A few months ago while watching the nth episode of Premium Blend or some show that featured some forgettable comic trying his best to be cute or clever about child-rearing, technology or relationships (or all three, who knows), I was reminded that one of the first comics I took notice of was Rita Rudner – someone who was one of hundreds of comics to burst out in the 1980s via the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, but who stood apart from many others – in appearance and presentation (her one-liner style wasn’t new, but it seemed new and fresh the way she delivered the jokes in the sweetest of manners). And so what was she doing today? I decided to call her and say ‘Rita, what are you doing.’ But my cell phone’s battery was dead at the moment and I also didn’t have her phone number. But, off course a quick search revealed that Rita Rudner is performing gobs of shows in Las Vegas at Harrah’s. And also around the country – all this information can be found at her site, of course. The internet is like that sometimes.

Anyway, it felt good to do an internet search that wouldn’t raise any flags with local, state, or federal security, and to learn something of value – that one of America’s most witty comediennes (or comedian, or comic, or whatever) is still telling jokes. And, the other day I watched her most recent DVD, “Rita Rudner, Live From Las Vegas” – a title that might seem boring, but gets the job done and tells you what you’re gonna see. Her show is not some vaguely named  “Comedians of Comedy” or “Tourgasm” or any “[insert cultural or ethnic identity] of Comedy” – (btw, this is subject for another post – the segregation of comedy – last time I checked, comedy/humor was supposed to be universal, supposed to bring people together and laugh at one another, learn about one another through humor. Nowadays, everyone is so hell-bent on promoting their ‘group’ that it’s comedy group mentality and STOP!!!!!! this will be another post, for later).

Back to Rita Rudner – in today’s GTA:IV world, RR may seem old-fashioned, but buy/rent her stuff and you’ll find some incredibly sharp one-liners and jokes, just as good as anything out there. Please, watch these excerpts:

I watch her show and I think to myself, (to quote Rudner): What is it like in there?