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Stand-up comedian Christopher Titus will be taping his one-man show "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding"

Christopher Titus is not your average humorist. While some comedians joke about politics, religion or a crummy waiter they encountered the night before, Titus chooses to poke fun at custody battles, mentally insane family members and child molesters, all from his own family.

Titus, who will be taping his one-man show “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding” at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse this Saturday night, has license to use such provocative jokes, considering he gets all of the inspiration straight from his own life.

“My mom was in and out of a mental institution by her 20s, and my dad was married six times,” said Titus. “And when I say my mom was crazy, I mean in the ‘we, the jury find this woman insane’ crazy.”

Titus also sees the humor in himself and decided at 17, after freakishly falling into a bonfire, to sober up and show people that it’s better to laugh at life than to complain about it.

“I really just want to make people laugh and show how stupid and absurd we are as human beings,” said Titus. “If you talk to someone seriously, it’s not going to have the same impact as if they’re laughing because then they’re open and free about it. Within the laughter there’s a window where you can get something in, but you have to make them laugh; you can’t be sappy for sappy’s sake.”

In an attempt to make sense of life, Titus tried therapy, enlisting the same therapist as the Menendez brothers. But the stand-up comic eventually found that the man he hired to help him had three mistresses and had told each of them that if they talked about their affairs, he would send the Menendez brothers to kill them. It was then that Titus realized he would be better off working out his problems on his own.

“I’m paying this guy, and my problems were nothing compared to his,” said Titus. “I realized that I was becoming one of those people who just bitches about their lives, so I decided that I just needed to put the past behind me.”

In “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding,” Titus parodies his usual comedy routine, portraying the “normal” dysfunctional family. And while Titus’ humor has received some criticism, it has actually helped bring some families closer together.

“A big biker guy came up to me once and said he hadn’t seen his family in a while,” said Titus. “But after watching my show and seeing the humor in it, he said he was going to go home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 22 years.”

Titus’ life has revolved around comedy before he was even legal. In his first gigs, he would sometimes wait outside comedy clubs, suddenly run in to do his set and run back out after it was over so he wouldn’t get in trouble. He later starred in his own sitcom “Titus,” which ran on Fox for three years until getting the ax partially due to its risqué material.

Said Titus, “I think this show went a little too far, even for Fox.”

When it comes down to it, the whole point for Titus’ comedy is to get over the problems in life and try to find the humor in them so you can move on and have fun.

“Don’t try to fit in,” Titus said. “Be deranged and the crowd will make you their leader.”

Tapings of “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding” are scheduled at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20. Visit www.tickets.ucla.edu for more information.