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Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
Loose Lips
Estelle Getty, More Than Just A Comedic Curmudgeon
British Comic Gropes Woman Onstage In The Name Of Funny

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Little Green Frog (Wise Latina)
03/15/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
Remember when 30 Rock first started and Rachel Dratch was there, and she was cut after a couple of episodes? Wasn't it because people didn't think she was "pretty"? Ugh.
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Shelwood
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
It's always fascinated me that The Daily Show was created by two women, yet it's ended up being such a boy's club. Hardly any women on screen, barely any women behind the scenes.
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raesanni
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
as an aspiring comedienne, i know for certain that peeps don't expect me to be funny because of my looks. I'm not gorgeous, but I'm a young, decently attractive college aged girl. It's hard because there's only so far I can go when addressing my own presentation. If i try to mock my looks, i'll get eyerolls, but I HAVE to mock myself in other ways so as to not come off as arrogant. Guys never expect me to be funny, and are often surprised when I am.

Most frustrating though, is that if I'm at an open mic, I'm usually the only woman in the crowd, and male comics use me as the subject and/or object of their material. I'm the person they call a bitch or a slut as a stand in for the women they are angry at, or they get on stage and talk about my looks. they imagine out loud what they want to do sexually. It's embarrassing and it's INFURIATING.
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clevernamehere
03/14/09

@raysanni: But wouldn't a guy who makes half his comedy routine about facking you or bitching about his ex be the perfect intro to a bit about guys who don't even realize how disgusting they are?
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Hana Maru
03/15/09

@raysanni: It's totally unacceptable for them to put you through that. You're brave for continuing to pursue your goals. Shame on them for resting on their privilege and not putting themselves in your shoes.
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NellMood
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
Well, I think Rachel Dratch is hilarious, but she seems to have disappeared, save for a cameo or two on 30 Rock.
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meritxell: an erotic life
03/14/09

@NellMood: I loved her and Jimmy Fallon (I know I know) as the Boston Teens. Call me ZAZU!
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topsy
03/15/09

@NellMood: Wasn't Rachel Dratch supposed to be a co-star on 30 Rock but was replaced by the more (to some) attractive Jane K? So either Tina Fey is playing the same old game or she doesn't have as much power as we're led to believe
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VoxPopuli
03/15/09

@topsy: Yep, Dratch was supposed to be Jenna, but supposedly the network said no.
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Steve Holt's Mother Part Deux
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
To me the baseline is talent. If Tina Fey's humor was the equivalent of listening to a yogurt culture she wouldn't be famous.

On the other end of the spectrum I think of Victoria Jackson who could be funny, but man it was one note. "I'm a blonde! And I'm dumb! Funny, right?" It's hard to leverage that into a long career. But, I have a feeling that smart, funny women will be around for a long time. If Hollywood says that Tina Few and Amy Poehler aren't attractive enough in a few years...well I doubt that will deter them. They will always find a way, a place and a vehicle for their humor.
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Hana Maru
03/14/09

@Steve Holt's Mother Part Deux: Yes there's a baseline of talent for female comedians, as there is for male comedians. But women face the attractiveness hurdle whereas men do not. You mention Tina Fey, but she had to lose weight and get a makeover before they would put her on tv. It was a fluke that she even got the Weekend Update gig; it was supposed to be Jimmy Fallon alone. Still, she and Poehler have had to produce their own material, and in a few years they'll really be on their own. Noone's going to go to them with sitcom and movie offers like they do for guys like Kevin James and Jim Belushi.
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Rilo-Andy
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
I love SNL and the ladies who have graced that studio, but really no love for the talented ladies of MadTV? It seems that these funny lady articles only ever mention SNL.

Debra Wilson, Alex Borstein, Stephanie Weir, and Nichole Sullivan!? AMAZING.

Debra's Oprah alone is outstanding, and Alex stole my heart.
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TexasCrude
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: I love Mo Collins. So much. I also love her small cameo as "Gyna" in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
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TexasCrude
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: Also, Stephanie Weir brought me Dot and that crazy doctor lady. Big ups.
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Hana Maru
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: MadTV is sooo much better than SNL, which has become unwatchably awful since the departure of Fey and Poehler. I wish we got a liveblog thread for MadTV on Jez.
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hortense
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: The women of In Living Color were hilarious as well.
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veronykah
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: Always liked Nicole Sullivan.

When her and Debra play the Nuyorican chicks...totally remind me of girls I knew in NYC.

SO funny. Hope the link works...

