Kathy Griffin

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Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin performing in Las Vegas.
Kathy Griffin performing in Las Vegas.
Born November 4, 1960 (1960-11-04) (age 47)
Oak Park, Illinois, USA
Medium stand-up comedy, television, film
Nationality American
Years active 1980s – present
Subject(s) Celebrities, gossip, pop culture
Spouse Matt Moline (2001 – 2006)
Notable works and roles Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
Website www.kathygriffin.net
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Reality Program
2007 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

Kathy Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian, producer, actress and gay icon.[1] She has also been a voice actress and a red carpet commentator. Griffin is a self-proclaimed "D-list celebrity." She is arguably best known for her role on NBC's Suddenly Susan. She is also known for her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, and for guest co-hosting on The View.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Griffin was born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, and raised there and in nearby Forest Park.[2] Her mother, Maggie, was a hospital administrator, and her father, John, was an electronics store manager.[3] The youngest of five children, she attended Oak Park and River Forest High School, where she graduated in 1978.

[edit] Career

[edit] Stand-up comedy

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Griffin began performing in the early 1980s Los Angeles improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings. In an E! True Hollywood Story segment, she stated that she often went to see shows at the Groundlings before she joined. She said one time she was there she went backstage and talked with a Groundling member (Phil Hartman) and asked him what The Groundlings were all about. This led to her taking classes there and eventually being asked into the Main Company.

She went on to perform stand-up comedy and became part of the burgeoning alternative comedy scene in Los Angeles, appearing at Un-Cabaret and her own show "Hot Cup of Talk,"[2] later the title of Griffin's 1998 solo HBO special.

She did some acting, breaking into film with the supporting role of Connie in the horror movie The Unborn (1991), starring Brooke Adams.

Griffin gradually amassed such TV and film credits as a role in comedian Julie Brown's Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (1992), a Showtime parody of the backstage film Truth or Dare (1991); two appearances as the character Susan Klein, a reporter, on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, her TV sitcom debut; fellow comic Bob Goldthwait's movie Shakes the Clown (1992); and an episode of ABC's divorce-attorney series Civil Wars, Griffin's dramatic-series debut.

After starring in an HBO Half Hour Comedy Special, Griffin's first consistent public exposure came in 1996, when she was cast as the acerbic colleague of Brooke Shields' title character on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. In 1998, Griffin starred in her first one-hour special, HBO's Kathy Griffin: A Hot Cup of Talk. She honed a comedy and television career that poked fun at her relatively modest place in the Hollywood hierarchy in a self-deprecating manner. She frequently appears in such self-consciously tacky projects as the reality show competition Celebrity Mole Hawaii — in which she won the 2003 edition after undergoing such experiences as walking over hot lava with her bare feet. She identifies her victory as the moment she became a "D-list" celebrity.

Griffin also has a secondary career in voiceover work, and has been featured on a variety of projects such as the Dilbert animated series and one of the Spider-Man animated series.

Griffin's TV production company is called Inappropriate Laughter, a reference to her sometimes shocking form of humor.

In June 2008, Griffin will host the first ever Bravo A-List Awards.

[edit] The View

Griffin was considered to join the panel of The View in fall 2007 as a replacement for departing panelist Rosie O'Donnell.[4][5] Despite running jokes in her act about Executive Producer Barbara Walters not liking her, Griffin co-hosted the show many times after O'Donnell left in May 2007. Whoopi Goldberg was ultimately selected as a permanent replacement. On September 10, 2007 Sherri Shepherd took over the remaining co-host spot, vacant since Star Jones' departure. Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that a source tells him that The View is having second thoughts about hiring Sherri Shepherd over Griffin, although both The View and Walters' spokespersons deny this. Walters has stated that she was worried about hiring another loose cannon after the troubles with Rosie O'Donnell.

Griffin recently divulged in her stand-up that she is now banned from 'The View' after talking about the gig on her most recent televised comedy special, Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell.[6][7] While declining to discuss the ban on Access Hollywood,[8] during the filming of an episode for My Life on the D-List with former View co-host/moderator Rosie O' Donnell, Griffin dished about being being banned from The View, specifically targetting View executive producer Bill Geddie in a video posted on R blog.

[edit] Solo reality show

[edit] First Season

2005 saw the debut of Griffin's solo reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, on the cable network Bravo. The show was originally developed as a scripted sitcom for NBC after her popular appearances on Seinfeld, where she played a version of herself, landed her a development deal with the network. Although that sitcom never materialized, NBC chose to develop a similar version as a reality show on its sister channel, Bravo. The show also featured then-husband Matt Moline, her parents, her dogs, and her personal assistant Jessica. The first season of the program was nominated for a 2006 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program, non-competition.

