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Charlie Chaplin in the film The Champion

A comedian (French: comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comic.

A popular saying, variously quoted but generally attributed to Ed Wynn,^[1] is, "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny," which draws a distinction between how much of the comedy can be attributed to verbal content and how much to acting and persona.

Since the 1980s, a new wave of comedy, called alternative comedy, has grown in popularity with its more offbeat and experimental style. This normally involves more experiential, or observational reporting, e.g. Alexei Sayle and Malcolm Hardee. As far as content is concerned, comedians such as Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop and Joan Rivers draw on their background to poke fun at themselves, while others such as Jon Stewart, and Ben Elton have very strong political and cultural undertones. Contemporary comedians include Conan O' Brien and Jonathan Ross.

Many comics achieve a cult following while touring famous comedy hubs such as the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia. Often a comic's career advances significantly when they win a notable comedy award, such as the Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly the Perrier comedy award). Comics sometimes foray into other areas of entertainment, such as film and television, where they become more widely known; e.g. Eddie Izzard or Charlyne Yi. However, a comic's stand-up success does not guarantee a film's critical or box office success.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Comedians

• Comedy genres
• List of comedians
• Humour
• Comedy
• Satire
• List of humorists
• List of musical comedians

References[link]

Jimmy Carr
Birth name	James Anthony Patrick Carr
Born	(1972-09-15) 15 September 1972 (age 39) Limerick, Ireland[1]
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Nationality	British Irish
Years active	2000–present
Influences	George Carlin, Michael Redmond, Denis Leary, Paul Merton, Peter Kay, Will Self, Billy Connolly, Demetri Martin.[2]
Domestic partner(s)	Karoline Copping (2001-present)
Notable works and roles	8 Out of 10 Cats Distraction The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 10 O'Clock Live
Website	jimmycarr.com
British Comedy Awards
Best Live Stand Up 2006– Gag Reflex

James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-born British comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery, dark humour and his use of edgy one-liners. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television.

Carr moved to a career in comedy in 2000.^[3] After becoming established as a stand-up comedian, Carr began to appear in a number of Channel 4 television shows, most notably as the host of the panel show 8 out of 10 Cats. In Ireland he is known for appearances on The Panel and The Late Late Show.

Personal life[link]

Carr was born in Limerick, Ireland to parents Patrick James (born March 1945), a Roman Catholic and self-made millionaire who became treasurer for computer company Unisys,^[4] and Nora Mary (née Lawlor,^[5] 19 September 1943^[6] – 7 September 2001), who died of pancreatitis in St Thomas' Hospital, London, aged 57.^[4] His parents married in 1970, separated in 1994, but never divorced.^[7] His father married Natasha in 2003.^[4] Carr has an older brother, Colin, and a younger brother, Patrick.^[4] Carr was educated at Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe. he also attended St Bernards's Catholic Grammar School also in Slough. Carr's father was not happy with the school so moved him to Burnham Grammar School

After schooling in Slough he gained a place at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a 2:1 degree in Political Sciences.^[3][8] Carr was a marketing executive for Shell^{[9][dead link]} in the late 1990s.^[4] During an appearance on BBC's Would I Lie to You? (Series 1, Episode 3), Carr revealed that he had been a Christian until his mid-twenties, and remained a virgin until the age of 26^[10] due to his faith. Carr became aware of the writings of Richard Dawkins and renounced his religion, becoming an atheist. He stated that he felt religion limited people's desires to live their own lives.^[11] He also stated that at this time, to help him cope with his loss of faith he did a lot of psychotherapy, and ended up qualifying as a therapist.^[12]

Carr lives in North London with his girlfriend, Karoline Copping, a commissioning editor for Five,^[3] whom he has been with since 2001.^[10]

In March 2004, Carr's father^[13] was arrested by the Metropolitan Police after Carr and his brother Colin accused their father of harassment.^{[clarification needed]} The senior Carr was later acquitted of all charges and awarded costs by the Court. His acquittal was followed by a written apology from the CPS. Later the Metropolitan Police apologised and paid him substantial damages in an out of court settlement for the arrest and prosecution.^[14][15] Carr holds dual British-Irish citizenship.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Television[link]

Whilst working at JC Productions with his father, Carr made his first television pilot / short film at Pinewood starring Craig Charles, Roy Dotrice and himself. The mockumentary, The Colour of Funny was essentially a vanity project for Carr.^{[citation needed]}

Hosting[link]

Carr has hosted Channel 4 game shows Distraction and Your Face or Mine?. He has also presented the 100s series of programmes for Channel 4: 100 Worst Pop Records, 100 Worst Britons, 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters, 100 People Who Look Most Like Jimmy Carr (a spoof) and 100 Scary Moments. He has also presented a series of Commercial Breakdown.

