You may not remember Bob Nelson’s name, but you know his characters.

“I have a very generic name,” Nelson admitted in a telephone interview from his home in Branson, Mo. “So they call me the ‘football guy’ or ‘Jiffy Jeff’ or ‘Eppy Epperman.’ ”

One of Nelson’s claims to fame is a takeoff on the All-America football team announcements that were made during Bob Hope’s TV Christmas specials. Another is Jiffy Jeff, a punch-drunk prizefighter. And then there’s Epperman, the quintessential intellectual nerd.

The 31-year stand-up veteran comes to Penguin’s Comedy Club in the Freight House Entertainment Complex in downtown Davenport for four shows this weekend.

They’re billed as “clean comedy,” which Nelson said is a Catch-22.

“Automatically, people think, ‘Oh, it can’t be funny.’ There’s a stigmatism that goes with ‘clean’ or ‘G-rated,’ ” he said. “The real kiss of death is ‘Christian comedian.’ ”

He’s seen others with that label and, Nelson says, they aren’t funny.

A veteran of Johnny Carson and David Letterman’s talk shows and his own HBO special in 1992, Nelson had more adult language in his act until he met a comic legend.

“Once I met Red Skelton, I cleaned it up,” he said. “He was explaining that comedy should bring health and that when you curse, it’s like putting poison in the medicine. I felt like he was handing me the torch.”

Nelson has limited his time on the road while being headquartered from April through December in Branson, where he does five shows a week.

“It’s really tough to work the road as you get older,” the 50-year-old said. “But since I loved the personal appearances so much … people said I should come to Branson.”

Nelson — who made his Grand Ole Opry debut last weekend with Christian singer Michael W. Smith — said that rough life on the road was no longer for him.

“I don’t really fit in anymore,” he said. “It’s a real blessing.”

IF YOU GO

Who: Bob Nelson

When: 8 p.m. today-Friday, Feb. 20; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

Where: Penguin’s Comedy Club, Freight House Complex, 421 W. River Drive, Davenport

How much: $10 today; $15 in advance and $17 at the door for other shows

Information: (563) 324-5233 or QCFreightHouse.com on the Web

Also on the Web: BobNelson.com