[edit] Second Season and Emmy Awards Controversy

The second season, which premiered on June 6, 2006, brought Griffin the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program, non-competition, on September 8, 2007. She received it during the Creative Arts Emmy, which was hosted by Carlos Mencia and aired on E! on September 15. Griffin stirred up controversy with her acceptance speech, saying,

"Now, a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn't help me a bit. If it was up to him, Cesar Milan would be up here with that damn dog. So all I can say is suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now!"[9]

Kathy Griffin meant this remark not as a slight on Jesus but rather as a satire of celebrities who thank Jesus profusely and nonsensically for their awards, especially artists who themselves are controversial.[10]

Her remarks were quickly condemned by the Catholic League which urged the academy to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment."[11] The Academy said that her "offensive remarks will not be part of the E! telecast on Saturday night".[12] Griffin later responded, "Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?"[13] The editing was condemned in two consecutive episodes 1 2 of Freethought Radio, the latter containing the deleted material. Annie Laurie Gaylor in particular objected to the comment being described as "hate speech."[citation needed]

[edit] Third Season

The third season premiered on June 5, 2007, to an all-time ratings high for the Bravo Network, with over 1 million viewers, a 77 percent increase in viewers aged 18 to 49, and a 57 percent increase in overall viewers.[14] The new season introduced Tom, who was hired as a dog walker but was promoted to Griffin's housemate and tour manager, and Tiffany, Jessica's assistant; it also covered an emotional period of her life during the death of her father.

[edit] Fourth Season

At Griffin's Costa Mesa performance on November 23, she explained to the audience that she signed on for the fourth season which will begin taping in January 2008. It will air June 12, 2008.[15] At her performance, Griffin hinted that one of the episodes would be set at an Army hospital post-Emmy acceptance speech.[citation needed]

It was announced on February 1, 2008, Griffin will start a fourth season of her critically acclaimed reality show My Life on the D-List with a stint as an Air New Zealand hostess on the Pink Flight.[citation needed]

[edit] Style of humor

Griffin established her career with candid observations about her dating life, later focusing on mocking celebrities, her act currently consists of recounting embellished stories involving celebrities. Her favorite celebrity topics are plastic surgery, Scientology, drunkenness, substance abuse, snooty attitudes, eating disorders, and stars whose sexual orientation is disputed. Among Griffin's staples are Paris Hilton, Clay Aiken, Barbara Walters, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Star Jones, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan.

Griffin is sometimes the object of her own humor, particularly with regard to her D-List status. While Griffin paints herself as a Hollywood outsider, she has a group of close celebrity friends that she only speaks positively about in her acts, such as Rosie O'Donnell, Joan Rivers, Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Coolidge and Lance Bass. Griffin's longtime friendship with Bass was the catalyst for a feud between her and gossip blogger Perez Hilton, in which Griffin expressed anger over Hilton's "outing" of Bass on his website, calling Hilton's attacks on Bass "mean" and "unfunny".[16][17] Hilton responded by saying that Griffin's anger was hypocritical, considering all of the gay jokes she makes about Clay Aiken in her stand-up routines.[16] In 2007, Griffin commented on her aversion to making fun of celebrity friends by saying, "There’s nothing I won’t do, but on the other hand I’m full of shit because that changes. For example, you know Lance Bass from 'N Sync and how he’s gay now? All those years that I knew he was gay, he and I were friends, I would never say, ‘Hey, by the way, did you know that Lance Bass is gay?’"[18] Griffin and Hilton ended their feud after the death of Griffin's father, and Hilton appeared on an episode of her show in 2007.[17]

Her style has led to a number of controversies. Griffin has claimed to be banned from appearing on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Live with Regis and Kelly, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She says Ellen's producers told her they can't have her on "trashing celebrities."[19] However, Griffin appeared as a guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show on September 11, 2007.[20] One of the most notable controversies occurred when she made a joke during a 2005 E! televised event that the child actress Dakota Fanning had entered rehab.[21] This incident got Griffin fired from hosting duties on E!'s red-carpet award show coverage. Nevertheless, E! purchased rights to air My Life on the D-List for its British channel, a fact she noted in an episode of season 3.

Griffin has claimed to have been fired from an appearance on the show Hannah Montana, on account of her Emmy acceptance speech. According to Griffin "the instructions literally came down, 'We don't want her anywhere near the building.'"[22] Disney has since disputed this claiming the star was fired for "creative reasons." Griffin hit back in her comedy act joking "[She] has been flashing her green bra and posing topless."[23]

[edit] CD

On June 17, 2008, Griffin will release a comedy CD titled "For Your Consideration". It is Griffin's first audio-only release of her stand-up material.[citation needed] The disc was recorded during her third show in St. Louis, Missouri on February 10, 2008.[citation needed] Included on the disc are her takes on various celebrities and her personal life.

[edit] Personal life

Griffin describes herself as a "militant atheist".[24] While in high school, she fell away from the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to become a Unitarian. Said Griffin: "I'm not really sure what that is, but it sounds better."[25]

She is an outspoken opponent of LASIK eye surgery, having endured a series of operations for her own eyesight that left her partially blind in one eye with a visible eyeball deformity.[26] She is open about her multiple plastic surgeries, and claims that fat "grew back" after her liposuction procedure.

