Suzanne Westenhoefer | |
---|---|
Born | Columbia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | March 31, 1961
Years active | 1993–present |
Website | http://www.suzannew.com/ |
Suzanne Westenhoefer (born March 31, 1961, in Columbia, Pennsylvania) is an American out lesbian stand-up comedian. [1] She starred as a panelist on GSN's 2006 remake of I've Got a Secret , which featured a panel of gay celebrities who had to guess the various guests' 'secrets' through a series of timed questions. Her comedy special and documentary, A Bottom on Top , aired on LOGO Television in the fall of 2007. In 2004 she was featured in the film Laughing Matters along with Kate Clinton, Marga Gomez and Karen Williams.
After accepting a dare, she began her career delivering gay-themed material to straight audiences in mainstream comedy clubs in New York City in the early 1990s. She became the first openly lesbian comic ever to appear on television in 1991 on an episode of The Sally Jesse Raphael Show entitled "Breaking the Lesbian Stereotype...Lesbians Who Don't Look Like Lesbians." In 1991 and 1992, her stand-up comedy appeared on Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater and Stand-up Stand-up. She went on to become the first openly gay comic to host her own HBO Comedy Special in 1994 (which earned her a Cable Ace Award nomination) and to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2003. Westenhoefer's current US tour is entitled "Totally Inappropriate". In 1993 she performed in the LGBT-themed comedy special Out There , and in 1998 she appeared in the LGBT-themed sketch comedy special In Thru the Out Door . [2]
Westenhoefer's recent tour, "Finally legal… in a few states", was a headlining act on the recent Sweet Caribbean cruise. Her latest venture, a starring role in the popular online web drama We Have To Stop Now is about to enter its second season, with the first soon available on DVD from Wolfe Video. Her GLAMA award-winning specials Nothing in my Closet but my Clothes, I'm Not Cindy Brady and Guaranteed Fresh are all available on DVD, as are her most recent televised specials, Live from the Village and A Bottom on Top.
Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). She also starred in the Broadway productions POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive in 2022 and the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show. She was the first openly gay comic to appear on American television in a 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.
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The Celluloid Closet is a 1996 American documentary film directed and co-written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and executive produced by Howard Rosenman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, and on lecture and film clip presentations he gave from 1972 to 1982. Russo had researched the history of how motion pictures, especially Hollywood films, had portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters.
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Judy Lynn Tenuta was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess", mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, and bawdy onstage antics. Throughout her career, Tenuta built a niche but devoted following, particularly among members of the LGBTQ community. Tenuta wrote two comedy books, and received two nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Marga Gomez is a comedian, writer, performer, and teaching artist from Harlem, New York. She has written and performed in thirteen solo plays which have been presented nationally and internationally. Her acting credits include Off-Broadway and national productions of The Vagina Monologues with Rita Moreno. She also acted in season two of the Netflix series Sense8. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Gomez pivoted to adapting and presenting her work for live streaming. She has been featured in online theater festivals from New York to San Diego, as well as a five-week virtual run for Brava, SF where she is an artist-in-residence. She is a GLAAD media award winner and recipient of the 2020 CCI Investing in Artists grant.
J. T. Tepnapa is an American writer, producer, actor, and director. Tepnapa has made several short films since 2000 with his company, Blue Seraph Productions, but he is best known for his role as the first openly gay character, Lieutenant Commander Corey Aster, on the fan series Star Trek: Hidden Frontier created by Rob Caves.
Bob Smith was an American comedian and author. Born in Buffalo, New York, Smith was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and the first openly gay comedian to have his own HBO half-hour comedy special. Smith, along with fellow comedians Jaffe Cohen and Danny McWilliams, formed the comedy troupe Funny Gay Males in 1988.
Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! is a 2009 comedy film directed, co-written, and produced by Evgeny Afineevsky and starring Lainie Kazan, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Pastore, John Lloyd Young, Jai Rodriguez, Bruce Vilanch, Fred Swink and Carmen Electra. The theme song, "The Word Is Love" was written by Desmond Child and performed by Lulu. "The Word is Love" was contending for nominations in the Original Song category for the 82nd Academy Awards.
The 21st GLAAD Media Awards was the 2010 annual presentation of the media awards presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The awards seek to honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly and accurately represent the LGBT community and issues relevant to the community. The 21st annual award ceremony included 116 nominees in 24 English-language categories, and 36 Spanish-language nominees in eight categories.
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Steven Spencer Moore was an American stand-up comedian, best known for his 1997 HBO comedy special Drop Dead Gorgeous : The Power of HIV-Positive Thinking, about his experiences living with HIV/AIDS.
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Judy Dlugacz is an American entrepreneur. She was one of the founders of Olivia Records. Founded in 1973, it was the first woman-owned record company. She also founded her own travel company, Olivia Travel, in 1990 after not feeling comfortable on a cruise as an out lesbian. The Washington Blade described Olivia Travel as "the premier travel company for queer women".