Sunday, March 25, 2012

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is a stand-up comedian, actress and an outspoken supporter of GLBT and feminist causes. Today's Out Spotlight is Suzanne Westenhoefer.

Suzanne Westenhoefer was born March 31, 1961 in Columbia, Pennsylvania, the youngest of three sisters. When the girls where between the age from six to two, their father abandoned them and their mother. Their situation was highly unusual for the time and place; Westenhoefer recalled that "there were no other divorced families in the entire town" back in the 1960s. From that experience she and her sister and mother became "very, very bonded" to each other.

The youngest of three sisters, Westenhoefer was born March 31, 1961 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. When the girls ranged in age from six to two, their father abandoned them and their mother. Their situation was highly unusual for the time and place; Westenhoefer recalled that "there were no other divorced families in the entire town" back in the 1960s. Perhaps partly because of that, the mother and her daughters are all "very, very bonded" to each other.

Her middle sister Joan,is also a lesbian activist and their mother is proud of both her girls who are out and proud. Upon meeting other parents of GLBT children, her mother has been has been known to quip, "You have only one?"

Westenhoefer's oldest sister, a born-again Pentecostal, thinks they will be damned for their sins, but nevertheless, everyone manages to get along. "We love each other, and we're never not going to be friends," said Westenhoefer of her family.

After high school, she went to Clarion University. While there, she helped found the college's first gay and lesbian group.

After earning her degree in drama, she moved to New York City in hopes of beginning an acting career. She continued her involvement in GLBT causes, marching with ACT UP and later with Queer Nation after that group split off from ACT UP.

Out, proud, pretty, and funny, she found success as a stand-up comedian and actress.

She started her stand-up career with a three-minute routine at a piano bar in 1990 on a dare from her friends. She was a natural and then her friends urged her to continue and enter a stand-up contest at a West Village cabaret. She won and started getting bookings at other New York clubs.

She got wider attention when she appeared on a January 1991 episode of the Sally Jesse Raphael's show entitled "Lesbians Who Don't Look Like Lesbians." The tall, blond, and beautiful Westenhoefer evidently did not match whatever stereotypical image the producers had of what lesbians looked like.

She didn't perform on the show, but just the fact that she was identified as a stand-up comedian led to more bookings and opportunities to tour.

She was an immediate hit with queer audiences, but she wanted to reach out to the mainstream public. "I want to talk to straight people. I want to dialogue with them. I want them to get over this stereotype stuff. I have a desperate need to convince each straight person that we're fine," she said, adding that from the beginning, "I've always enjoyed the responsibility of being, to some degree, a vocal person for the gay community. I take that on on purpose. It's a mission in my life."

She made her television debut when she was featured in "Out There", a special filmed on National Coming Out Day, October 11, 1993. The next year she was the first openly gay comic to host her own HBO Comedy Special in 1994 which earned her a Cable Ace Award.

Westenhoefer's first comedy album, Nothing in My Closet But My Clothes, was released in 1997. She found humor in her relationships--romantic, familial, and with pets--and in interviewing her sports idol, Martina Navratilova, for The Advocate, among other topics. The album earned a Gay/Lesbian American Music Award (GLAMA) for comedy.

Her second CD, I'm Not Cindy Brady,refers to the fact that some people thinking she played the youngest daughter on the sitcom The Brady Bunch. The album garnered another GLAMA Award.

While she was racking up time and praise for her TV appearances on cable, including stand-up performances on Comedy Central, Evening at the Improv, Caroline's Comedy Hour, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, and The Jon Stewart Show, the networks were slow to recognize her.

Her first appearance on network TV came in March 2003 when she was a guest on the David Letterman Show. It was a first for Letterman as well: no out lesbian comic had been invited before, nor had any openly gay man.

Letterman's booker had been trying for two years to convince executives to invite her on the show, and when the call finally came, she saw it as both an opportunity and a responsibility. "I felt the need to do really well because I was speaking--and hopefully opening doors--for lots of gay folks," she stated. "I was also scared because I am female. Watch TV; not too many chicks [are] getting the opportunity to do stand-up either."

