Pop Culture Retrospective # 24 - Kathy Griffin : more than just a potty-mouthed and hilarious comedian!

Show # 24:  Kathy Griffin

When I think back to the entertainment that my parents were into growing up, a few things come to mind.  Smooth Jazz and new age music was always playing in our house whether it was Kenny G. or Andreas Vollenvider.  Sitcoms or funny shows were always on like In Living Color and Seinfeld.  And, my parents were also big fans of standup comedy.  Whenever it was on, perhaps some special on HBO or something, my sister and I would always roll our eyes because we had no idea what any of the stand up comedians were referencing and we just figured it was another lame thing our parents were into.  Another example, I remember whenever I heard the original theme song for Oprah come on the TV when I was a kid, I knew it was that boring show Oprah.  Why did my mom like it so much?  Fast forward a few years and I became a HUGE Oprah fan as did my sister.  We were actually audience members at one of the show’s tapings.  My sister was on another time as well!  But anyways, there are so many things that our parents were into that as children we couldn’t stand it, but as adults, we absolutely loved and grew quite fond of.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that my parents have and had excellent taste.  Standup comedy was something that my sister and I grew to love thanks to our parents.  And when I think of who my sister would likely identify as one of her favorites, she would certainly say Kathy Griffin.  The same goes for me.    

With that being said, on today’s show we will be discussing the comedy icon, feminist and LGBTQ advocate and ally Kathy Griffin.  And yes, there have been some significant controversial moments in her career, but nonetheless she is one of the most determined and hard-working celebrities that I have long been a fan of and a woman that my sister deeply admired.  Kathy Griffin is one of just 5 female comedians to perform a solo show at the world famous Carnegie Hall.  Her road to fortune and fame has been a bit of a roller coaster ride to say the least, but nonetheless her story is quite fascinating and you will soon be learning all about it.  So grab your box of wine, a filter for your potty mouth and strap on your seatbelt, here we go!

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine.  You are tuning in to Episode # 24 : Kathy Griffin, the Illinois native and cut-throat stand up comedian who has worked unbelievably hard for the last 4 decades to get where she is today.  I have been a fan of Kathy Griffin for as long as I can remember so like most topics we’ve covered on this show, it was amusing to learn more about this genius comedian.  

Before we get into the show, I wanted to make sure to give credit where credit is due.  Much of the information in today’s show comes from Kathy Griffin's Autobiography entitled:  Official Book Club Selection : A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin.  

It was released in 2009 and is an excellent book.  I’ve had the audiobook version downloaded a few times over the years and I highly recommend it.  One of the best parts of the audio book is that it’s read by Kathy Griffin herself which just adds to it’s authenticity.  With that said, let’s dig deep into the life of Kathy Griffin.  

Kathleen Mary Griffin was born on November 4, 1960 in the Western Suburbs of Chicago.  She was born to Irish-American parents Maggie and John Griffin.  Maggie Griffin was the youngest of 16 kids and John was the youngest of 5 kids.   One interesting item of note is that Kathy’s parents met at the Formfit Bra Factory of all places, her dad was a stock boy and her mom was a secretary. Somehow her Dad was able to win over her Mom with his sense of humor.  Later her father would work as a manager at a Hi-Fi Stereo store and her Mom was a cashier in a hospital.  

Kathy was the youngest of 4 older siblings- her mother was 40 and her father was 44 when she was born.  She was born 18 years after her first sibling was.   Her mother was reportedly on amphetamines with Kathy was born, doctors at the time apparently thought women shouldn’t gain more than maybe 15 pounds during pregnancy.  It sounds like when Kathy Griffin’s mom was still alive, she would joke that Kathy was such a character due to this medication.  

From an early age, the road that led Kathy to a career in comedy seemed to be already laid. It may have occurred due to her excessive TV watching as a child or perhaps her sharing the family gossip with her next door neighbors.  Apparently her neighbors would bribe her with cookies.  The more of an inside scoop they got, the more cookies she received.   Not necessarily related to her neighbors indulging her with sweets, but during her early years, Kathy developed a binge eating disorder which she has struggled with throughout her life.  She didn’t want her mother to pick up on her issue, so she’d hide the trash in her neighbors trash can.  Because she was the youngest of all of the kids, she was thus home first before anyone else returned home for the day.  She would purchase snacks at the local convenience store and would overeat before her parents got home.  

