashed over the Andes Mountains, but I never ate a soccer player. I brought one along just in case. . . . We were sitting around, and some guy yells out, ‘We’re hungry, let’s break open the soccer player.’ I said ‘Come on, you didn’t even touch the pilot.’ ”

It’s precisely that kind of bit that leaves some comedy club patrons shaking their heads--and others shaking with laughter. Near as we can tell, Gilbert Gottfried wouldn’t want it any other way.

Gilbert Gottfried performs tonight at 8 and 9:45 at the Laff Stop, 2122 S.E. Bristol, Newport Beach. Tickets: $12.50. Information: (714) 852-8762.