Westenhoefer has noted there is a bizarre parallel between the boosts to her career by her appearances on Raphael and Letterman: the former occurred the day before the start of the Gulf War, and the latter took place on the eve of the war with Iraq. "Two big milestones of my career, and a Bush goes into Iraq and attacks. There's something creepy about it."

She is also one of four lesbian comedians including Kate Clinton, Marga Gómez, and Karen Williams who were profiled in Andrea Meyerson's 2004 film Laughing Matters. The documentary included interviews with the women as well as segments from their stage shows.

In 2006, she returned to cable television as a panelist on the Game Show Network's revival of I've Got a Secret, a long-running show of the 1950s and 1960s. Joining her on the all-gay panel of the new edition were radio host Frank DeCaro, actor and dancer Jermaine Taylor, and former major-league baseball player Billy Bean.

Her comedy special and documentary, A Bottom on Top, aired on LOGO Television in the fall of 2007.

She continues to tour and her latest venture is a starring role in the popular online web drama “We Have To Stop Now” is about to enter its second season, with the first soon available on DVD from Wolfe Video.

Critics have noted that Westenhoefer's language is relatively tame and restrained compared to other queer performers such as Margaret Cho and Lea DeLaria. She acknowledges the difference in style and said "I don't want to ever make my audience uncomfortable."

Westenhoefer has always been a supporter of women's and GLBT rights. She is a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood, after getting pregnant as a teenager, and having the option of choice, allowing her to choose to terminate the pregnancy.

She is strongly committed to the GLBT community and works many benefit appearances into her busy schedule of around one hundred concerts per year. She also encourages other performers to do their part as well: "Host AIDS fundraisers, and breast cancer auctions, and drag queen contests, and drag king contests."

While she is less aggressively political than some other comedians, she counts herself among "the sacred cow-busters." "Sometimes what comics do is we make jokes to get opinions across to people," she stated. "It's sneaky. We're getting you to see our opinions 'cause you're laughing and you've relaxed, and you don't even realize it."

One cause that is especially important is Marriage Equality.

The relationship at the center of Westenhoefer's life, and many of her routines, is with the woman who has been her partner since the early 1990s, Jennifer Houston, a marketing executive.

They were married in California, September 9, 2008. They chose to set their wedding date before the November election, in which Proposition 8 would be on the ballot in California.

Because they were married before the election, their union is among the approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages legally recognized by the state.

The couple maintains homes in Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California.



23 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. "You have only one?" lol. That's pretty good. I've not heard of Suzanne Westenhoefer but she does look a lot like Cindy Brady.

    Cannot believe the Hawks are about to beat Roy's team. We can hear the hootin' & hollerin' upstairs, lol.

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  3. So did anyone else see this? It's about The Advocate's 45th Birthday bash on Thursday, the 29th. Jake is going to be inducted into their Heroes Hall of Fame.

    Advocate magazine turns 45
    So, of course, there's a party. Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are on the guest list.

    March 23, 2012|By Matt Donnelly, Special to the Los Angeles Times

    Admit it, at 45 years old, the Advocate looks good. Over those years, the LGBT magazine has seen the same challenges as any other print publication but has forged ahead with its watchdog duties in human rights as well as being a pop culture compass.

    The glossy will celebrate the big 4-5 at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday, welcoming a host of celebs and activists, as well as fashion and social types. Not to mention inductees to the Heroes Hall of Fame, a list of notables that includes Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Cynthia Nixon and Jake Gyllenhaal.

    Macy Gray will perform for the crowd, with "Tonight Show" correspondent Ross Mathews as emcee, in a night that boasts "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Drew Droege, Sean Maher and Oscar show writer Bruce Vilanch as well as Dustin Lance Black, Donna Deitch and Pat Rocca.

    Founded in 1967 as a vehicle for education at a time when gay and lesbian bars were being raided and unlawful arrests made, the mag's legacy will be toasted in the Hilton's International Ballroom, with a DJ set from Beau Dasher.

