Elayne Boosler

Elayne Boosler
Boosler on David Feldman's podcast in 2016
Born (1952-08-18) August 18, 1952 (age 72)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Comedian, writer, actress, activist, philanthropist
Years active1973–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2007)​

Elayne Boosler (born August 18, 1952)[1] is an American comedian, writer, and actress.

She was one of the few women working in stand-up comedy in the 1970s and 80s, and she broke ground by adopting an observational style that included frank discussions about her life as a single woman, as well as political commentary.[2][3][4][5][6] Her 1985, self-produced comedy special Party of One was the first hour-long comedy special by a female comedian to appear on a cable television network.[7][8]

Comedian Richard Lewis told The New York Times in 1984: "She is the Jackie Robinson of my generation. She is the strongest female working. She broke the mold for most female comics."[9] Rolling Stone referred to her as "The First Lady of Stand-Up" in 1988[10] and included Boosler in their list of the "50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time" in 2017.[11] In 2018, CNN included Boosler in their list of "Groundbreaking women in American comedy"[12] and critic Jason Zinoman of The New York Times referred to Boosler as "The Comedy Master Who Hasn’t Gotten Her Due."[3]

  1. ^ "On This Date". The Tribune. San Luis Obispo, California, United States. August 18, 2020. p. 2A. Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Elayne Boosler is 68.
  2. ^ Kohen, Yael (2012). "I Am Woman". We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 117. ISBN 9781466828117. When Boosler emerged at the New York Improv in 1973, she was the first female stand-up to make waves since Joan Rivers and the first to evoke the women's lib attitude of the time. (Lily Tomlin, remember, was not a joke-teller.) Boosler set the tone for the women of the decade, and by the end of the 1970s, female comics were descending on the comedy clubs, pushing the limits of what women could confront onstage with their acts. And while no woman would achieve real success until the 1980s, when stand-up comedy exploded, the women of the 1970s indisputably broke new ground. They unshackled themselves from the old-school comedy conventions of Diller and Rivers (self-deprecation, husband jokes) and began the process of multiplying and amplifying the female voice--even if the glass ceiling they faced was harder to crack than the one faced by their sketch and sitcom peers.
  3. ^ a b Zinoman, Jason (September 30, 2018). "The Comedy Master Who Hasn't Gotten Her Due: Elayne Boosler". The New York Times. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  4. ^ O'Connor, John J. (October 7, 1986). "2 Comedy Programs, On HBO and Showtime". The New York Times. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Rosenthal, David N. (February 13, 1979). "A New Funny Girl". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. The Associated Press. p. B3. Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Eventually, she left New York and took up a professional residence at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a breeding ground for young comedians, but at that time, few comediennes.
  6. ^ Micco, Lisa (April 4, 1996). "Leader of the pack". New Castle News. New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States. p. 9. Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Newspaperarchive.com. By the early 1970s, Boosler became a standout as the first young, single comedienne making the rounds at clubs -- ventures dominated by male comics. Guided by Kaufman, whom she dated for three years, Boosler was the only female in a group of budding comedians -- Freddie Prinze, Jay Leno, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, Jimmie Walker and Ed Bluestone.
  7. ^ McLellan, Dennis (January 28, 2000). "Boosler on Kaufman: Funny, Sweet, Bright". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  8. ^ Locker, Melissa (June 7, 2016). "12 of the Most Important, Groundbreaking, and Controversial Jokes Told by Female Comics". Elle. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  9. ^ Berger, Phil (July 29, 1984). "The New Comediennes". The New York Times. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  10. ^ Handelm, David (November 3, 1988). "The Comedy Index: A roundup of the funny bizness". Rolling Stone. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. ^ Love, Matthew (February 14, 2017). "50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  12. ^ "Groundbreaking women in American comedy". CNN. September 1, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2022.