Without
a good education
I would not be
a doctor to help
sick people,
or a teacher
to help children
like me.
Good Jewish Shtick
Can Have Lots Of Dignity
MELINDA GREENBERG SPECIAL To THE JEWISH NEWS
udaism, according to co-
median Elayne Boosler,
is the only religion with
a sense of humor.
"The Pope is never light,"
she said, in a telephone inter-
view from the Sahara Hotel in
Las Vegas, where she is per-
forming. "Every other religion
has the fire and brimstone.
Judaism has tales with a wink
in them."
Ms. Boosler brings her own
unique brand of Jewish shtick
to her routines, which she has
performed on the "Tonight
Show," "Late Night With
David Letterman" and several
specials on cable.Although she
is Jewish and will often poke
fun at herself, Ms. Boosler
does not like to feed stereo-
types about Jews. "Laughing
at yourself doesn't mean
putting yourself down," she
said. "There is still a dignity
in comedy."
j
"Comedy has
become the disco
of the '90s."
Elayne Booster
While Buster Keaton is her
idol, she admires the work of
comedians Jay Leno, Garry
Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld and
Lily Tomlin — comics who
provide a humorous glimpse
of everyday life. "There are so
many missteps in life and
things that don't work," she
said. "I don't attack personal-
ities. I didn't do Dan Quayle
dumb jokes; they were too
easy."
She is critical of new come-
dians who often resort to cru-
elty and degradation to make
audiences laugh. When foul-
mouthed comic Andrew Dice
Clay was rising in populari-
ty a few years ago, Ms.
Boosler was asked to com-
ment on his work. "I said, 'I've
been doing this for 18 years;
call me in a year to ask me
about Dice Clay,' " she said.
"And where is he now? But
he's not the problem. The
problem is the 2,000 people
cheering him on."
She debated whether to tell
a joke that some audience
members might find offensive.
It's about the Arab terrorist
who was caught in the World
Trade Center bombing be-
cause he went back for his de-
posit on a rental car.
Ms. Boosler said she will
probably tell the joke and add
to it. "I know I always go back
for the refund," she said. And
if the audience is offended,
Ms. Boosler said she'll "lead a
10-minute discussion on why
it's OK for me to do that joke."
Current events play a big
part in Ms. Boosler's routines.
"I like to be very current. I
write every day," said the
Brooklyn-born comedian. "I
like my opening line to be the
last line people were saying as
the curtain went up."
Politics and news were a
major part of Ms. Boosler's act
when she was the sole per-
former at the White House
Press Corps Dinner in early
May. Although she has per-
formed live countless times
and has even entertained
England's Queen Elizabeth,
the performance at the White
House was Ms. Boosler's most
difficult. "It was the most
pressure ever," said the co-
median voted the "First Lady
of Stand-up" by Rolling Stone
magazine. "The dais included
the Clintons, the Gores, UPI
White House correspondent
Helen Thomas and me. It was
like that 'Sesame Street'
game, guess which thing
doesn't belong."
Performing at the White
House is quite a coup for the
woman who was sort of
pushed into comedy. She said
she was "not a funny child"
and wanted to be a cabaret
singer and dancer. "I thought
that's what show biz was," she
said. "I never watched Rodney
Dangerfield go on and
thought, 'Gee, I want to do
that.' "
Twenty years ago, Ms.
Boosler — an aspiring singer
— went on in between acts at
a comedy club in New York's
"Hell's Kitchen" section. It
was there she met Andy Kauf-
man, who became her boy-
friend and who television
viewers knew as the lovable
immigrant, Latka Gravas, on
the program "Taxi." He con-
vinced her to give up singing
and become a comedian,
teaching her an important les-
son about the trade — "the
deeper the comedy came from
within, the funnier it was."
Ms. Boosler and Mr. Kauf-
man remained close friends
after they ended their rela-
tionship, until his death from
throat cancer on May 16,
1984. She easily recalls the
date when she is asked about
him. "There's a big hole in the
world without him," she said.
"He helped zillions of people.
Nobody knows how to work a
routine like him."
While she loves performing
and does it about 40 weeks
each year, Ms. Boosler also
spends time writing. She has
written numerous scripts for
movies; and plans to keep try-
ing until one makes it. In ad-
dition to her comedy specials,
she has appeared on television
in the "Cosby Show" and
"Night Court." Recently, she
was seen on the season finale
of "Sisters." She played a
stand-up comedian working
with a cancer support group.
With so much work avail-
able to her, Ms. Boosler dis-
misses the notion that comedy
. is closed to women. But she
was one of those who paved
the way. The New York Times
called her the "Jackie Robin-
son of her generation as the
strongest female working. She
broke the mold for most fe-
male comics."
Today, Ms. Boosler said,
there are almost too many
comics. "There are so-many
clubs and comedy shows, they
need bodies," she said. "A lot
of junk gets through. When I
started, you had to be really
good to get on television. Com-
edy has become the disco of
the '90s."
But she doesn't think com-
edy as an art form will fizzle
any time soon. "There's great
diversity today," she said.
"And you can never get
enough of a good thing." ❑
Russian Show
On Cable TV
The recent Allied Jewish
Campaign Days of Decision
will be a major focus of Rus-
sian Television-Detroit
(RTVD) every Saturday and
Monday this month.
RTVD, which is organized
by local native Russian
speakers on Continental
Cablevision in Oak Park,
Southfield and West Bloom-
field; will air on channel 18 at
10:05 p.m. each Saturday in
July. The Russian-language
program will be repeated at
6:05 p.m. on Mondays.
Nicholas Genchi
5th grade
111,
America needs more schools
that encourage our children to fulfill
their promise_
KEEP THE PROMISE.
For information on how you can
help change the schools in your
community, call 1 800-96-PROMISE.
Education Excellence Partnership
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