    The Advocate partners with Lexus for the event, also serving as benefit for the Point Foundation, which works to provide academic scholarships to LGBT youth.

    —Matt Donnelly


    Very Quiet Story

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  4. Tina Dizon ‏ @TinaDizonTPR

    Close

    Jake Gyllenhall, Liev Schreiber, and some other cuties all enjoying a boys brunch! Nice view to start my morning...
    2:30 PM - 25 Mar 12 via web · Details

    Tina Dizon
    @TinaDizonTPR
    Hair guru, yogini, retail therapist, napper extraodinaire
    City of Angels ·

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  5. Wow what an honor for Jake. I so hope he goes to the event. I love to see him go with Austin. I guess that is being overly hopeful. Thanks for posting that PG.

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  6. Big TV night with Mad Mens return plus my usual Shameless and Luck. And Beautiful Boy is on right now so I am taping it. Austin was in the opening shot. I hope to see a lot more of him.

    How did Jakes being honored by the Advocate get so little notice up to now? Glad to hear it though and it would be so great if he and Austin were both there.

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  7. Hey thanks PG for posting that about Jake and being honored by The Advocate in the Hall of Fame. It would be great to see him there.

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  8. Hopefully Jake is now back in LA for Thursday. It sure is gonna be interesting to see how he handles this. He must have known about this for a while. This is the first time in a long time Jake has been involved in anything like this. Probably since the time he introduced Jennifer Anniston at GLAAD. This is really impportant. I am sure he was selected for his Jack Twist role and taking that part in BBM. If Jake has any pride orcourage he will not lie or pretend to be something he is not at this event.

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  9. How about those Jayhawks? Going to the Final Four!!! Pretty exciting.

    I'm not a big college b-ball fan but I always root for the Jayhawks. The women got knocked out this weekend by Pat Summit's Lady Vol's.

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  10. I am afraid to get my hopes up but it is interesting that Jake is being seen in L.A.

    And brunching with Liev Schrieber?? The lead star in the pilot on Showtime that Austin is in? That Austin was pictured with in those on-set pictures?

    And here's another one:

    Dash Mihok ‏ @DizMihok

    Rainy mornin' wave ride with my man @AUS10NICHOLS. UK handling biz and KU taking out UNC like I predicted. #PerfectSunday
    6:08 PM - 25 Mar 12 via Twitter for iPad · Details

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  11. Sorry, here's a repost of that tweet.

    Dash Mihok ‏ @DizMihok

    Rainy mornin' wave ride with my man @AUS10NICHOLS. UK handling biz and KU taking out UNC like I predicted. #PerfectSunday

    6:08 PM - 25 Mar 12 via Twitter for iPad ·

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  12. You're right, Tom. It is a huge honor.

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  13. Dash play Liev's brother in Ray Donovan.

    And he was in TDAT. Dash was part of Dennis Quad's climatology team.

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  14. the tooth with the cowboy hat is super cute!

    https://twitter.com/GoosesTile

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  15. LOLLLLLLL!!! That is awesome. Lookit that little tooth guy. He's adorable.

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  16. I mean, how ironic is that? That the tooth has on a dark cowboy hat. And what is that in the holster alongside the toothbrush? Is that toothpaste or.....

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  17. And, the Ray Donovan show is the one Austin is in. And they were enjoying a "boys brunch" and the guys must have been cuties. Jake is getting a little braver because the connection is obvious.

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  18. Adam Levine ‏ @adamlevine

    "we're almost NOT young anymore."--@AUS10NICHOLS
    2:53 AM - 26 Mar 12 via Echofon

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  19. Katelyn Nelson ‏ @Katelyn420

    Mmmmm! I served Jake Gyllenhaal popcorn and coke tonight! Ahhh!
    2:34 AM - 26 Mar 12 via TweetDeck · Details

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  20. Adam Levine is in Costa Rica

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  21. ^ @7:35am it's this new thing called TEXT MESSAGING.

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