Perhaps part of the reason for Kathy’s over-indulgence was due to how she was treated in school.  Kathy was a self-described “ugly kid” and was the brunt of many kid’s cruelty.  A few times boys from her class would drive past her, they’d roll down the windows and bark.  She was also physically assaulted by some female peers at her Catholic School, reportedly a nun saw this happen and didn’t intervene.  Kathy was very outspoken as a child so she had allegedly run her mouth at some girls and they decided to let her have it.  She soon learned that she wasn’t going to be able to kill them with kindness, but instead could combat them with her sense of humor.  During class she would sometimes make jokes at her enemy’s expense and sometimes not.  Either way, her classmates realized that Kathy was hilarious and they soon started to appreciate her antics.  

Humor would become her coping skill and something that would stay with her.  The Nuns would often write notes home saying that Kathy needed to spend less time flirting with boys and being the class clown and more time on her studies.  Apparently Kathy has been a self described obnoxious person since she could talk and apparently she used to pray to God to make her quiet.  Although I would never say I was bullied growing up, I can certainly relate to using humor as a coping skill.  Perhaps that is why I appreciate Kathy Griffin so much.  Not only is she from the Midwest aka Midwest is Best but she understands the value of a solid sense of humor.  My sister, by the way, had an absolutely incredible sense of humor and I am not just saying that because she is no longer with us.  For years I had heard people use the phrase “I laughed until I cried” and I always thought that was just a saying or wasn’t actually true.  However, my sister was the first person that made me laugh until I cried.  To the point where I had to tell her to please stop talking because I couldn’t take it anymore.  Her ability to tell stories, remember really specific details from our childhood and impersonate our family members was something I will never, ever forget.  She had observational and conversational humor, just like Kathy Griffin.  

Back to KG though.  After attending Catholic schools for many years, Kathy ended up attending Oak Park River Forest High School where she would eventually graduate from.  She found solace in the theatre program at this school.  Apparently there were 3 different theatre programs there.  She felt accepted and appreciated there.  She also found acceptance from the gay students, which was certainly some foreshadowing.  In interviews she has said that she is bi-lingual, she speaks English and Gay.  While in high school, she was actually cast as an extra in a commercial for the White Sox.  It’s too bad that it wasn’t for the Chicago Cubs,  but I won’t give her too much grief over that.  

Following graduation in 1978, Kathy’s parents hoped she would attend college and become either a dental hygienist or a flight attendant, however those were not Kathy’s dreams for the future.  She was able to talk her parents out of attending college and instead her parents, and later Kathy and her sister all moved out west to California.  Kathy’s parents were old enough to retire and she had aspirations of becoming a famous actress.  Her older brother, Kenny had been living out there and loved it and was able to convince John and Maggie to make the move as well.  When the family arrived in the land of sunny skies and palm trees, Kathy decided she would take acting classes with hopes of becoming a superstar.  As I mentioned earlier, Kathy watched a lot of TV while she was growing up and she looked up to television stars like Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper on Rhoda.  She wanted to be just like them.  

One time while reading a review of the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, Kathy had a light bulb moment.  Comedy would soon strike a chord in her and she knew she had to check it out.  The Groundlings in case you are not familiar, is a sketch and improv comedy theatre located in LA as I mentioned.  It started in 1974 and was based off of other famous theatre programs like Second City in Chicago (which I’ve been to several shows of, awesome).  Some notable alumni of the Groundlings include:  Jon Lovitz, Lisa Kudrow, Rachael Harris, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy.  After seeing the show when she was instantly hooked.  She had found her calling, she wanted to become a company member.   After the show, she shoved her way backstage hoping to talk to someone, anyone, about how to become a part of this unique and enticing show.  She ended up striking up a conversation with Phil Hartman who was incredibly kind and helpful to her.  She learned that she would have to pay her dues so to speak before she could be a part of the show.  A few years later, that would become a reality.  First though, she would attend the prestigious Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute which has locations both in LA and NY.  Her Mom was incredibly supportive of Kathy’s aspirations, she helped her pay to attend there so she could learn from the best of the best all about acting.  There are many successful alumni from this school including:  Sally Field, Alec Baldwin, Marilyn Monroe, Chandra Wilson, and a host of others.  

Eventually, Kathy auditioned and became a company member at the Groundlings Theatre.  Her dreams were starting to come true.  Improv was certainly not an easy gig for Kathy but she learned from working alongside other talented people including Phil Hartman and Lisa Kudrow.  There were a few occasions where Lorne Michaels the long-time producer of Saturday Night Live sat in the audience observing her performances to see if she would be a good fit for the show.  Unfortunately on those occasions Kathy’s sketches didn’t go over too well and she has stated she bombed.  However, Julia Sweeney was also performing with the Groundlings at this time and was offered a part in SNL due her strength as a character performer. She had created her character of Pat which would eventually become infamous on SNL and was the inspiration for many a twenty or thirty-somethings Halloween costume in the early 1990s.  

