(FORTUNE Magazine) – ON THE PAIN SCALE, WATCHing bad comedy probably falls somewhere between dental surgery and having dinner with Anna Nicole Smith. It's pain that John Hakel, vice president of government relations for the Associated General Contractors of California, knows all too well. Hakel is responsible for booking the entertainment when his 1,500-member trade group convenes, and until recently the crowd often went home disappointed--or worse. Hakel remembers one particularly bad comedian who regaled the appalled audience with jokes about girl-on-girl sex and other stuff best left to cable at 3 A.M. "I think the guy came half-blitzed," Hakel recalls. "Right from that day I started looking around for a better alternative."

His search led him to Clean Comedians, a talent agency based in Los Angeles County that offers a roster of more than 100 nonoffensive comics and magicians who specialize in working corporate functions, cruise ships, and other potentially touchy environments. President Adam Christing, a comedian and magician who, working out of a spare bedroom, founded the company in 1990, now books shows for the likes of Prudential and Oracle. He says his firm's appeal is no mystery: "If you're an event planner, your reputation and job are on the line."

Christing, who says the national handwringing following last year's Super Bowl gave him a bump in bookings, personally screens all the material himself. Comedian Greg Hahn, who's performed at companies like Pfizer (without, incredibly, making a single Viagra joke), says he's okay with the censorship. "It doesn't affect my artistic process," Hahn says. "And from a business standpoint, the more people that can enjoy your show, the bigger your audience can be." -- Reed Tucker