Women in Comedy: Beth Littleford

I can't begin to explain how important this woman's stint on Comedy Central completely shifted my concept of what "funny" was and what was acceptable in comedy. The fact that she was a woman who made it okay to make fun of herself, made me want to race down to the Comedy Central studios and sign-up. She showed me that women can pretty and foolish---beautiful goofballs. I wanted to be her. Kool, Klassy, Kooky (by the way, the fact that acronym has 3 Ks has no significance, ok, smartass?) I don't think Beth Littleford ever did time as a stand-up comic. But it doesn't matter she's already too awesome in my eyes. So let's begin my blog tribute to, Beth Littleford.

Okay, so according to her bio on the Beth Littleford official website, her timeline goes a little something like this:

- Originally from suburban Orlando, Florida, Littleford migrated to New York City and founded a sketch group named after her daschund, "Ms. Dee" (<==== ha, it was meant to be!)

- and then she toured with a New York Improv company

- before ultimately putting on a one-woman show called "This Is Where I Get Off."
(Duh! Of course, she's going to produce a one-woman show. Nobody can stop "The Littleford!" No one can handle her amazing talents! As former ESPN correspondent Dan Patrick would say, "She's en fuego!" I couldn't agree more, Patrick. I couldn't agree more.)

- her one-woman show was picked up by Circle Rep, where "she enjoyed an extended Off-Broadway run, and then she was scouted by Comedy Central and tapped to be a correspondent in their news parody, "The Daily Show."

Littleford spent 4 smashing, gut-bustingly funny years on the Daily Show (also known in some books as "The Era of the Littleford") and then moved out to LA to join the cast of Spin City. Since then it's been pilots, development deals, advertising deals, guest-starring roles on several network sitcoms (Fox's Method & Red, she had a starring role) and movies. In fact speaking of movies, she's going to be starring in Judd Apatow's Drillbit Taylor (video link) with a more sober, Owen Wilson, due out March 2008.

Littleford set the standard in sarcastic interviews on the Daily Show, back when it was tongue in cheek and less preachy. She played it straight, asking seemingly uncomfortable questions to B-list celebrities and craZy random personalities. (Where did they find those people?)

Some of her best and craziest interviews:

- Todd Bridges (of Different Strokes)
- Gary Coleman (of Different Strokes)
- David Duke (of Differ--wha-what? Is there a 3K theme here today?)
- Jocelyn Elders, United States Surgeon General
- Fabio (If you can find this interview, he answers her question about whether he's a natural blonde, but pulling out his junk. Hilarious!)
- Anthony Michael Hall circa Pirates of Silicon Valley, pre-USA stardom on The Dead Zone
- the one where the guy that wears weird outfits and climbs telephone poles (I think he might've been a cross-dresser, but my memory escapes me)
- the one where she visits an Iowa boar semen farm and helps harvest semen---manually.

If you really want to experience the essence of "The Littleford" you MUST head to her site and watch her showreel (video link). It's jam-packed with eewwy-gooey Littleford goodness!!! (Mmmm... feels like home.) You're sure to laugh until you cry!

Links and links of Littleford:

"Top 4" Blog lists Beth Littleford as #3 in Top 4 correspondents (I beg to differ but Different Stro--uh, well, you know.)

Article on Beth Littleford in a Kansas City blog--TV Barn (March 18, 1998)

Beth Littleford interview for Canadian online zine, Canoe--Jam! (Sept 13, 1999)

AND NOW for some embedded videos...!

[UGH! I hate Blogger.com. It totally ruins the comedic timing of these posts. It places the embedded video where it wants. I can't wait until we switch to Wordpress.]

So in the YOUTUBE video, Beth Littleford interviews a man with the sense of humor of a cucumber soaked in vinegar (a.k.a. "a pickle"), former teen heartthrob, David Cassidy. I encourage you to watch the YouTube one first:

And I've saved the best for last... Beth Littleford interviews 80s pop icon, Boy George, on the Daily Show
(March 18, 1999) <=== whoa that's almost an entire decade, folks!

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Women in Comedy: Tina Fey

I'm dedicating this post to Raffi, of citiZENmindful, because I know out of all my readers, Raffi would appreciate this post the most. So this my gift to you, Raffi, for being such an awesome persistent commenter!

So let's start out this month, right! Shall we? With Mrs. Tina Fey. (Yeah, that's right boys. She's spoken for.)

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is not known for her stand-up comedy. (Although, she did have a very small stint in it.) But rather she is known her for writing and her work on Saturday Night Live. Fey originally got her start at The Second City in Chicago. She packed up her bags and moved all the way from small-town Pennsylvania to head to the big mid-western city. There her story sounds much like any bright-eyed bushy-tailed wannabe-starlet--she worked at the nearby YMCA and took night classes at Second City. (Smart move, Liz! Uh, I mean, Tina.)

So here's her timeline:

1994 - Fey had been invited to join the cast of The Second City.

1997 - With the help of friend and then head writer Adam McKay, she was asked to become a writer on SNL.

1999 - Fey became the first female head writer of SNL. (It's about freaking time! (KUDOS, Liz! Uh, I mean, Tina!)

Fey's popularity took off from the SNL platform. And so has she. Fey left SNL in 2006, but only after she wrote and appeared in Mean Girls (2004), an adaptation of author Rosalind Wiseman's popular book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence (Yeah, that was a mouthful--even for me.)

