Paula Poundstone‘s insightful musings about the world around her have been catching on like a house afire. She tells the truth and makes it funny – about her life as she lives it, about our public figures and about the little things in life we may have noticed ourselves but never stopped to reflect on.
As one of the most popular stand-up comedians in the country, Paula Poundstone‘s humor know no bounds. She continually goes where no comedian has gone before: providing backstage commentary to the Emmy Awards telecast, adding humor to the pre- and post-shows for the Oscar Awards, serving as “official correspondent” for The Tonight Show during the ’92 Presidential race.
As a performer, Paula Poundstone enjoys a uniquely intimate rapport with her audience. Her relaxed, comfortably humorous wanderings from topic to topic turn each show into a brilliant stream-of-consciousness experience.
Her off-kilter view of the world and her complete honesty strike a receptive chord and have led to an impressive list of achievements, including: Two Cable ACE Awards, Best Female Stand-Up – American Comedy Awards, and an Emmy Award – as producer/star of a local PBS piece titled Life & Times. Other credits include: her own comedy series on HBO and ABC and numerous special appearances, including headlining the prestigious White House Correspondent Dinner.
Paula Poundstone was a contributing editor for Mother Jones Magazine with her own politically-skewed column on the back page of each issue for a number of years. She has also written articles for the Los Angeles Times’ Sunday Calendar, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour Magazine and Buzz Magazine and others.
Paula Poundstone was among a handful of comics who came to prominence in the comedy craze of the ’80s. Her talent was so genuine it left her standing when the craze finally ended.
Poundstone‘s stand-up appearances at concert venues and colleges take her across the country almost non-stop. However, stand-up is really just a phrase here. Paula is so at ease on-stage that she often drapes herself over a stool, wrapped in a mic cord, to engage the audience in an interactive conversation.
A woman of many interests, Paula Poundstone also served as both producer and voice on an award-winning children’s audio book project titled Completely Yours, featuring a story about foster parenting called A Mother for Choco, along with nursery rhymes and songs. For this project she enlisted the help of some of her famous friends: Mary Tyler Moore, Bea Arthur, Kathy Najimy, Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin. Released in 1997, it is still available through select bookstores.
Paula’s sensibility and impeccable timing made her a perfect fit for NPR’s “oddly informative”, weekly news quiz program, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me,” which she joined as a regular panelist several years ago. Hosted by Peter Segal, the show is broadcast in 50 states and gives Paula a chance to match wits with some of today’s leading pundits – not to mention interact with some of the people at the forefront of our nation’s eyes. The show tapes weekly before a live audience at the Chase Auditorium in Chicago, or on location.
Categories: LGBTQ+
