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For funnyman Jim Norton, being king of sex-excess is OK

Jim Norton hardly seemed the guy to be shuffling up the New York Times best-seller list, passing such heavies as Ronald Reagan's diaries and books about Albert Einstein, the CIA and yet another literary dog.

Jim Norton hardly seemed the guy to be shuffling up the

New York Times

best-seller list, passing such heavies as Ronald Reagan's diaries and books about Albert Einstein, the CIA and yet another literary dog.

In fact, the week before Norton's "Happy Endings" (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $23.95) came in fourth on that august list, the No. 4 book was Al Gore's screed on the environmental apocalypse.

"You look at it and his book is about saving the planet and mine, well, mine is about [having sex with] fat chicks," said Norton. "It's about the same, I guess."

Norton is at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa this weekend for three sold-out shows. The book's good fortune gives him a rare comedic quadrifecta over the past couple of years - success in TV (a meaty role in HBO's "Lucky Louie"), radio (a regular on "Opie & Anthony"), the book and, as evidenced by his sold-out Borgata shows, stand-up.

Not bad for a guy with a somewhat troubled childhood in North Jersey and a self-confessed list of overcome - and not so overcome - addictions rivaling the best of tabloid headliners.

Norton's book, and often a good part of his stand-up routine, centers around what he calls his sex addiction. Confessions abound about myriad visits to prostitutes, forays into just about every position and permutation of heterosexual sex, and childhood proto-homosexual experiences. It is a strange combination of annoying, terrifying and oddly endearing.

Often, as Norton hopes, it is also funny.

"There has just been a lot of sexual energy my whole life," Norton said from Harrisburg earlier this month. He often sandwiches in stand-up tours on weekends while doing "Opie & Anthony" mornings during the week.

"People think talking about sex - being dirty, I guess - is dumber than talking about politics in comedy. But any hack can say George Bush is stupid. It takes effort to find something new, something personal, talking about sex and making it humorous."

Norton occasionally does politics, mostly about that stupidity of Washington politicians, but the cover of "Happy Endings" makes no bones about his usual diatribes. It is a photo of him naked and lying back in a dentist's chair, looking terrified as an obese woman gazes at him in ecstasy. The sub-title is "The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch."

"There was never abuse in my family, nothing like that," he said. "It's just that I guess I discovered pornography early on and it was like my dopamine drip, leading me through addictions from cigarettes to alcohol to sex. Sex seems to just stay around."

Norton most laments the cancellation of "Lucky Louie," in which he played a friend of Louis C.K., the head of a loud and demonstrative working-class Boston family. He had hoped that HBO would stay with it despite only moderate critical reviews and OK ratings.

HBO did give him a stand-up special, which aired in October. Now, though, it is back to the work, he said.

He is writing another book, tentatively titled, "Why I Hate Your Guts," preparing for another HBO special and taking new stand-up material to places like Harrisburg and the Borgata.

"You have to always try to be fresh in comedy," said Norton, who will turn 40 in July. "I know people ask for old routines, but comedy is about surprising them with something new. In music, you can do old songs, but what good is an old joke? You've heard it before, so you don't laugh. Hopefully, I will never fall into that trap." *

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, One Borgata Way, 9 tonight through Sunday, 609-317-1000, www.theborgata.com.