From 2004 to 2006, Carr hosted a United States version of Distraction for Comedy Central. He was also nominated for the 2006 Rose d'Or award for Best Game Show Host. Carr presents the Big Fat Quiz of the Year on Channel 4, having presented the first 8 shows each December (2004–2011). He also currently hosts the quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats.

In April 2010, Carr hosted the first British version of a comedy roast show, Channel 4's A Comedy Roast. On 6 May 2010, he was a co-host of Channel 4's Alternative Election Night, along with David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne, and Charlie Brooker. He joined the three presenters again for 10 O'Clock Live, a Channel 4 comedy current affairs show, which started airing on 20 January 2011.^[16]

Writing[link]

Carr is also a writer as well as performer, with writing credits including Bo' Selecta! (C4), Meet Ricky Gervais (C4) and material for Lily Savage and Frank Skinner.

Guest appearances[link]

Carr was a guest presenter for one edition of Have I Got News For You; later he joined Ian Hislop's team in the edition of the show first shown 23 November 2007, chaired by Ann Widdecombe with whom he “flirted” outrageously.^{[citation needed]} Widdecombe later vowed "I will never appear on Have I Got News for You again."^{[citation needed]}

Carr has appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks twice, as well as multiple times on QI. He has also been appeared on at least one episode per season of A League of Their Own.

During a guest appearance on the BBC motoring show Top Gear, Carr set a new celebrity test track lap record on the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segment. He was described as "the worst driver we've ever had" and "the luckiest man alive" by Top Gear's test driver the Stig. His re-appearance on Top Gear in May 2006 placed him last in the brand new Reasonably Priced Car, with the slowest time ever (due to the fact that he spun off on his timed lap). Carr also hosted a highlights edition of the show, and on the Top Gear Live World Tour of 2009/10 he hosted the section 'Carmageddon' in which the Stig successfully attempted a 'gear change'.

In the United States, Carr has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien twice and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three times. Carr has also appeared on the Irish news comedy show The Panel.

In 2003, Carr was in the music video for the song "Proper Crimbo".

Carr appears at the end credits of Ross Noble's Randomist DVD, where he punches Noble on his way back to the dressing room. Noble had joked in his show that Carr only performed for a "weak" 1 hour 20 minutes, as opposed to Noble's 2 and a half hour show. Carr can also be seen for a few seconds in the audience for Dara Ó Briain's live DVD.

In January 2008, Carr appeared on E4 show Big Brother Celebrity Hijack as a hijacker for the day.

Carr appeared on the Royal Variety Performance in December 2008.

On the gameshow Deal or No Deal, Jimmy was the first ever contestant in the 2012 celebrity editions. After losing the £250,000 box earlier in the game, and turning down an offer from the banker for £14,500, he continued to the end game and his box contained £750.

Radio[link]

Carr is a regular guest and interviewer on Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4) and The Fred MacAulay Show (BBC Radio Scotland). In January 2005, Carr hosted 'It's Been a Terrible Year' — a comedy review of 2004, on BBC Radio 2. Up until July 2006, he had a Sunday morning radio show on XFM, with the mercurial comedian Iain Morris. The show had a strong emphasis on toilet humour.

