When you’re talking comedy greats today, Judy Gold is truly worthy of her last name. Whether it was as writer and producer of the Rosie O’Donnell show, starring in two acclaimed Off Broadway one-woman shows (“The Judy Show — My Life as a Sitcom” and “25 Questions for a Jewish Mother”) or just the nearly 25 years she has been doing standup, the comedian delivers a gold-medal performance at every turn.

On Jan. 27, Gold will be teaming with fellow NSFW (not safe for work) comedian Bruce Vilanch for a show at the Ridgefield Playhouse titled “Big and Small.” Gold spoke with us about her upcoming show and getting her start in standup.

Keith Loria: Preview a little of what we can expect from you on the night.

Judy Gold: I’ll be ranting and going off on how much I hate everyone, which seems to be the theme of my act now. It’s going to be a really fun night.

KL: How do you and Bruce complement each other on stage?

JG: I love doing this show. Bruce is like a joke machine. He has worked with everyone and he knows stuff about all of them. It’s really fun to hear about Hollywood from someone who has made other people look funny for so long. We are so different. He tells these incredible stories about Hollywood, and I’m just me. I think we really complement each other and are funny in different ways. We’ve known each other for years.

KL: With such different styles, why did you think the pairing would work?

JG: We’re both gay, both Jews and both large! We’re both from New Jersey and were both very close with our mothers. There’s just a kinship. We just had an immediate connection.

KL: How did you know that comedy was something you wanted to do with your life?

JG: I knew I would never be happy if I didn’t follow my dream. Yet, I come from the most conservative family when it comes to risk taking. My father was a tax attorney, my mother a secretary, my sister is in insurance and my brother is a CPA. To them, my dream was crazy.

KL: You came up through the comedy ranks alongside notable comics like Ray Romano and Wanda Sykes. What was it like back then?

JG: It’s like we were all in the same platoon. We share this bond that can never be broken. When I was on the road in the ’80s and early ’90s, we wrote all day and then we hung out all night. We were each other’s family and standup became so important to me.

KL: How has Donald Trump becoming president changed your act this past year?

JG: It is like the orange elephant in the room all the time. It’s on everyone’s mind all the time. I remember the days when I would watch Jeopardy! but now I have to have MSNBC on every night. It’s turned into a dangerous reality show. My relationships with some people have changed and my audiences have changed. He just brings out the worst of people.

KL: You host a successful blog — Kill Me Now with Judy Gold. What do you enjoy about that experience?

JG: I find people really interesting and I want to know what makes people tick and what makes them different. To be in this horrible show business, you have to be ill in some way because it’s such a crap shoot. I really love finding out the stuff they don’t normally talk about.

The post Judy Gold Discusses Partnering Up With Bruce Vilanch (For Comedy, Folks, Geesh!) And Other Topics first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Sheâ€s an award-winning stand-up comedian whoâ€s successfully made the transition from comedy circuit to television and film. Sheâ€s a talented writer and performer whose trophy cupboard boasts four Emmys and an American Comedy Award. She unintentionally came out at an LGBT rally in Las Vegas in 2008. Laurence Watts interviews the charismatic Wanda Sykes.

Wanda wasnâ€t always a professional comedian. Her first job after university was as a procurement officer for Americaâ€s National Security Agency (NSA), a job that required her to have top-secret security clearance. It was while she was there that she started doing stand-up.

“As I remember, there were several of us who had side jobs,” she says. “Some of the women sold cosmetics and some of the guys were doing stocks and trading. I think quite a few of us were dreamers who wanted to do other things. It wasnâ€t until I said I was leaving to do stand-up full time that everybody told me I was nuts: “Whatâ€s wrong with you? You have a good job, security, health insurance and everything!” That kind of stuff.”

The calculated decision to leave the NSA came five years into her career there. Wanda knew she could make a living out of being funny.

“I was travelling around at weekends playing clubs,” she explains. “4-5 hours away was pretty much how far I could go at weekends and make it back in time for work on Monday. Once Iâ€d made it to feature spots I added up how much I could make, what my budget was to live and I said to myself: you can do this. If I worked clubs full time, Iâ€d be OK. So I headed out and knew that if I was good and worked hard Iâ€d eventually headline.”

Less than five years after leaving the NSA, Wanda got her big break. In 1997 she joined the writing team for The Chris Rock Show. Two years later the team won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special. She also made her first television appearances, featuring in seven of the showâ€s episodes.

Though sheâ€d begun to make inroads into television she continued to excel on the comedy circuit, so much so that in 2001 she won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand-Up Comic. Shortly afterwards she was approached to write for The 74th Annual Academy Awards.

“I got a call from Bruce Vilanch who told me Whoopi Goldberg would be hosting the show. She wanted me to come on board and be part of the writing staff. I was like: “The Oscars? Are you kidding me? Hell yeah!” In the end though, I think I was a bit too edgy. Truthfully, I donâ€t know how many of my jokes made it into the show, but I cracked up Whoopi, Bruce and the rest of the room.”

Would she ever want to follow in the steps of Goldberg and other comedians like Bob Hope, Billy Crystal and Steve Martin and host The Oscars herself? Her answer surprises me.