I've already written once about 30 Rock and the cataclysmic event that was the Fey-Seinfeld alignment. So again, I'll emphasis that you can see Fey Thursday nights (yes, that's tonight, so tune in) on NBC's 30 Rock.

And if you can get your hands on the PBS series on Second City (SCTV) there are some cool interviews with Tina Fey as well as some other notables.

So watch tonight's episode, and leave a comment about Tina Fey's remarkable talent. (And if you miss out, you can always watch the full length TV webisode on the NBC 30 Rock website.)

[ Tina Fey on International Movie Database |Tina Fey on Wikipedia ]


Oh, and Steve, if it wasn't for Nigella, next on the list would be Tina (right after Audrey Tatou, of Amélie.)


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Women in Comedy: Kathy Griffin

She's rude. She's crude. Shameless is her thing. She makes no apologies. She's my inspiration. She has integrity in being shameless--does that make sense?

Her name is: Kathy Griffin.

Kathy's thing: Dissing and Dishing on celebrities.

Still have no idea who she is? Maybe this will help.

Or perhaps videos of her standup comedy might ring a bell:

[ Kathy Griffin on Ann Coulter | Kathy Griffin on Ryan Seacrest | Two Strong Black Women: Streisand & Oprah | Kathy Griffin on Whitney Houston | Kathy Griffin on the Catholics | Kathy on "The View" ]

Kathy first started her career in Improv Theater before she moved into standup comedy. She has appeared on every NBC TV show since the mid-90s. She then finally landed the role of "Vicki Groener" on the sitcom, Suddenly Susan (1996-2000), taping 92 episodes.

Finally, Bravo cable network gave her her own show, called "My Life on The D-List", a tongue-in-cheek reality TV series documenting the life of Kathy Griffin. The show's name derives from Kathy's struggle to climb up from obscurity and out of the so-called bottom ranks of Hollywood (aka: "The D-list") into stardom.

Sound like anyone familiar?

She's an interesting person and I find her intriguing because she doesn't hold back. She comes in a small package (5'4"), but she's fiery and takes no prisoners. (And I like that she has her own special following she affectionately names, "the gays.")

If you're still not familiar, but would like to immerse yourself in the world of Kathy, there should be more than enough content here to keep you busy for the next 24 hours:

[Official Site | Wikipedia | Int'l Movie Database | Comedy Central ]

My Life on the D-list:
[ Int'l Movie Database | Wikipedia ]

Interview with Kathy:
[ AskMen.com Interview ]

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Women in Comedy: Laura Kightlinger is back!

...so few women comediennes...get to produce their own work...

I've mentioned this exceptional standup comedienne before, in a previous Women in Comedy post. She is a woman who is near and dear to my heart. She has most notably been under-the-radar since the HBO's Lucky Louis series, and before that she pretty much fell off the edge of the earth. This woman is: Laura Kightlinger.
Ms. Kightlinger has a unique style all her own. I, personally, love her deadpan delivery and husky male voice. Obviously, she's not male, but I think it's cool when women have low or raspy voices. I've always wanted a raspy voice, but it only happens either right when I wake up or when I'm sick. I have friends who have the raspy voice from smoking too many cigarettes and I've always somewhat envied them for it. But I've never been daring, rich enough, or stupid enough to pick up the habit.

So Laura is back with an original series presented by IFC called, "The Minor Accomplishments Of Jackie Woodman". Laura created, wrote, executive produced and stars in the series. (KUDOS, LAURA!) According to Wikipedia's synopsis, they describe the show as "an eight-part comedy series about two best friends maneuvering through the not-so-glamorous side of Hollywood." It began airing on IFC August 4th, 2006.*

Now, I have no idea what "live action comedy" is, but from what I gather it seems to be synonymous with "sitcom". And the synopsis on the IFC website says it is. So we have to take its word for for it.

I found some clips from the show here. Enjoy!

I felt this post was relevant because there are so few women comediennes and even fewer women multitasking comediennes who wear many hats and get to produce their own work! Once again, I am proud of her---as a woman, and as a comedienne.

* So maybe I'm a little late on this info, but I'm airing this as if it's brand new, late breaking news. My news team consists of me, myself, and I--- so nyah!


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Women in Comedy

So I realize now that I was always confusing these two women and I need to take a stand and finally sort this out. I think both these women have made great strides in comedy, especially for my generation. I understand there are the Phyllis Dillers, the Roseanne Barr's, the Ellen DeGeneres. But to keep it closer to my growth into comedy these two women were more my style and I relate to them best.

Who are they? BETH LITTLEFORD and LAURA KIGHTLINGER
[I know I should post photos of them here, but I haven't figured out the whole image/copyrighting thing. So linking to their respective wiki-sites will have to do.]

Both were on The Daily Show as correspondents at some point in their careers, thus further adding to my confusion.

I'm posting because they were/are great influences in my comedy career. I aspire to be like them. I like their subtle delivery and still manage to be feminine; an exceedingly difficult thing to do in the white-male dominated world of comedy. "Can I get an, Amen?"

I also give props to Sarah Silverman. However, I believe she deserves her own post, because I have conflicting opinions on her style, delivery, and content.

BTW: Happy Mother's Day!

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