Features, of varying popularity, have included:

• Goth Classics — Item lasting about four weeks in which the Sisters of Mercy track 'This Corrosion' was played twice.
• Now That's What I Call A Jukebox — Long running item invented by Iain Morris where a number of songs are selected from a Now That's What I Call Music album, and are put to a vote. The song with the most votes is played.
• The Songs You Should Like And The Songs You Do Like (But You Like The Song You Should Like As Well) — This catchy-titled item consists of playing in sequence one credible but underrated or overlooked song (The first was 'Touch Sensitive' by the Fall) and one guilty pleasure (Liberty X's 'Just A Little Bit' followed) On 9 July 2006, the item was renamed 'A Song to Patronise, A Song To Sanitise.' Traditionally, items are carried out with little professionalism, presumably to match the rest of the show content.

In January 2006, Carr made a joke on Radio 4's Loose Ends, the punchline of which implied that Gypsy women smelled.^[17] Although the BBC issued an apology, Carr refused to, and continues to use the joke during his acts.

Carr appeared in 2 episodes of the radio series of Flight of the Conchords in 2005.

On 22 January 2009, he covered Zane Lowe's evening show on BBC Radio 1 between 7 and 9pm.

Carr will become the fifth "Curator" of The Museum of Curiosity when the show returns in late 2012, following on from comedians Bill Bailey, Sean Lock, Jon Richardson and Dave Gorman.

Stand-up comedy[link]

Carr performing during his Jimmy Carr: Joke Technician tour at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in January 2009

Carr does stand-up tours continuously over the course of the year, taking only five weeks off between them.^[18] In 2003 he sold out an entire month's performances of his Edinburgh Festival show Charm Offensive by the second day of the festival, and received 5-star reviews from four major newspapers. In 2004 he performed sold out solo shows at Dublin's Vicar Street, Leicester's Comedy Festival, Glasgow Festival, Kilkenny Cat Laughs and the Galway Festival along with appearances at the Bloomsbury Theatre where he filmed his first live DVD. Also in 2004 he threatened to sue fellow comedian Jim Davidson for using a joke that Carr considered 'his'.^[19] The matter was dropped when it became apparent that the joke in question was an old one used for decades by many different comedians. He toured the country with his show, A Public Display of Affection, starting on 9 April 2005 at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury and ending on the 14 January 2006 at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End. He also appeared at the EICC during the Edinburgh Festival in August 2005 with his Off The Telly show. Later on in the year, in late November, he released his second DVD "Jimmy Carr: Stand Up".

In August 2006, he commenced a new tour, Gag Reflex, for which he won the 2006 British Comedy Award for "Best Live Stand up". He released his third DVD, Jimmy Carr: Comedian in November 2007. He also performed at the 2006 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, as well as making a return visit to the Newbury Comedy Festival. In 2003, he was listed in the Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2007, a poll on the Channel 4 website for 100 Greatest Stand Ups, Jimmy Carr was the 12th. A new national tour commenced in autumn 2007 named Repeat Offender, which began at the Edinburgh Festival that year. In autumn 2008, Carr began touring his new show, entitled Joke Technician. As with his previous tour, he performed many shows at the Edinburgh Festival, even adding an extra date due to ticket demand.

On 23 April 2009, the dates for Carr's 2009-10 tour, entitled Rapier Wit, were announced. The tour opened on 20 August 2009 with 9 shows at the Edinburgh Festival before touring the country.^[20]

On Twitter, Carr released details about his new DVD entitled Jimmy Carr: Telling Jokes. The DVD was released on the 2 November 2009.^[21]

In July 2009, Carr revealed that he is currently touring with Las Vegas band the Killers. Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers explained that it was part of his vision for his band’s shows to become more of a Las Vegas-style spectacle. Flowers, who grew up in Vegas, said: “We had met Jimmy before, at a Comic Relief gig, then we bumped into him again at a party a couple of weeks later. “We were just throwing ideas around and having a comedian as part of the show sounded like a Las Vegas thing to do — it used to be common in the '60s and '70s – “Jimmy seemed to like it so we are giving it a go.”

Carr's sixth Live DVD, Jimmy Carr: Making People Laugh, was released on 8 November 2010.^[22]

Carr's 2010-11 tour, entitled Laughter Therapy, was announced on 8 April 2010. The tour will start with a run at the Edinburgh Festival before touring the country.^[23]

Carr also appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal in July 2011. At which he performed his 2010/11 tour show 'Laughter Therapy'.