Kathy soon learned that sketch comedy was maybe not the best fit for her, but the friends she made in pursuit of her dream helped to encourage her to continue aspiring to work in comedy just in a different manner.  They all agreed that she was hysterical and so naturally funny, but she needed to find her niche.  Lisa Kudrow and Judy Toll encouraged her to start doing monologues so she would talk about her daily life.  Her banter about her daily life was funny and came off naturally.  Genine Garafalo who was a staple of the 90s comedy scene also encouraged her to take a step back from improv and pursue standup.  Kathy found out that she could use the Groundlings space on Monday evenings for her own shows and so “Hot Cup of Talk” was born.  The format of the show was 3 female comedians:  Kathy, Genine Garafalo, Judy Toll would all perform about 15 minutes of standup.  A 4th comedian was often in the rotation including one of my other favorite comedians, Margaret Cho.  Margaret Cho will most certainly be the subject of a future show.  Hot Cup of Talk would go on to be incredibly successful.  They only charged 1 dollar for admission to the show but Kathy’s career started to gain more traction.  What audience members appreciated about the format was that it was non-traditional standup.  At the time, stand up comedy was essentially set up, punchline, set up, punchline but audience members were hungry for something else.  

Between the rotation of comedians and the fact that it was all female performers provided a huge draw, including network executives who started to keep Kathy on their radar.   Kathy would go on to perform with the Groundlings for 5 years.  She would do stand up as well including the Monday evenings at the Groundlings but also at coffee shops.  She joked that in her early days of stand up, she was often competing with the espresso machines at said coffee shops.  

Following this significant experience, Kathy started to get small roles on television like a guest spot on Ellen (the sitcom of course), the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Seinfeld and ER.  One thing I learned about Kathy Griffin that I really appreciated is that one thing she had written into all of her agreements for her acting gigs included permission for her parents to be able to visit her on set.  They got to meet George Clooney on the set of ER and many other actors they were quite starstruck by.  Kathy’s parents as I mentioned were very supportive of her career endeavors and this just solidified their mutual respect for each other.  

Finally in 1996, Kathy had a supporting actress role in the television comedy series Suddenly Susan.  The premise of the show revolved around Susan Keane who is a writer for a San Francisco Fashion Magazine.  The lead role was played by Brooke Shields.  Kathy played the role of Vicki Groaner the wise-cracking co-worker and good friend of Susan Keane.  When Kathy found out that she got the part (apparently they had auditioned dozens and dozens of actresses for the role) she called her parents hysterically crying, flabbergasted and grateful that she got the part.  The show ran for 4 seasons and while it wasn’t the strongest sitcom to ever hit network TV, the experience was invaluable.  Kathy became close friends with many of her co-actor and actresses on the show including David Strickland who played the rock music reporter on the show. They got together frequently and even traveled together.  Kathy was aware on some level that David had some struggles outside of the show, however despite what he may have been dealing with, he was always ready for work and table reads on Monday morning.  He sadly went on a weekend trip to Las Vegas with comedian Andy Dick.  He consumed alcohol and likely used drugs as well that weekend and sadly he died by suicide that same weekend.  Kathy was of course devastated by this loss but also felt terrible that she wasn’t aware of just how deep his pain was.  I think there are a lot of people who likely feel the same way.  On a lighter note, while working on the set of Suddenly Susan, Kathy Griffin met and befriend Joan Rivers.  Joan was really a mentor for Kathy and they remained close friends until her passing in 2014.  All the while during her movie and television acting experiences, Kathy continued to do stand up and to hone her craft.  In the late 1990s, she started appearingly on a somewhat regular basis in standup specials such as the HBO Comedy ½ hour in 1996, Kathy Griffin : Hot Cup of Talk in 1998, The D-List and Allegedly in 2004, Everybody Can Suck It in 2007, all the way up to her performance entitled Record Breaker in 2013 where she was honored by the Guiness Book of World Records for having the most stand up specials (20 at that point)of any comedian, man or woman.  She was met on stage by a representative to present her with this significant award.

