Meet one of the most charmingly eccentric of our Legends, Judy Tenuta. From a start at Chicago's Second City, Judy created an immediate sensation with her unusual style -- sort of a Far Side cartoon brought to life. In the era of early MTV, that style proved to be perfection and soon Judy could be regularly seen on the small screen. A 1986 Letterman appearance and 1987 HBO special turbocharged her career and she won the American Music Award for best female comic in 1987. Through multiple albums and books, Judy dove into her persona as the "love goddess", wearing an accordion and slinging pointed and sometimes salty jokes. And she was part of "Weird Al" Yankovic's cast for his offbeat kid's show -- you can't get more Legendary that that! As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!
Want more Judy Tenuta?
Judy was fearless as a performer -- and sometimes it took audiences a while to catch on -- check out how the response builds to her style during her first Letterman appearance in 1986. https://youtu.be/BEqznn2kEcg?
Judy sometimes played a psychic and perhaps she was judging by this clip from the American Comedy Awards back in 1990. It's way ahead of its time!https://youtu.be/R9IigIWiqis?si=SIAJADhu8RVHWfi7
"Weird Al" Yankovic mounted a hilarious (and unfortunately short-lived") Saturday morning kids show (that was really for adults) in 1997 -- and of course Judy was there!https://youtu.be/vdaXddNyP2Q?si=uqrRzCbB47QFOk2w
What happens when two niche comedy legends meet? This clip of Judy on the Space Ghost Coast to Coast shows the results! https://youtu.be/b2XzUq3uf8s?si=OPbrzulMJJJ5zItu