Carr's latest stand up DVD was released on 21 November 2011 with the title of Jimmy Carr: Being Funny.^[24]

Live Tour Shows[link]

DVD releases[link]

[edit] Second Life

On 21 December 2006, Carr announced plans to become the first major comedian to perform in the virtual reality world of Second Life. This was confirmed on his MySpace webpage on 3 January 2007, and a competition launched to choose a select audience from the list of his MySpace friends.^[25]

Carr's Second Life show took place on 3 February 2007 at 7.00pm, at Adam Street Bar and Members' Club in Central London. Fifty MySpace friends made up his live audience, with 100 virtual attendees in Second Life itself. The show was enjoyed by both sets of audiences, with excellent feedback received on both Carr's MySpace profile and within Second Life.^{[citation needed]}

Carr hinted at the show that he may perform future shows in Second Life.

In March 2007, Laura Jackson from the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that Carr had obtained the world record for being the first comedian to perform a stand-up gig to an audience in cyberspace, following on from his Second Life show.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy[link]

This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article's neutral point of view of the subject. Please integrate the section's contents into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material. (March 2011)

Detractors of Carr's humour include Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe, who — following an appearance with him on BBC One panel show Have I Got News for You — wrote in the Daily Express that "His idea of wit is a barrage of filth and the sort of humour most men grow out of in their teens".^[26]

Veteran comedian Arthur Smith was quoted in the Sunday Mirror in 2005 as saying "He has a terrible act. There I've said it and already I feel better".^[27] Smith has gone on to criticise Carr on other occasions. In a 2009 interview with The Times he said: "He (Carr) makes jokes like little clocks. He has no interest in their context or meaning, only that they cause an explosion of laughter. I want a comedian to have a hinterland. The best comedians are interested in jazz, poetry, and the world".^[28]

In October 2009, Carr received criticism from several Sunday tabloid newspapers for a joke he made about British soldiers who had lost limbs in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.^[29] The newspapers themselves came under criticism for falsely claiming the audience reacted with stunned silence when the joke was told.^[30] Carr himself has defended the joke as "totally acceptable" in an interview with The Guardian, in which the interviewer noted his tendencies to make jokes about disabilities and rape.^[31] Carr would go on to describe the interview, with Guardian journalist Stephen Moss in the paper's G2 section, on his Twitter account as about "[selling] my DVD to the liberal elite."^[32]

Awards[link]

• LAFTA Awards 2008: Best Stand Up
• LAFTA Awards 2007: Funniest Man
• British Comedy Awards 2006 – Best Live Stand Up
• Rose D'Or Nomination 2006: Best Game Show, 'Distraction'
• LAFTA Awards 2005: Funniest Man
• Rose D'Or Nomination 2004: Best Presenter, 'Distraction'
• Loaded Lafta Award 2004 – Best Stand Up
• Royal Television Society Award Winner: Best On-Screen Newcomer 2003
• Perrier Award Nominee: 2002
• Time Out Award Winner: Best Stand Up 2002

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jimmy Carr

• Official website
• Jimmy Carr at the Internet Movie Database
• Jimmy Carr on Twitter
• Jimmy Carr on Chortle, including forthcoming tour dates

Mike Birbiglia
Birth name	Michael Birbiglia
Born	(1978-06-20) June 20, 1978 (age 34)[1] Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States[1]
Medium	Stand-up comedy, Theatre, Radio, Television
Nationality	American
Website	birbigs.com

Mike Birbiglia (born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and director.

Professional work[link]

Birbiglia has starred in three Comedy Central specials and has released three albums with Comedy Central Records: Two Drink Mike (2006), My Secret Public Journal Live (2007), and Sleepwalk With Me Live (2011). My Secret Public Journal Live was named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by the Onion AV Club^[2]and Sleepwalk With Me Live debuted at #1 on the Billboard Magazine Comedy Charts.^[3]

From 2006 to 2009, Birbiglia was a commercial spokesman for Suddenlink Communications, the seventh largest cable/broadband provider in the United States. He appeared in a number of humorous commercials promoting cable, internet and telephone service for Suddenlink.