“You know what? Right now, I would say no. I think itâ€s a thankless job. If I was going to do it Iâ€d want to throw rocks at the audience. Thatâ€s what I do. Thatâ€s why I loved what Ricky Gervais did at the Golden Globes. Itâ€s not that Iâ€m disrespectful of the Academy, I think itâ€s great, but right now thatâ€s not a job I would do.”

Increasing popularity and visibility resulted in her own sitcom on Fox, Wanda at Large, which ran for two seasons and attracted audiences as high at 14m. In 2004 Sykes was named one of Entertainment Weeklyâ€s 25 funniest people in America.

“It was an honour to make the list, but for me itâ€s all about the audience,” she explains. “I try not to look at what other comics are doing or whoâ€s selling out what shows. I just focus on what Iâ€m doing. Iâ€m really grateful I can go on stage, tell jokes and have a good life.”

By 2005 Sykes had bagged three more Emmyâ€s, taking her tally to four. Can one ever have too many Emmyâ€s?

“Iâ€m looking at them now and you know, really, I think I could clear a few things off of that space to make room for more!” She starts laughing, “I donâ€t need that picture of my kids up there! Hell, if I won another that could definitely go!”

After 2005 Wanda began appearing in movies with increasing regularity: Monster-in-Law (with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez); My Super Ex-Girlfriend (with Uma Thurman, Eddie Izzard, Luke Wilson and Anna Faris) and; Evan Almighty (with Steve Carell) to name a few. Wandaâ€s distinctive voice can also be heard in the animated films Over The Hedge and Rio. In 2012 she will play Sid Slothâ€s Grandmother in Ice Age: Continental Drift. Did she ever think sheâ€d be a film star?

“Not at all. I just wanted to be a really funny comic. Thatâ€s still my goal. I think focusing on that means these other things come along. It always surprises me when I get offered a role or Iâ€m asked to audition. Iâ€m like: “Really? Oh, OK!””

On November 15th, 2008, at the age of 44, Wanda came out as a lesbian. She announced her sexuality to the world at a Las Vegas rally to protest the passing of Californiaâ€s Proposition 8. Since she was in town for a gig at Planet Hollywood sheâ€d planned on simply turning up and showing her support. One of the organisers saw her in the crowd and called her up on stage. She was pissed off that Prop 8 had passed and began “running her mouth.” She hadnâ€t intended to make a speech, let alone come out, but she did both. Wanda had privately married her girlfriend 21 days earlier. Does she regret having waited so long to come out?

“You know what, I look at kids now, teenagers, and they already identify with who they are theyâ€re very comfortable. I not only admire that, but Iâ€m a little envious as well,” she tells me. “I lived so much of my life trying to be something I wasnâ€t. On the other hand I believe everything happens for a reason and at the right time. I did it when I was ready, but when I look back of course I wish Iâ€d been open and out.” She laughs before adding, “I mean, think of all that hot ass I could have got before I got married!”

In May 2009 Sykes became the first ever LGBT entertainer at the annual White House Correspondents†Dinner. In attendance were President Obama, the First Lady, the entire White House press corps and many distinguished guests. Wanda brought the house down with jokes about the President, Sarah Palin, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Fox News†Sean Hannity. Did she have to submit a
script beforehand?

“I thought Iâ€d have to, but no. I could have said anything. The only note I got was a couple of hours before I was due to go on. My publicist said the president of the Correspondents†Association had called her to make sure I wouldnâ€t be using the f-word or the n-word. That made me laugh.”

Already a poster child for the LGBT and African American communities Sykes was reluctant to publicly disclose sheâ€d been diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2011. The ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was only discovered when sheâ€d gone into hospital to have a breast reduction. Having lost a couple of friends to cancer and with a history of breast cancer on her motherâ€s side of the family she took the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy rather than wait and see if the cancer developed. She had the surgery on 4th August. She was back on stage doing stand-up on 9th September.

With all the recognition a career in TV and film brings, I ask her if itâ€s easier to make people laugh now that sheâ€s established?

“I think Johnny Carson may have said this, but as a comedian the audience kind of gives you the first 10 minutes,” she answers. “Theyâ€re like: “OK, we know sheâ€s funny, weâ€ll go along with her.” After those first 10 minutes though they now seem to have higher expectations than they used to. So although I now find comedy easier, because Iâ€ve done it so long, I know I have to raise the bar a little every time I go out there.”

The post Bruce Hekprd Pave The Way For Wanda Sykes! first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Bruce Vilanch And His Competitors (Emmy Nominations)

Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Special
82nd Annual Academy Awards · ABC
Bill Maher “…But I’m Not Wrong” · HBO
The Kennedy Center Honors · CBS
63rd Annual Tony Awards · CBS
Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me · HBO

Read more: Breaking News – Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards: Creative Arts Nominations | TheFutonCritic.com http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/07/08/academy-of-television-arts-and-sciences-2010-primetime-emmy-awards-creative-arts-nominations/20100708atas02/#ixzz0te2UAtCh

The post Bruce Vilanch And His Competitors (Emmy Nominations) first appeared on We Got Bruce!.