Richard Kind is kinda famous, but not really

Richard Kind isn’t famous. He’s more famous adjacent.

Kind’s worked with lots of stars – Michael J. Fox, Steve Martin and Carol Burnett, to name a few.

He’s got celebrity, showbiz friends that he doesn’t like to talk about.

You’ve seen the veteran actor on Broadway (Max Bialoystok in Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and a Tony nomination and Drama Desk-award performance in “The Big Knife”).

You’ve also seen Kind on the big screen in movies like the Coen brothers-directed “A Serious Man,” and on the small screen in scores of TV shows including “Spin City” and as Larry David’s Cousin Andy on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

He’s currently in “Only Murders in the Building,” on Hulu; in Season 2 of “Poker Face,” on Peacock; and in “Everybody’s in LA,” on Netflix with John Mulaney.

Kind channels his best inner Ed McMahon as announcer to Mulaney’s off-kilter talk-show host. It’s Mulaney’s absurdist take on late night, kinda like what would happen if Salvador Dali had been hired to do a revamp of “The Tonight Show.”

“I’m a supporting actor. That’s what I do,” Kind said in a phone interview from Palm Springs.

But while you recognize the face, the voice (from voiceovers in “Inside Out” and “A Bug’s Life”), and the long list of credits, you may not know Kind’s name.

Hence the title of his show, “How NOT to Be Famous,” which Kind will be bringing to the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on May 18.

Kind, who has also been a regular in productions at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, will sit down with David Bianculli, one of the co-hosts of “Fresh Air” on NPR and professor of television studies at Rowan University, for a wide-ranging discussion about his career. He’ll also show clips and take questions from the audience.

“I just tell stories,” Kind said. “I talk about how sitcoms are different from movies. I talk about different acting styles. It’s a little bit educational.”

Growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs, Kind thought he was destined to take over his father’s jewelry store. He wound up taking acting classes while a student at Northwestern University, which changed his life. He learned comedy and improv at Chicago’s Practical Theater Company and as part of The Second City, which was the launching pad for John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, among others.

Among the many things he’s done as a performer, Kind points to his work on the stage as among the things of which he’s most proud.

One highlight was getting to star in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Bounce,” in 2003, at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

Mulaney came to see the show. It turns out both Kind and Mulaney are huge Sondheim fans, which led to Kind being cast in a mock documentary Mulaney and Seth Meyers wrote called “Original Cast Album: Co-Op,” about the making of the cast album of a Sondheim-esq Broadway musical.

Last season, Kind and Mulaney were also part of the cast of “All In: Comedy About Love,” by Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich.

What: “How NOT to be Famous: A Conversation with Richard Kind.” The actor speaks with David Bianculli, one of the hosts of “Fresh Air” on NPR.

For ticket information, visit the theatre website: patchoguetheatre.org