In 2008, Birbiglia opened Sleepwalk WIth Me, a one-man show that straddled standup comedy and theater, off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theatre.^[4][5] The show was presented by Nathan Lane and the New York Times called the show "simply perfect."^[6] Time Out New York named it their "Show of the Year" in 2009.^[7]

Birbiglia followed up his theatrical debut with Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories, ^[8] a book which debuted as number 29 on the hardcover nonfiction New York Times Bestseller List^[9][10] and number four on the hardcover nonfiction section of the Washington Post Political Bookworm Best Sellers.^[11] Birbiglia was also a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor for Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories.^[12]

In 2011, Birbiglia mounted his second one-man show My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which ran for 4 months off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. ^[13] Birbiglia is currently touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend around the world with tour dates in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Birbiglia recently made his feature film debut with Sleepwalk With Me, a film based on his one-man show of the same name that he wrote, directed, and starred in. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the NEXT Audience Award.^[14] It was also selected in the "Festival Favorites" category at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX. ^[15] The film was produced by Jacob Jaffke and This American Life's Ira Glass and stars Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, and Cristin Milioti and has cameos by Kristen Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, David Wain, and Marc Maron.^[16]

As an actor, Birbiglia has appeared in the films Going the Distance, Cedar Rapids, and Your Sister’s Sister, as well as the HBO series, “Girls.” ^[17]

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

Birbiglia is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International-distributed program This American Life.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Birbiglia attended St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for one year,^{[citation needed]} graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts in 1996 ^[19][20] and subsequently graduated from Georgetown University in 2000.^[21] During college Birbiglia performed as a member of the Georgetown Players Improv Troupe.^{[citation needed]}

Birbiglia lives with his wife, Jen Stein, on New York's Upper West Side.^[22]

He has rapid eye movement behavior disorder (sleepwalking), which caused him to run out of a second-story window of a motel he was staying in Walla Walla, Washington, while on tour. As a result of the accident, Birbiglia received 33 stitches in his leg.^[23][24][25]

Discography[link]

• 2004: Dog Years (out of print) (self-produced, winner of the "Just Plain Folks" comedy album of the year)
• 2005: Invite Them Up (Comedy Central Records compilation CD of NYC indie comics)
• 2005: My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a (weekly guest spots on The Bob and Tom Show)
• 2006: Two Drink Mike
• 2007: My Secret Public Journal Live
• 2008: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing (DVD)
• 2011: Sleepwalk with Me Live

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mike Birbiglia at the Internet Movie Database

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

• Episode 361: The Fear of Sleep
• Episode 370: Ruining it for the Rest of Us
• Episode 374: Somewhere Out There
• TAL: Live: Scene of the Crime

Sandra Bernhard
Bernhard at the Daryl Roth Theater (NYC) April 2006
Born	(1955-06-06) June 6, 1955 (age 57) Flint, Michigan, United States
Medium	Stand-up, television, music, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1970s-present
Genres	Observational comedy Political satire
Subject(s)	Celebrity culture American politics
Website	http://www.sandrabernhard.com

Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.^[1]

Early life[link]

Bernhard has often addressed her childhood in interviews and within the context of her stand-up comedy. She was born in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette and Jerome Bernhard.^[2] She has three older brothers. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, when she was 10.^[3]

Of her Jewish family, Bernhard stated in her show Without You I'm Nothing: "My father was a proctologist and my mother was an abstract artist, so that's how I view the world." In the documentary program Girls Who Do: Comedy, she discusses being a funny teenager. After graduating from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, she went to live on a kibbutz in Israel. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19. During that time she made ends meet working as a manicurist in a high-end salon.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Bernhard became a popular staple at The Comedy Store. As her popularity as a comedian grew she was cast as a supporting player on The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. Guest appearances on evening talk shows followed. Her big break came in 1983 when she was cast by Martin Scorsese to star as stalker and kidnapper Masha in the film The King of Comedy for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She began performing her first one-woman show called I'm Your Woman in 1985, and an album version was released. Bernhard appeared in a variety of tiny film and television roles throughout the 1980s while crafting her stand-up routine into a more performance art oriented show. She launched an Off Broadway one woman show called Without You I'm Nothing, With You I'm Not Much Better in 1988 which played at The Orpheum Theatre. In 1990 it was turned into a film and a double album of the same name. The film was mostly shot on location in 1989 in The Cocoanut Grove located in The Ambassador Hotel. A frequent guest on David Letterman's NBC program, it was during the run of 'Without You I'm Nothing, With You I'm Not Much Better' that she appeared with her then good friend (and rumored lover) Madonna on the show. The two alluded to their romantic relationship and staged a sexy confrontation. They would continue to be friends for several years, with Bernhard even making an appearance in Madonna's film 'Truth or Dare.'

