Rob McElhenney catapulted from waiter to sitcom writer-star

"Yeah," the former waiter says with a smile, "I skipped a lot of steps."

He went from being a waiter working in Hollywood to becoming the star, writer and executive producer of his own sitcom, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

With friends Charlie Day and Glen Howerton, he used a digital camera that cost less than $200 and filmed a pilot for "Sunny." He took it to FX, which liked the dark comedy about friends who own a neighborhood bar in Philadelphia.

"We shot it on camcorders. My friend Glen actually had a pretty cool little camera. So we shot (the first episode)," he says.

"We went into Charlie's apartment. I wrote the script, and we shot it. We figured out how to use (the) final cut (program) on our computer, and it worked out."

McElhenney took the pilot to his manager, who showed it to an agent, who set up a meeting with FX to look it over.

"I was still working in a restaurant when we got the pickup for the series," McElhenney says. "There wasn't a lot of money coming even after FX said they wanted it."

So by day he was an up-and-coming television talent. By night he served you your dinner.

FX President John Landgraf says he isn't surprised to find McElhenney being so un-Hollywood-like.

"Rob is a very nice guy, not very cynical," says Landgraf. "He's not like the typical comedy writer with this lavish lifestyle. He has no lifestyle. He's here to do this show. It's his passion."

Working as a waiter while doing the first episode of "Sunny" was a humbling experience for McElhenney, especially in a not-so-humble town like Hollywood.

"To be honest with you, I was still broke after we sold the pilot so it didn't matter how (customers) treated me," he says. "I needed the money. I didn't mind waiting tables. In my last job, I liked the people I worked with."

But it was a struggle in those final waiting days.

"The struggle was actually getting up and going," he says.

On TV

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on FX.