In the early ‘80s, comedy was no longer a stand-up act filling time between burlesque dancers having grown into a legitimate form of entertainment. Mr. Kelly’s was featuring comedians as headliners. In the Chicago area comedy clubs abounded with the likes of the Comedy Cottage, Comedy Womb, Who’s on First and others. Clubs that featured live bands would start hosting weekly comedy nights.
One of those who used the platform to propel her career was Judy Tenuta (11/9/49-10/6/2022). Her flower enhanced bouffant hair, Barbie-doll “Aphrodite” dresses, feathered boas and signature accordion draped over her bosom created a character that would seem innocent until she attacked her audiences in a loud, shrill tone with a routine that was socially relevant and at the same time cynically irreverent, opening each show with the sarcastic “Hi Pigs.”
Tenuta grew up in Oak Park in a large family of Polish-Italian descent in a staunch Irish-Catholic neighborhood. Those roots played into the evolution of her comedic material. She even dubbed the Catholic school she attended “St. Obnoxious and Bondage.” She majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago and became interested in comedy when she took an improv class at Second City.
As one story is told, “her first ever live performance, Tenuta shocked audiences by dressing up as the Virgin Mary.” That was the beginning of a cast of characters that would become part of her routine such as Queen of the Candy Pants, Princess of Panty Shields and Empress of Elvis Impersonators. She would be best known as the “Love Goddess” claiming she was an ordained minister of her own Judyism religion.
Using an accordion as a prop to underscore her comedy bits that mixed “insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion with bawdy stage antics,” wrote one reviewer. She has no problem lampooning religion, politics, celebrities and current events.
Tenuta would relocate to New York in the mid-‘80s. There she teamed with Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone and Rita Rudner for a HBO-TV special “On Location: Women of the Night.” In 1988 she was named Best Female Comedy Club Performer at the American Comedy Awards.
That would catapult her into a steady stream of work as the national comedy club scene grew and she would become a regular guest on late-night talk shows.
A strong supporter of LGBTQ rights, Tenuta’s humor took on a more risqué tone as she continued to build a stronger and stronger following. In 1995-96 she garnered back-to-back Grammy nominations for her albums Attention Butt Pirates and Lesbertarians and In Goddess We Trust.
Moving to Hollywood, she would find another niche for her caustic style getting calls for voice-over work. She would be the voice of Munch Kelly in the animated “Buffalo Gals” and Black Widow on “Space Ghost Coast to Coast.” Other roles included as the loud-mouth librarian Mrs. Holler in “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” dominatrix disciplinarian Samantha Rottweiler in Butch Camp and as herself in “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.”
She’s written two books – Full Frontal Tenudity and The Power of Judyism. She’s appeared in theatrical productions “The Vagina Monologues” and “Menopause the Musical.”
Sadly, Tenuta recently succumbed to a battle with ovarian cancer in 2022.