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It's no joke!
Some funny ladies from Detroit
are on their way to
fame and fortune
in the world of comedy.

WENDY ROLLIN

Special to The Jewish News

Sheila Kay

rim. Proper. Daintily
demure.
That, folks, is NOT
stand-up comic Sheila Kay. At
a recent Holly Hotel gig, Kay
was upfront, libidinously live
and really shticking it to 'em.
Dating and mating topped
the agenda — along with
more than a few words about
those who pump up versus
those who plump up.
"You know those women on
`Showtime Aerobicize?' " Kay
says. "Nobody looks like that.
I mean, these women are
perfect. Their hair doesn't
move. Their makeup doesn't
move. They don't sweat. And
they've got little, teeny head-
bands on. Very feminine.
"I got to exercise class at
the gym. I'm wearing a bed-
sheet wrapped around my
head. I'm breaking out and
sweating. Not too attractive.
Then, I'm thinking, 'Who's
this poor, fat, ugly woman
next to me?' And then I
realize — I'm in front of a mir-
ror! That was very depress-
ing."
Whatever Kay has to say
about her physique, her
career appears to be in prime

22

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1990

shape. Los Angeles-based for
the past three-and-a-half
years, the Detroit native has
put together an ever-
expanding collection of televi-
sion credits: "Comedy Ex-
press," "Comic Strip Live,"
"Evening at the Improv" and
"Showtime Comedy Club
Network!" Plus, she's got an
agent. She's taking acting
lessons and would like to land
a sitcom.
Oak Park-raised and
Ferndale-schooled, Kay is a
frequent flier to Michigan,
returning for family visits
and engagements such as the
one at the Holly Hotel.
On stage, despite her self-
deprecation, Kay
comes across more
rambunctious
than rotund.
Wearing glasses, a
red over-shirt and
jeans, she looks
casual, comfor-
table and regular-
sized. She delivers
her gags with a
plaintive twang,
reminiscent of
"Brenda," the
sister in the
"Rhoda" televi-
sion series.
"These women
on the beaches
with their string
bikinis!" Kay la-

ments, referring to the
lissome ladies of Los Angeles.
"I wore a bikini once. I lost it
— and I was still wearing it!
I don't get that whole string
bikini thing. I mean, I have
full-cotton underwear and I
have a problem keeping it
down!"
If underwear references
bring on a blush, the rest of
Kay's routine might send in a
swoon. Suffice it to say when
Kay does clubs, funny gets
blue. But she's equally adept
at PG patter. Even as a kid,
Kay knew how to work a
crowd.
"I was always funny, I
guess!" she says. "Kind of

goofy. Kind of mouthy. Never
very shy. I'd go out to eat with
my parents at our favorite
Chinese restaurant and I'd go
up to talk to people at their
tables. I was the 'Entertainer!
My mother would give me the
hook — to get me back to our
table."
There's a strong showbiz
branch on Kay's family tree.
Both her parents, who reside
in Lathrup Village, are funny
themselves, she says. Her
dad, Bob Weinberg, is a career
music teacher. Her mother,
Odelle, performed in the Yid-
dish theater in New York.
Kay's Uncle Davey played
clarinet and acted in
sketches on the
old "Soupy At
Night" show.
Kay herself per-
formed in high
school plays and
planned to attend
Wayne State, but
got married in-
stead. It wasn't
until after her
divorce that she
started doing
theater work in
earnest.
Kay's leap into
the laugh lane oc-
curred when a
friend read her an
article about the
then-new Comedy

Castle. Kay was intrigued.
Soon, she began doing corn-
edy workshops at the Delta
Lady, a little bar in Ferndale
where she found a lot of
camaraderie and helpful criti-
ques from colleagues. She
started putting together an
act.
"It's really hard to write
comic material!" she says.

"People can't
picture us at
home cooking a
meal and putting
the kids to bed.
But, in truth,
that's exactly
what we do."
Sheila Kay

"You can't just get up and do
five minutes. You might think
you're funny. But you're not.
Of course, you evolve and
become more proficient!'
Eventually Kay was doing
stand-up, helping run a
couple of Detroit clubs and
taking her show on the road.
"That's when you really
start to build up an act,"
she says. "You're traveling.
You have to be good enough
that people will say, 'We want
you back! That's where your
money is!'
Return engagements were

