Lea DeLaria

Infobox actor


name = Lea DeLaria
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birthdate = Birth date and age|1958|5|23|mf=y
birthplace = Belleville, Illinois
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Comedienne
Actress
Jazz musician
spouse =
parents =
children =
website = http://www.delariadammit.com/

Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958 in Belleville, Illinois [http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Lea_DeLaria/191438 Lea DeLaria profile - Hollywood.com] Retrieved September 28, 2008.] ) is a gay Italian-American comedienne, actress, and jazz musician. [http://www.breakupgirl.net/guest/9907.html "You & A Guest" Interview: Lea DeLaria - Breakupgirl.net] July 15, 1999.] The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show".Cagle, Jess. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308870,00.html "Stand-up Kinda Gays."] "Entertainment Weekly". December 10, 1993.]

Called "every inch and ounce a star," by "The New York Times",Canby, Vincent. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E1D71639F93AA15752C1A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "THEATER: An Exhilarating "On the Town" Spreads Some Joy."] "The New York Times". November 29, 1998.] DeLaria has performed stand-up comedy for over 25 years and is an extremely prominent figure in the world of lesbian stand-up comedy, she is noted for her raunchy persona and inflammatory, irreverent political commentary, which have proven controversial inside and outside the gay and lesbian community.fact|date=August 2008 She began her career billing herself as "That Fucking Dyke"; she states "I called myself that because I would walk down the street and people would yell (it) at me. But after two years of performing I would walk down the street and people would yell (it) at me and I wouldn't know if they were a fan or not!"

:"I'm at West Virginia University to do a show, right, and they've done all this fucking publicity about it...so when I get to my show, who's waiting for me but five hundred Christian protestors with great big signs. 'Lea DeLaria is going to hell.' Not generic 'gay is not good': " 'Lea DeLaria" is going to hell.' Which is what I need five hundred strangers to tell me, like twelve years of Catholic fuckin' school wasn't enough, right?!"::— Lea DeLaria, from "Box Lunch"

Early life

DeLaria attended kindergarten through 8th grade at St Mary's Elementary School in Belleville, and has referenced her Catholic upbringing in her performances. After graduating, she progressed to the public Belleville Township High School West.fact|date=August 2008

Career

Of her watershed 1993 appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show" as the first openly gay comic to appear on a late-night talk-show, DeLaria said "It's the 1990s ... It's hip to be queer, and I'm a bi-i-i-i-ig dyke!" In December 1993 she hosted Comedy Central's "Out There", the first all-gay stand-up comedy special.

DeLaria is also known for her touring "musical comedy about perverts," "Dos Lesbos" (1987-1989) as well as "Girl Friday", a comedy she conceived, wrote, directed and starred in, and which won the 1989 Golden Gull for Best Comedy Group in Provincetown, Massachusetts.Post, Laura. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fxfuxqw5ldke~T1 Lea DeLaria profile - All Music Guide] Retrieved August 28, 2008.]

DeLaria has released two CD recordings of her comedy, "Bulldyke in a China Shop" (1994) and "Box Lunch" (1997). She has also written a humorous book entitled "Lea's Book of Rules for the World".

DeLaria appeared as Jane in the 1998 Off Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's "The Most Fabulous Story", a "a gay retelling of the Bible." [Cagle, Jess. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20014533,00.html "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told."] "Entertainment Weekly". April 23, 1999.] "Entertainment Weekly" said "a star is born with Lea DeLaria" of her "showstopping" performance as Hildy Esterhazy in the 1998 Broadway revival of "On the Town".Cagle, Jess. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,286011,00.html Stage Review: "Little Me"/"On the Town".] "Entertainment Weekly". December 4, 1998.] Wontorek, Paul. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,273601,00.html "Handicapping the 1999 Tony Awards."] "Entertainment Weekly". June 4, 1999.] DeLaria subsequently played Eddie and Dr. Scott in the 2000 Broadway revival of "The Rocky Horror Show", and can be heard on the cast recording. [ [http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=69841 Lea DeLaria profile - Internet Broadway Database] Retrieved August 28, 2008.]

DeLaria has also appeared in a number of films, including "Edge of Seventeen" and "The First Wives Club".

DeLaria integrates musical performance into her stand-up comedy, focusing on traditional and modern be-bop jazz. She has even said at her shows "It is my personal goal to bring be-bop jazz back into the gay and lesbian community."fact|date=August 2008 In 2001 she released a CD of jazz standards called "Play It Cool". This was followed by the album "Double Standards" in 2003, [Reynolds, Nick. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/bh9x/ "Lea Delaria: "Double Standards" Review." BBC.co.uk] November 3, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2008.] [ [Lea Delaria: "Double Standards" - Amazon.co.uk] Retrieved September 28, 2008. "Double Standards" was first released in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2003 and in the U.S. in 2005.] and by "The Very Best of Lea DeLaria" in 2008.

In 2001, DeLaria was the voice of Helga Phugly on the short-lived, animated sitcom, "The Oblongs". In 1999 DeLaria played the recurring role of Madame Delphina on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live", returning in 2008 as both Delphina and Professor Delbert Fina.Murray, Jesse. [http://soapnet.go.com/soapnet/article/path-articleNum_7452 "Madame Delphina Sees All." SOAPnet.com] July 1, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.delariadammit.com/index.html Lea DeLaria's Website]
* [http://www.queertheory.com/histories/d/delaria_lea.htm Lea DeLaria] at Queer Theory
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