Career after 1990[link]

In 1991 Bernhard began playing the role of Nancy Bartlett on the hit sitcom Roseanne. She appeared in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997, and was one of the first actresses to portray an openly lesbian recurring character on American television. The role is one of her best known, something she has lamented in her stand-up as being both a blessing and a curse.

In September 1992, Bernhard did a nude pictorial for Playboy. She hosted the USA Network's Reel Wild Cinema for two seasons beginning in 1995. Bernhard continued acting in mostly independent films and TV guest roles and forays into mainstream films such as Hudson Hawk and Dallas Doll. In 1991 she released her first studio album, entitled Excuses For Bad Behavior (Part One).

In 1995, she briefly appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, in an episode titled "Jerk". In 1996, she guest-starred on an episode of Highlander: The Series called "Dramatic License" in which she played a romance novelist writing about the life of the main character. She also appeared (as herself) on Will and Grace in an episode dealing with Will and Grace's spuriously bidding on Sandra's Manhattan apartment in order to become friendly with her and culminates in a diatribe from Bernhard when their ruse is exposed, with obfuscating sounds of a blender (she was having a smoothie made) blotting out supposed obscenities. She returned as herself briefly two years later.

Bernhard returned to Broadway in 1998 with the show I'm Still Here... Damn It!, which was recorded for a live comedy album. At that time of the show Bernhard was pregnant. She gave birth to daughter Cicely Yasin Bernhard on July 4, 1998.^[4][5] For the next several years she would self-record all of her live shows and release cheaply made CD-R versions which were sold in the lobby of her shows. She continued touring and making smaller films and TV guest appearances.

She returned to New York in 2006 with the Off-Broadway show Everything Bad & Beautiful. The CD Everything Bad & Beautiful was critically lauded as one of her best, released by indie label Breaking Records.^[6] The year 2007 saw the creation of Bernhard's show Plan B from Outer Space as well as Indie label upstart Breaking Records release of the compilation "Breaking For the Holidays" where Bernhard co-penned Miracle of Lights with Mitchell Kaplan. She toured "Plan B" through 2008, and performed Miracle of Lights on some morning shows in New York.

Bernhard was a featured guest singer with children's artist Dan Zane's on the Family Dance album's "Thrift Shop".^[7]

In an interview with Howard Stern, the comedian revealed that she was originally offered the role of Miranda Hobbes of TV show Sex and the City, but opted out due to the "terrible" original script and low paycheck.^[8]

Personal life[link]

On July 4, 1998, she had her daughter Cicely Yasin Bernhard via caesarean section.^[9][10]

Controversies and criticisms[link]

In August 2006, Sandra Bernhard served as the spokesperson in a commercial for Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC). In the commercial, promoting PlushGlass lipgloss, Bernhard referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as a "...little freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch". MAC edited the line from the commercial to avoid offending some of its customer base.^[11]

In September 2008, Bernhard created controversy during one of her one-woman shows by saying that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she entered Manhattan. Bernhard later said that the remark was "part of a much larger, nuanced and yes, provocative (that's what I do) piece from my show about racism, freedom, women's rights and the extreme views of Governor Sarah Palin..."^[12]

Music[link]

Albums[link]

Bernhard performs classic pop music, jazz, and blues tunes. She has released several albums (combinations of music and comedy) including:

• I'm Your Woman
• Without You I'm Nothing
• Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One)
• I'm Still Here... Damn It!
• The Love Machine
• Hero Worship
• Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part Two)
• The Love Machine Remastered (entirely different than The Love Machine)
• Giving Til It Hurts
• Gems of Mystery
• Everything Bad & Beautiful
• Whatever It Takes
• I Love Being Me, Don't you? - featuring White Widow

