Fathers? George Lopez never met his. The guy left when Mr. Lopez was an infant and was never heard from again.

Birthdays? Mr. Lopez never celebrated one while growing up in the San Fernando Valley. He was raised by a grandmother whose own life of hardship, he said, left her ill-equipped to express love or joy, much less indulge in frivolities like parties.

To top it off, Mr. Lopez was endowed with what he describes as a large, lumpy head, the kind that turns schoolmates into sadistic teasers. ''And I was the darkest kid in the neighborhood,'' Mr. Lopez added. ''I got called a lot of names,''

In short, he had no choice but to grow up a comedian.

Now 41, Mr. Lopez is still mining what to most people would be a rich vein of gloom as the unlikely star of ABC's new family sitcom, ''The George Lopez Show,'' a television rarity as much for its all-Latino cast as for its occasionally heart-wrenching bite. Reminiscent of ''Roseanne'' in its dark humor, the show is winning good ratings even though the comedy is infused with what Mr. Lopez calls ''a huge, huge layer of sadness'' and the dysfunction of what he describes as his ''emotionally abusive'' childhood. Somehow, he transforms all of it into laughter.