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Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat
03/14/09

@Rilo-Andy: Nicole Sullivan was great, and she did a fine job on Scrubs for several guest spots.
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kysm
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
It such a ridiculous stereotype that a woman's sense of humor and looks are connected. You can be beautiful and hilarious. You can not give an eff, be comfortable as the 'less attractive sidekick' and be hilarious Kristen Wiig- amazing. Drew Barrymore- great. Jezebel's Tracie- too funny (sorry,she's the only one I've seen).
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TheFormerJuneBronson
03/14/09

@kysm: If you believe some people, a woman's everything and her looks are connected. One of my greater pleasures in life is knowing that in spite of my manifest averageness of appearance, I already have somehow obtained all of the things that you're supposed to be attractive to deserve: higher education, a husband who actually wants to have a lot of sex with me, a job I love, a sense of humor, overwhelming modesty...
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tscheese
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
I don't care what anyone says. I'm fucking hilarious.
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TexasCrude
03/14/09

@tscheese: And so said Jesus, "She of the wedge, shall inherit the funny."

I wish I could give you a book deal, tscheese. You'd outsell the damn bible or those stupid Rick Warren books. I just know it!
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TheFormerJuneBronson
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
One of the things I always loved about Seinfeld was its willingness to have funny women. That is, as long as they weren't one of the girlfriends, who were universally unfunny.

I saw the original of The Women last night, and damned if it didn't crack me right up. Best movie I've seen in ages.
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prestocaro fears the culling
03/14/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson: I love that movie. One of my favorites of all-time. I saw the remake with my sister over a few bottles of wine. It was awful, awful, awful. And not even awful enough to be funny.

Don't you just love Joan Crawford's bathroom?!
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TheFormerJuneBronson
03/14/09

@prestocaro love/hates her kettlebell: I WANT that bathroom! I do love an opportunity to laugh at Joan Crawford. I feel like I should think she's badass, but mostly I just find her very unlikable.
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prestocaro fears the culling
03/14/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson: I find most of her performances to be really one-dimensional, and she's a total asshole for how she treated her kids. But, she is a badass for basically doing whatever she wanted, and for surviving that hollywood machine.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
03/14/09

@prestocaro love/hates her kettlebell: I can respect her for that. But I still wouldn't want to have a drink with her. I'm more of a Thelma Ritter/Joan Blondell/Katherine Hepburn type.
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DangerMouse
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
I imagine that if you're hot and doing stand-up, mostly people are just yelling things to you about how hot you are.
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scarletbegonia
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
With male comedians, there are always a ton of the "fat guy with the funny personality" or the "awkward geek," but those types, albeit cliches, seem to be unacceptable for women.
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Riff Randell, Rock 'n' Roller
03/14/09

@scarletbegonia: This is why 30 Rock is so refreshing to me - Liz Lemon can go awkward to awkward with any guy geek on TV. And so can I. Relatable! BANTER!
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meritxell: an erotic life
03/14/09

@Riff Randell, Rock 'n' Roller: I'm convinced that there's an alternate universe where I'm the bespectacled brunette making awkward gestures for cash and going on fake Valentine's Day dates with Jon Hamm, while Tina Fey attends law school and drunk dials old boyfriends.
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sunoftheskye
03/15/09

@Riff Randell, Rock 'n' Roller: But Liz Lemon is also skinny and pretty. Will Ferrell and Seth Rogen, not so much.
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VoxPopuli
03/15/09

@sunoftheskye: I was just about to type that, so thanks for saving me the trouble.

Also, I think Tina Fey said in an interview some time ago that when she found out she was going to be on SNL, she immediately went on a diet to lose 20 pounds. So...yeah.
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Kali Mama
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
Whoopi fucking Goldberg.
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
Lisa Lampanelli is extremely funny (well to me anyway) and she's not the hollywood norm. That's pretty much the only exception that I can think of, unfortunately. It's not all about looks, but appearance definitely counts way more than it should.
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VoxPopuli
03/15/09

@IBleedGlitter: I dunno - I saw her live about five years ago, and her whole set was about how she was too fat to date white men and how she wore some tacky necklace to attract black men. I'm not normally ultra-PC, but I found it offensive and full of tired old stereotypes that weren't even funny.
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TexasCrude
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
"Unfortunately, what tends to get made are the Bride Wars movies. Even though there might be 50 scripts written by women, the one that's written about a wedding that you can put Kate Hudson in will get made."

I would like to hug Janeane with my legs because this is so unfortunately true. I know Casey can't see me but I feed her the stank everytime I see her on SNL.

I also can't say writing female characters is exactly easy. I've asked for help before and one of my (male) teachers advised me that I should start writing my female characters as males. I thought it might've been the most sexist advice one can give but I find it kind of...works, I guess. It might be the easiest way to not turn your leads into cartoons.
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badmutha
03/14/09

In reply to Do You Have To Be Pretty To Make It As A Comedian?
A comedy troupe? Hortense, teh Awesome, u haz it.
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