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Who Is Your Favorite Female Standup Comedian of 2008?

GiggleSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

GiggleSugar Best of the Week

GiggleSugar — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:01:00 -0800

Can you guess which hello kitty products are real and which are fake?
This is how the ladies dealt with their periods at work in 1912.
I am unnaturally obsessed with Diva Davanna.
All I want for Christmas is a Snuggie!
What is the funniest comedy of 2008?
Who is your favorite female standup comedian of 2008?
Who is your favorite male standup comedian of 2008?
Who is the biggest celebrity douchebag of 2008?

GiggleSugar Interviews: Victoria Jackson

GiggleSugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:00:00 -0800

Saturday Night Live alum Victoria Jackson is well-known for her send-up of the ditzy blonde. With a tiny voice and goofy antics, Victoria became famous on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show where she performed stand-up while variously on a balance beam, doing handstands, and playing the ukulele. She went on to perform on six seasons of Saturday Night Live, working with the likes of Mike Myers, Phil Hartman, and Chris Farley. Victoria still does stand-up (of the handstand variety), records ukulele CDs (!), and acts in movies. She granted this interview to promote the newly released Christian comedy DVD Thou Shalt Laugh: The Deuce, which features a night of stand-up comedy hosted by funnyman Tim Conway. Without further ado, here's Victoria in her own words...

GS: How did you get your break in comedy?
VJ: My big break was on The Johnny Carson Show. I was doing standup in L.A. while doing handstands and playing the ukulele, and a scout from the show contacted me.

GS: Did you expect that comedy would be your life’s work?
VJ: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher, mostly because I liked chalk…But I got the comedy acting bug when I was at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. A friend was auditioning for a play and I was with her. Her drama teacher suggested that I act. Once I did it, once I was up on stage, I realized I was controlling the audience with my feather duster, and I became addicted.

GS: You were on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992. You were only 27 years old-what was it like to reach the comedy big time? Were you nervous, intimidated?
VJ: Well, I was married and had a baby at 27, so I thought I was grown up. I’m 48 now and feel like a kid, but I thought I was really mature back then! Auditioning made me nervous; I knew it could change my life if I got the part. And SNL was a very stressful environment. It was survival of the fittest. The more you wrote for the show, the more you got to perform. So while Mike Myers was writing six sketches a week, I was doing like two a year and staring at blank paper in my typewriter.

GS: Was live television nerve-wracking?
VJ: I didn’t mind live television. As a gymnast, I was used to being on a balance beam four inches wide, with judges rating my performance, so I was used to the adrenaline rush. Actually, if I didn’t have that, I would die. I finally left SNL because I was going through a divorce, I wanted to spend more time with my daughter, friends were leaving the show…and I ran out of ideas.

GS: As a female standup comedian, do you feel women are treated differently when they’re on stage? Are people’s expectations different?
VJ: I don’t like when people complain about being a woman in comedy. I think that’s B.S. It was survival of the fittest on SNL whether you were a dog, horse, woman, man. I mean, comedy is different for women-different things are funny for women and men. When Chris Farley was dancing with his belly jiggling, for example, it was funny. If I were in a bikini doing it, it wouldn’t have been funny-it would’ve been sad. But I don't think the treatment is different.

GS: What’s been your favorite part of participating in Thou Shalt Laugh: The Deuce, and what would you like our readers to know about it?
VJ: I like that there are no bad words and no sexual innuendoes. I had this cab driver recently who asked me what I did, and I said I do standup comedy. “So you tell dirty jokes?” he asked me. That’s what people associate comedy with now! The best comics-Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin-they don’t have to be dirty. I don’t know what’s happening in this country that that’s what comedy is associated with. Aside from that, I got to meet Tim Conway!

GS: Oh, I love him, too. Thanks, Victoria!

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The Results Are in: Your Favorite Female Stand-Up Comic of 2007

GiggleSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:30:00 -0800

To kick off our Best of 2007 coverage, I asked you guys to vote for your favorite female stand-up comic of the year. After all, it's still hard out there for a lady stand-up comic, but there is cause to celebrate the hilarious ladies who break through the glass ceiling and thrive. And the winner of the GiggleSugar readers' choice for best female stand-up comedian is . . .

Chelsea Handler! The veteran stand-up savant hit the big time this Summer, with her own late-night show on on E! called Chelsea Lately. Giggle regular Kathy Griffin came in a close second, and my pick has to be Kathy Griffin.

