Kevin Nealon brings his comedy to The Arts Campus at Willits on Saturday

Laughter is best when it’s shared, according to Kevin Nealon. And he should know. He’s been making crowds laugh for more than four decades, from his nine years on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) to his television and film roles, as well as his stand-up.

On Saturday, March 22, he performs two shows — an early and late one — at The Arts Campus at Willits.

“Laughter is contagious, and I think it’s much easier to laugh when other people are laughing, as opposed to sitting at home,” Nealon said. “I’m sure somebody’s done a psychological study of that. It always kind of amuses me how joyful it is to laugh with other people and to look at the other person while they’re laughing. That’s what people do; they laugh, and they look at the other person. It really brings people together. I feel it kind of makes them forget all the insanity that’s in the world.”

Granted, he admits his brand of comedy leans a bit toward the dark side, with his dry wit. But his friendly demeanor and observational humor filled with personal anecdotes also add relatable humor to the material. It’s his unique point of view that resonates with audiences, whether that was the straight-faced Weekend Update or quirky characters like Franz on SNL in the mid-80s and early ’90s or his current standup routines.

“My goal is just basically to deliver the package that I formulated in my head, which is: The premise, the set up and the delivery, or punch line, of that particular bit. It’s kind of like sending a package. You put it all together, you tape it up, and you put it in the mail, and then the other person receives it, and you go, ‘Yes, it worked,'” he said.

At 71, he still loves standup, as well as acting and creating his online series “Hiking with Kevin,” the latter of which stars celebrities like Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, and Tiffany Haddish as they walk the hills of Los Angeles and chat with Nealon.

Although he’s been asked thousands of times about his years with SNL, he doesn’t mind talking about that formative experience, where he learned to write, and then perform and improvise in front of a live audience. He understands people want to know about the most popular and longest running show he had been on because he said he couldn’t help but ask Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow about “Friends” on his hiking series.

“Of course, I wanted to hear about ‘Friends,’ so, after a while, like you (asked me about SNL), I would ask them about ‘Friends.’ I loved working on SNL. It was really a different kind of an avenue for me because I was so used to doing stand-up and performing by myself, and I never did sketch comedy. I never did accents or impressions or characters in my act, so going into that, it was an entirely different world for me. It was a learning experience. I had to learn how to write sketches and keep them short and funny and interesting,” he said. “But I think the main thing was working with everybody as a team.”

After nine years, he said it ran its course, and it was time to move on. He did a couple sit-coms after that, but in the back of his mind he always wondered: “Would there be anything that would fulfill me in the way SNL did?”

Enter the hit Showtime series “Weeds” in 2004, when Nealon played Doug Wilson, a city councilman, accountant and “giant stoner.”

“Although it wasn’t live, it was a single camera, and it was kind of like a film, and people really reacted to it. They loved it, so that made me feel good,” he said. “It’s just like my hiking show: Every time I think about maybe stopping because I’ve done over 150 hikes, somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Oh I love your hiking show; when’s the next one?’ so it kind of pulls me back in.”

He hasn’t done any hikes in Colorado, and he had hoped to snowshoe with William H. Macy, since he’ll be in town. But, he’s just getting over a cold, which isn’t the most conducive to trekking through snow by day and taking the stage twice in one night.

In addition to his television and online credits, his acting career included “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer,” “Joe Dirt,” “Anger Management” and many more. Though film doesn’t provide the immediate feedback that standup does, he still appreciates telling a story, working with fellow actors, and exploring every little facet about the characters he plays.

“It opened my eyes at how much fun acting is. I enjoy the whole process of putting together a character and finishing a story,” he said, adding that he also loves standup for its immediate response and the fact that he’s in control of the material. “You know, you’re not editing it. You’re doing it yourself on stage, and there’s something about the laughter that just fills me up with so much enjoyment. I just love doing it, so I’m always kind of working at it and performing, and it was the same with the acting. I got some really good shows, and that really put a spark in me, so I continue to do it to this day ’cause I still love it.”

As if standup, television, film, and a robust online presence isn’t enough, he released his latest book, “I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame,” in October 2022, featuring full-color caricatures he painted to accompany personal experiences and anecdotes about his famous buddies.

And, the comedy icon isn’t slowing down any time soon, nor are his fans, with sold-out shows in both Beaver Creek and Basalt — though, as of this writing, tickets are still available for the late show in Basalt.