I love when Kathy Griffin impersonates the celebrities she has encountered and for whatever reason I find her impression of Celion Dion to be one of my favorites.  In a now pretty old bit, she talks about how Celine Dion had a show that incorporated Cirque du Soleil which she referred to as Cirque du Celine.  I’ll post a clip of this segment which was edited to include clips from Celine’s actual show and although it’s quite dated at this point, if you are familiar with Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil in some capacity, I’m quite sure you will find this hilarious.  In addition to her stand up television specials, she has also released several comedy albums (I own two out of the three of these):  For Your Consideration, Suckin’ It for the Holidays and Look at my Butt Crack.  Yes, Look at my Butt Crack.  Only Kathy Griffin can get away with that title.  During an interview on Larry King Live he saw the cover of the album for Look at my Butt Crack which has her well, backside and butt crack on it and he didn’t believe it was her.  She then proceeded to unzip her pants and show Larry King, and the camera, her um, butt crack.  She’s not afraid to push boundaries and make us hysterically laugh all at the same time.  

To go back for a moment, as I mentioned in 2004 she starred in a stand up special called the D-List.  This was her first comedy special to air on the Bravo network, it was apparently so popular that network executives approached her and came up with the idea of doing a reality show, and so My Life on the D-List was born.  This show aired when my sister and I were young adults and we were both instantly hooked.  Kathy Griffin is so naturally funny and so subtly sarcastic at times that my sister and I both couldn’t stop laughing at her antics and could also relate.  We both sort of prided ourselves on our senses of humor (I still do) and appreciate telling jokes and saying stupid things in such a convincing way with a straight face that people often think what we are saying is true.  Anyways, the show ran from 2005 to 2010 and was probably one of my sister’s favorite tv shows of all time and I would say the same goes for me.  I own 3 of the seasons on DVD as a matter of fact.  My sister and I used to talk on the phone all of the time at night and for whatever reason we liked to sing the theme song to each other, so I’d start off with:  “Get out of my way, you A-list bores” and then she’d chime in:  “Boring!”  I am not a big fan of reality shows by any means, but it’s easy to fall in love with the show.  It really gave you a behind the scenes look at how passionate Kathy Griffin is about stand up comedy and how naturally gifted she is at humor.  From watching that show, I learned that Kathy Griffin doesn’t script her shows, she merely writes out bullet points and creates hours worth of material.  I saw her perform maybe 10 years ago at a casino in CT and she was on stage I would say for maybe at least 2 hours and it felt like 5 minutes.  It felt like you were sitting in your living room chatting with your hilarious friend.  It was one of the best shows I have ever seen.  I also learned that Kathy brings her performances to venues besides stages at famous theatres.  She has performed in prisons as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, which is something that many comedians would never even consider.  We watched Kathy get through a painful divorce with her husband Matt Moline who seemed like a pretty decent guy but who ended up allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her.  

The show also more formally introduced us to her endearing and hilarious parents, John and Maggie Griffin.  Their banter is so outrageous and hilarious that the 3 of them could have done a show as a trio.  Plus there is something very comforting about hearing Midwestern accents if you are a midwestern transplant.  It reminded me of working alongside a teacher a few years ago who was also from the midwest, whenever she yelled at our students I was of course uncomfortable but also comforted.  Anyways, we watched Kathy cope with the loss of her father which was really authentic and sincere.  We watched the escapades of Kathy and her Mother which was probably one of the best parts of the whole series.  Kathy’s mother absolutely loved wine, especially boxed wine and Kathy never let her live it down.  Their antics around her mothers indulgence was such a hit that Maggie wrote a book entitled “Tip It (in reference to tipping back a glass of wine which she so often did):  The World According to Maggie Griffin.”  In one of my all time favorite episodes of My Life on the D List Kathy builds a school in Mexico (well, more like renovates) so that she can be more like Oprah who famously built a school for girls in Africa.  And in another, she participates in a beauty pageant for young children and her mother watches in horror as Kathy tries to act like a sassy little kid wearing a halter top, daisy dukes, a holster and wielding a fake pistol gun.  It is so freaking funny that just thinking about it in my head makes me laugh.  My sister was a huge fan of smart and funny television shows, and this one was no exception. 

In 2009, Kathy released an autobiography entitled:  Kathy Griffin:  Official Book Club Selection which debuted at #1 on the NYTimes Best Seller’s List.  Also in 2009, she started a several year run hosting CNN’s New Years Eve live with Anderson Cooper.  In 2016 she released Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins:  My A-Z index.  In yet another hilarious take on her life and interactions with others, Kathy shares many stories about her encounters with celebrities.  Everything from being an extra in the infamous Pepsi Commercial where Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire to getting relationship guidance from Jane Fonda who apparently made her the worst quesadilla of all time.  If you listen to the audio book, which I highly recommend, you will get to hear Kathy’s impression of Cher which is absolutely priceless.  

