David Letterman knows former ISU student Jake Johannsen’s name.

“Dave is a pretty friendly guy, as far as treating me on the show,” Johannsen said. “I mean, we aren’t going to be the best of friends, and go out bowling. He remembers where I live, my girlfriend’s name, things like that. The girlfriend thing is pretty tough though, because it changes from time to time.”

An ISU student from 1978-82, Johannsen is now a successful comedian who will be stopping by Stephens Auditorium to perform at 8 tonight. This will be his second stop in Ames in the last 10 years.

Johannsen has made more than 30 appearances on “Late Show with David Letterman” which has probably helped Letterman remember Johannsen’s girlfriend’s name.

He has also been a guest on shows such as “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” HBO’s “One Night Stand,” and “Politically Incorrect.”

Johannsen dabbled in pre-vet, pre-advertising and chemical engineering majors prior to leaving Iowa State. He got a boost in 1986 when he appeared at an open mic night at Cobb’s Theater in San Francisco where he won a comedy contest. From that point, his career took off.

In 1994, Johannsen was voted “Best Male Standup Comedian” for the 1994 American Comedy Awards. He also had his own HBO comedy special called “This’ll Take About an Hour.” People Magazine listed the show as one of the 10 best television shows that year.

Johannsen has also appeared in a handful of films including “Love Bytes,” “Murder On My Block,” “Loaded Weapon,” and “Casual Sex.” He can also be seen in Robert Altman’s “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle,” which co-starred Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Campbell Scott. The film was honored at the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to cracking jokes during his visit to Iowa State, Johannsen will also be meeting a group of journalism students for lunch, as well as speaking with Honors Program students.

“I was in the Honors Program my freshman year, and the same professor is still there, so I agreed to go ahead and do that,” he said.

Just because Johannsen came from Iowa doesn’t mean his act is filled with Midwestern values.

“My comedy is not necessarily politically incorrect or dirty,” he explained. “I tend to base my comedy about what interests me. I will say that some of those little four-letter words do get slipped in.”