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The Results Are in: Your Favorite Male Stand-Up Comic of 2007

GiggleSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:30:00 -0800

You've coronated Chelsea Handler as your favorite female stand-up comic of 2007, but who will be her king as she reigns over this kingdom of funny? Well, according to our readers' poll, your pick for male stand-up comedian of the year is . . . Dane Cook!

At last count, he was edging out Dave Chappelle by a mere eight votes. My fave? It's a tie: Dave Chappelle and Jim Gaffigan.

GiggleSugar Reader Spotlight: Kiddylnd

GiggleSugar — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:16:30 -0700

You can always spot our reader of the week, Kiddylnd, by the cute pit bull avatar that represents her. She's funny, kind (she fosters pit bulls and tells a moving story about an old friend, Pride), and reminds me how much I love to get to know my readers! Make sure you check out her pictures and leave a comment!

GS: What's your motto?
KL: "Move over bacon!" No, that's not it. "Help control the pet population, have..." No, that's not it either. Motto, eh? Well, I'm a big fan of "Do unto others, unless they bug the sh*t out of you, then screw 'em!"

GS: Where are you from?
KL: Seattle, Washington. I live 3 1/2 blocks from the house I grew up in. Sheltered, I know. I'd rather be sheltered in a city. I'm not a country girl AT ALL. Plus, living in the land of coffee is the best thing ever. We seriously have a corner with a Tully's across from a Starbucks, across from a soon to be Peet's, with a local coffee shop two doors down, a tea store next to that, and another Starbucks inside the Safeway next to the Tully's.

GS: What do you do?
KL: I work at an animal shelter selling pet licenses and taking all you guys' money! It's both the most fulfilling and saddest thing ever. On the plus side, when I'm having a bad day, all I need to do is snuggle up with a pup!

GS: How would you describe your sense of humor?
KL: Sarcasm, with a hint of third grade potty talk. I'm quick with the wit, but only out of necessity-I gotta keep up with my friends!

GS: What's your favorite GiggleSugar post?
KL: Are you serious? I have to pick just one?! I'm gonna go with any of the douchebag posts, particularly Portrait of a Douchebag since, sadly, I remember a time when I would have thought this dude was all that. Sad, so very sad.

GS: Who's the cutest funny man and funny woman?
KL: Hmmm...I don't think of funny people as being cute. Is that wrong?

GS: Who are your favorite male and female comedians?
KL: Kevin Smith is the smartest, funniest out there. He should do stand-up. His movies are too under appreciated. Margaret Cho is another fave. You can't miss with her! Others would be Ellen, Paula Poundstone, Stephen Colbert. I do enjoy some Carlos Mencia, but not all the time. I mostly like the "beaner" jokes since I'm a "beaner..."

GS: What's your favorite comedy of all time?
KL: Cry Baby. If you have not seen this, it's a must. Johnny Depp in a 21 Jump Street era, Ricki Lake, and a trying-to-break-free from the porn business Tracy Lords.

GS: If your life were a comedy, what would it be?
KL: The Jerk. Kidding! I haven't ever really thought of that. In my late teens, Party Girl (minus the getting arrested). I don't know now. Sad. I'll have to think on that one.

GS: Do you look like someone famous?
KL: No. I only look like me.

KL free-for-all: I love the randomness of life! I like to run, but in Seattle in fall that can be a challenge because I'm such a girl I can't get my hair wet! I was always teased by my friends for being the "mom" of the group. (I blame them for me becoming one so early on.) I have a nine-year-old son who is the light of my life. I let him watch things he shouldn't, like Jay and Silent Bob. He's got a great sense of humor, and we laugh all the time. All of my friends are lesbians. I'm still not sure how that happened. Probably because I get to know people first, then find out later. I mean my best friend I've known since we were eight years old, so I obviously didn't know then! It's fun though, because I can gross them out with stories of my sexploits. I don't drink much (anymore!), but I love a nice Riesling, and I LOVE me some Asian Pear Sake. I love animals, and have some VERY strong opinions about animal care and sheltering. Don't breed or buy, while shelter pets die! Oh, and Hello Kitty rocks.

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(Kiddylnd, her cute son and his puppy, a pit she loved named Pride, Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Colbert, Kevin Smith, Margaret Cho, Paula Poundstone, Carlos Mencia)

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