In 2017, Kathy Griffin faced an uphill battle after a photo op of her went viral.  She is very outspoken when it comes to Donald Trump, she has expressed concerns about him long before he became President.  In response to some of his misogynistic comments about women, including one in 2015 directed toward News Anchor Megyn Kelly when he said she had “blood coming out of her wherever, she decided to fight back a bit.  So, she covered a halloween mask with his likeness in ketchup and held it up in the air as if she had decapitated him.  What she felt was sort of a prank and a joke exploded and nearly destroyed her career.  Overnight she lost many of her friends, and she, her mother and her sister who was in hospice care I believe at the time, all started receiving death threats.  She was dropped from CNN, her tour was cancelled and she was essentially not welcome to perform in the United States.  

Don’t get me wrong, what she did was certainly crossing a major line but man, the backlash (which is putting it lightly) that she experienced was overwhelming just to hear about.  She decided to take her act overseas in a show called the “Laugh Your Head Off” tour and although she was welcomed in open arms to other countries, getting there was incredibly difficult.  She was detained at essentially every airport she went to.  She was often held for hours, having her phone and passport taken from her.  She was on the do not fly list for some time and she was at one point considered a terrorist who was plotting to assassinate a political leader if I am remembering correctly.  She was invested by the FBI.  It was a big deal.  Being the resilient person that she is though, Kathy Griffin did not give up.  She did not throw in the towel as a comedian (which if she did at that point, it would have been completely understandable) but instead her show carried on in Singapore, Germany, Sweden and Australia among many others.  Several of the shows sold out almost immediately when they went on sale.  I think audiences from foreign countries were eager to hear from the incredibly talented and foul-mouthed American comedian.  Watching Kathy Griffin bounce back from this unbelievable situation is documented in the 2019 film  Kathy Griffin : Hell of a Story which really shows how this lapse in judgment resulted in a downfall that many people didn’t think she would bounce back from.  It’s available to watch on Amazon Prime.  

As I mentioned at the top of the show, Kathy is the youngest of 5 siblings.  She has 3 older brothers and an older sister.  Despite her endearing and hilarious parents and the brilliance of Kathy herself, being a sibling hasn’t been without some heartache and tragedy.  Kenny, Joyce, Gary and John round out her older siblings.  Her brother Gary sadly died in 2014 of cancer.  He was previously an attorney but dealt with cancer for the last 2 years of his life. and her sister Joyce also died of cancer in 2017.  Kathy reported that they shared a room together growing up.  Kathy shaved her head in solidarity with her sister as she was going through Chemo.  Joyce was an elementary school teacher for many years in Chicago before moving to the LA School System.  She would later go on to further her education in School administration.  John, her only living sibling appeared on several episodes of My Life on the D-List.  

Probably one of the most tragic aspects of Kathy that I was reminded of through my research is her oldest sibling, Kenny.  Before we get to Kenny though, please be advised that the next few minutes contain some sensitive information that isn’t appropriate for younger children or individuals who may be triggered about abuse and violence.  He was a man who had an incredible amount of demons according to Kathy.  The first inkling of something being off with him was when he would get into bed with Kathy when she was a young kid (remember there was a big age gap between the two of them) and would lay next to her and would whisper sort of inappropriate/grooming type statements into her ear.  As Kathy got older, she would learn more and more about her brother that was quite disturbing to say the least.  It sounded like Kenny was quite the charmer and despite having an angry and aggressive attitude, he almost always had a girlfriend.  