Singles[link]

• "Everybody's Young"
• "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (#13 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play)
• "Manic Superstar"
• "Phone Sex (Do You Want Me Tonight?)"
• "On the Runway" (#39 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play)
• "Perfection"
• "Miracle of Lights"
• "All Around"

Compilations[link]

• AT&T Presents Stormy Weather; song "Is That All There Is?"
• Divas of Dance - Volume 3 (Remixes); song "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
• Breaking For the Holidays; song "Miracle of Lights"

All of the CDs from The Love Machine through Gems... have been cheaply produced CD-Rs, which is commonly what comedians sell at their shows. In 2004 Bernhard re-released special edition albums of I'm Your Woman and Without You I'm Nothing. The re-releases of both included special tracks, as well as several guests to help attract a new audience. Bernhard has stated that Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One) will be re-released in late 2007.

The Smoking Popes recorded a song entitled "Sandra", a tribute to Bernhard, wherein lead singer Josh Caterer professes his obsession with Sandra.

Literature[link]

• Confessions of a Pretty Lady - Re-released in 1989
• May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra?
• Love, Love and Love

Filmography[link]

Features:

• Shogun Assassin (1980) (voice in English dub)
• Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (1981)
• The King of Comedy (1983)
• The House of God (1984)
• Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird (1985)
• The Whoopee Boys (1986)
• Casual Sex? (1988)
• Track 29 (1988)
• Heavy Petting (1989) (documentary)
• Without You I'm Nothing (1990)
• Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
• Hudson Hawk (1991)
• Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)
• Sandra Bernhard: Confessions of a Pretty Lady (1994) (documentary)
• Dallas Doll (1994)
• Unzipped (1995) (documentary)
• A Hundred and One Nights of Simon Cinema (1995) (Cameo)
• The Reggae Movie (1995) (documentary)
• Catwalk (1996) (documentary)
• Lover Girl (1997)
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998)
• Plump Fiction (1998)
• One Hell of a Guy (1998) (voice only)
• Exposé (1998)
• Wrongfully Accused (1998)
• Somewhere in the City (1998)
• Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999) (voice only) (direct-to-video)
• I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1999)
• Playing Mona Lisa (2000)
• Dinner Rush (2000)
• Zoolander (2001) (Cameo)
• The N-Word (2004) (documentary)
• The Easter Egg Adventure (2005) (voice only) (direct-to-video)
• Searching for Bobby D (2005)
• Dare (2009)
• See You in September (2009)
• Looking for Lenny (2009) (documentary)

Short Subjects:

• Museum of Love (1996)
• The Third Date (2003)
• Twenty Dollar Drinks (2006)

Television work[link]

• The Richard Pryor Special? (1977)
• The Richard Pryor Show (1977) (canceled after 4 episodes)
• Roseanne (recurring cast member from 1991–1997)
• Sandra After Dark, with Your Hostess, Sandra Bernhard (1992)
• The A-List (1992 - 1993)
• Reel Wild Cinema (1994 - 1996)
• Freaky Friday (1995)
• The Larry Sanders Show (1995)
• The Late Shift (1996)
• Superman: The Animated Series (1997)
• The Apocalypse (1997)
• Ally McBeal (1997)
• Hercules (1998 - 1999) (voice only)
• Sandra Bernhard: I'm Still Here... Damn It! (1999)
• Will & Grace (2000)
• Sandra Bernhard: Giving Them Lip (2001)
• The Sandra Bernhard Experience (2001 - 2003)
• Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (2003)
• Silver Lake (2004) (unsold pilot)
• The L Word (As Charlotte Birch, 2005)
• The Queer Edge (co-host from 2005 - 2007)
• Las Vegas (2007)
• The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Head Case (2009)
• Roseanne's Nuts (episode "Grannies Night Out", 2011)
• Hot in Cleveland (episode "Beards", 2012)
• GCB (episode "Revelation", 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sandra Bernhard

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sandra Bernhard

• Official website
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Movie Database
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Sandra Bernhard at AllRovi
• Sandra Bernhard on Twitter
• Bernhard's brief appearance in Philadelphia (video)