Lisa Lampanelli
(born Lisa Lampugnale
; July 19, 1961), often referred to as The Queen of Mean
, is a Grammy-nominated American stand-up comedian and insult comic. She is noted for her extremely racy and raunchy style of comedy, which frequently includes taboo subjects such as race and homosexuality.
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LISA LAMPANELLI TICKETS
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Journalism career
Lampanelli studied
journalism at
Syracuse University and went through a graduate program at
Harvard.
[1] She worked as a copy editor at
Popular Mechanics
and an assistant at
Rolling Stone
.
[2] She was also a
fact checker and the first chief of research for
Spy
magazine; a book about
Spy
describes her then as "your average decked-out-
heavy-metal-head-next-door."
[3] Speaking later to
Maxim Magazine Online
, Lampanelli remarked, "I was a real journalist for
Rolling Stone
,
Spy
,
Hit Parader
. I interviewed those fuckin'
hair bands:
Cinderella,
Slaughter."
[4]
Comedy career
Lampanelli began her stand-up career in New York in the early 1990s.
[5] She made her break at the 2002
New York Friars' Club roast of
Chevy Chase, and went on to participate in the roasts of
Denis Leary,
Pamela Anderson,
Jeff Foxworthy,
Flavor Flav, and
William Shatner, and to serve as Roastmaster for
Larry the Cable Guy.
[6] Lampanelli is frequently on the dais for
The Howard Stern Show
roasts, including appearances at the roasts for
Gary Dell'Abate,
Artie Lange,
Andy Dick, and
KKK member
Daniel Carver as well as
A&E's "Gene Simmons Roast" in April 2008.
Lampanelli released a comedy special on DVD entitled
Take it Like A Man
in 2005, appeared in the 2006 motion picture
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
, and had a cameo appearance in the
VH1 sitcom
So NoTORIous
. She also landed a deal with
Fox for a sitcom pilot with the tentative title
Big Loud Lisa
, which was considered a candidate for the network's 2006-07 television season. Lampanelli taped her stand-up special
Dirty Girl
in the fall of 2006, which aired on Comedy Central on January 28, 2007. Her
Dirty Girl
CD and
Dirty Girl .. No Protection
DVD were released by Warner Bros./Jack Records on January 30, 2007. Lampanelli was also featured in the movie
Delta Farce
starring
Larry the Cable Guy,
Bill Engvall and
D.J. Qualls, which was released early in 2007, and in
Drillbit Taylor
starring
Owen Wilson.
Racial / ethnic humor is a large part of her comedy routine. Lampanelli explains:
She makes frequent references to her real-life relationships with black men.
[8] In an interview with
AskMen.com, she explained:
[9]
“
| ...my problem is, I can't get a good-looking white guy anymore, I just don't have the looks to get that. I can get hot blacks, but also blacks are now starting to get uppity and go for the skinny white ones and the Asians, which is very offensive to me that they don't stick with their roots — the chubby white girl!
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On November 21, 2008, in
Santa Rosa, CA, Lampanelli taped her first one-hour
HBO Special at the
Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. The special, "Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen," which aired January 31, 2009, was directed by Dave Higby, who also directed her "Dirty Girl" special.
[10]
Books
HarperCollins is the publisher of Lampanelli's memoir,
Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks
(2009).
Publishers Weekly
reviewed:
After more than 30 pages on her search for the “perfect black man,” Lampanelli moves on to outline her standup career, from handling hecklers to doing the The Tonight Show
... Seeking the roots of her humor, she recalls her childhood as an “attention whore”: “Eating to get attention is a behavior that I continued into my high school days.” She follows her memories of “fat rehab” with a variety of topics, from the Virgin Mary to vegans. Much is quite funny, and Lampanelli never pulls her punches. Despite her raw language and raucous writing, honest reflections and stark self-insights emerge as she probes her past. [11]
Nominations
- Grammys - 2008 Best Comedy Album - "Dirty Girl"
References
- Lampanelli is building career on celebrity roasts
- Interview with Lisa Lampanelli
- Spy: The Funny Years
- "Whoa Lampanelli"
- Queen of Mean
- Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy - About the Show
- Lisa Lampanelli: Queen of Mean
- Diary of a Mad White Woman
- Interview
- HBO Special
- ''Publishers Weekly'', July 27, 2009.