For whatever reason, a few of Kenny’s partners confided in Kathy despite her being young when a lot of these incidents went down.  He was once married to a woman named Kathy coincidentally and she told Kathy Griffin that Kenny was incredibly aggressive towards her.  One time during an argument, he allegedly threw his wife outside in the cold without any clothes on.  He would often ask his parents for money which led to a lot of heated arguments as he wasn’t able to keep a job.  He was physically abusive to other partners and one of them again confided in Kathy that he had many inappropriate interactions with young children.  Kathy was so upset with all that she heard about her brother, especially the horrific incidents involving children that she contacted the police to report it.  She knew when and where it happened and I believe she also knew who the victims were.  When she contacted police though, they said there wasn’t much they could do unless one of the children or their parents came forward. Kenny’s difficulties started to catch up with him, he was periodically homeless and ended up in jail for theft and drug charges.  He had become addicted to crack cocaine.  One time while on the way to an audition, Kathy drove past her brother who was clearly homeless holding up a sign asking for money.  Understandably she didn’t stop, but did continue on to the audition.  Kathy Griffin once said that comedians have an incredible ability to compartmentalize and this situation was no exception. Despite Kenny’s dark life and apparent significant mental health issues, his parents still tried to help him.  They tried to help him stay off of drugs and helped him apply for food stamps. Soon though he fell ill and Kathy’s parents requested that she say goodbye to him.  Although her parents were very much in denial about his horrific actions, Kathy respected her parents request and said goodbye.  Eventually, he acquired what Kathy’s mom reported to be pneumonia and died in her arms.  He passed away in 2001.  Due to her extended family’s use of alcohol and her brother's significant substance abuse problem, Kathy Griffin has consistently stated that she does not drink (she apparently has never had one) and does not do drugs.  She has also noted that she doesn’t need substances to loosen up, or talk more.  The use of such things would probably make her potty mouth even more over the top.  

In January of 2020, Kathy married her long time boyfriend, Randy Bick who is a Marketing Executive.  They had started dating in 2012, briefly broke up but got back together.  It seems like he has been a great supporter to Kathy and all that she has gone through, especially the recent incidents.  Their wedding was officiated by none other than Lily Tomlin.  

Kathy has won two Emmy awards for her work on My Life on the D-List, a Grammy for her comedy album Calm Down Gurrrrlllll, and a GLAAD media award.  And GLAAD in case you are not familiar stands for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.  Kathy has to be one of the most dedicated allies when it comes to supporting the LGBTQ community.  She has done everything from marching in Gay pride parades with her mother to including her gay friends in her TV show to helping fight for gay marriage.  Her support goes back decades.  That is something I have always admired about her and I know her actions around this important issue spoke volumes to my sister as well.  My sister was my first and best ally. 

Kathy has no plans to ever stop touring because she absolutely loves it.  She said during an interview with Larry King that she would be fine if she died while on stage.  Might as well go out doing what you love.  

I hope you have enjoyed this look back on the life and career of the one in a million comedian who is Kathy Griffin. What I appreciate about her story and what I have taken from it are many life lessons.  When she was just a teenager, she wanted to become a superstar and she has literally stopped at nothing to make that happen.  She was bullied as a kid, didn’t give up.  She didn’t look like a typical woman in Hollywood and she didn’t give up.  She has performed stand up comedy for decades which I have always felt has to be one of the most overwhelming roles in entertainment.   To deal with hecklers, or a show that bombs sounds horrible.   How do you pick yourself back up if you are essentially booed off a stage?  If you are Kathy Griffin, you keep on going.  Throughout my life, I’ve had a few people tell me that I should be a stand up comedian, to which I always respond thank you, but not in a million years.  You may think I’m funny but everyone may not think that way, plus I say stupid crap while in a conversation, I can’t be put on the spot and be funny.  One thing though that really stood out to me, is how she keeps going despite having lost so many people close to her.   Whether it was losing her parents in the public eye or growing old without several of her siblings, I feel like her ability to still live her life, to still see the humor in things and do continue to do what she is passionate about really speaks to me.  Plus, she is from the Midwest, right outside of Chicago no-less, so that just ups the cool factor for sure.  Further, aside from Kathy’s natural ability to be funnier than any other comedian I can think of, she is incredibly smart.  Really and truly.  She is very politically active and knowledgeable, but she’s not educated via a Facebook post or a meme.  She is well-read and she knows what she is talking about.  So not only can she fight back with her sense of humor but she can also fight back with her brilliance.  If you watch any interview with her, whether it’s with CNN or Entertainment Tonight, she is incredibly well-spoken, well-informed and timelessly funny.  Kathy Griffin is 60 years old and I think people in any demographic would find her incredibly hysterical whether they are 20 or 70.  

If you are enjoying the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Spotify or whichever podcast platform you use.  Please also rate the show as it helps direct more listens to this joyous show that travels down memory lane. You can contact me anytime, my email address is:  popcultureretrospective@gmail.com or you can follow me on Twitter, I’m @popcultureretro.  I hope you will join me for my next show where we will discuss the vast array of extinct stores and fashions that could be found and seen in malls all over America in the 80s and 90s.  Until then, BK, BS and HOTYM.