Griffin's father, John Patrick Griffin, died of heart failure on February 17, 2007, during the shooting of the third season of her reality show. The episode related to his passing aired on June 19.

Griffin placed seventeenth on Oxygen's 2007 list of "The 50 Funniest Women Alive."

Griffin is a frequent guest on CNN's Larry King Live. King has stated that she is "one of my favorite guests". During her appearances on the show she usually chides King on various topics and past guests on his show adding her own personal observations.

On February 12, 2001, Kathy appeared on the Howard Stern show and discussed several aspects of her personal life.

  • Kathy mentioned that she "lightly dated" N'Sync member Joey Fatone.
  • At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards, she planned to say a joke directed at Britney Spears in regards to her nipples, but since another member of N'Sync was dating Britney, Kathy randomly directed the joke towards Toni Braxton instead. Toni became very irate over it since she had been rushed to the hospital recently due to an incident with her breast implants. It was reported in the news that later that night, Griffin nearly got into a fight with pop singer Pink, but Kathy explained that the incident was completely false.
  • Kathy clarified that she was never romantically linked to Joel Anderson (from the TV show Survivor).
  • Kathy mentioned that she is a friend of Jenny McCarthy. Jenny was invited to Kathy's wedding.
  • Kathy discussed the fact that she and Matt Moline had not signed pre-nuptial agreements.
  • Kathy told Howard that she does not drink any alcohol based on an incident that occurred when she was very young. While choking at the dinner table, she was handed her father's stein of beer. After taking two "gulps", she thought it tasted disgusting.
  • Kathy is a friend of Lisa Kudrow, who was not invited to her wedding because Lisa had become very famous and they hadn't had a chance to see each other in a long time.

[edit] Marriage and relationships

Griffin married Washington, D.C. native Matt Moline on February 18, 2001 atop the 360 Degree Restaurant in Hollywood. ABC News reported that she walked down the aisle to the strains of the 1980's power ballad "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger. Her maid of honor was Brooke Shields, and the wedding was attended by, among others, Camryn Manheim, Bill Maher, James Williams, and Jane Krakowski.

Although they appeared to have a loving and supportive relationship on her reality show, there were problems beneath the surface. After briefly separating and reconciling in 2005, they divorced in May 2006. Kathy had her tattooed wedding ring laser-removed after her divorce.[27] On Larry King Live, Griffin accused Moline, a computer technician, of stealing $72,000 from her. In a written statement, Moline declined to respond to the allegations publicly.[28]

Since July 2007, rumors had circulated that Griffin had been dating Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.[29] They attended the 2007 Emmy Awards together[30] and speculations rose when the two were interviewed together on the red carpet. On September 18, 2007, US Weekly reported that Griffin and Wozniak were engaged, however, neither Griffin nor Wozniak confirmed the rumor.[31] During a January 2008 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Griffin confirmed that Wozniak will be a regular guest on the fourth season of her reality show.[32] On Tom Green's House Tonight on February 6th, Griffin confirmed her relationship with Wozniak. When asked if she actually targeted Wozniak to make her ex-husband jealous, Griffin stated "What better way to get back at my ex, who was a tech, than to marry the biggest techno-nerd in the Universe?" Wozniak and Griffin served as King and Queen of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley Fur Ball on April 5, 2008 in Santa Clara, California, and scenes for the fourth season of My Life on the D List were taped. [33] However, as of May 2008, it has been confirmed that Griffin and Wozniak are no longer dating and have decided to remain friends.[34]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

[edit] Other appearances

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Griffin has made frequent appearances on reality programs and game shows.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Evans, Chris (2007-11-19). Ten Rising Gay icons. Blogcritics Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  2. ^ a b Frank Lovece. "Fast Chat: Q & A with Kathy Griffin", Newsday, 18 June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  3. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/60/Kathy-Griffin.html
  4. ^ Bill Harris, Griffin unsure about 'The View' gig, canoe.ca, August 4, 2007, accessed August 6, 2007.
  5. ^ Mark Dagostino, Kathy Griffin: Split-Screen Made Rosie Leave The View, People, May 27, 2007, accessed August 6, 2007.
  6. ^ http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3900899656943340494&q=Kathy+Griffin+banned+the+view&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
  7. ^ http://www.nypost.com/seven/01292008/gossip/pagesix/banned_by_babs_348303.htm
  8. ^ http://www.accesshollywood.com/article/8191/barbara-walters-re-bans-kathy-griffin-from-the-view/
  9. ^ "Kathy Griffin's Jesus Remark Cut from Emmy Show", Reuters, 2007-09-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  10. ^ "Larry King Live", CNN, 2007-09-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-19. 
  11. ^ Lynn Elber. "Griffin's Emmy remarks to be censored", AP Television, 11 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. 
  12. ^ Associated Press. "Kathy Griffin's Emmy Remarks About Jesus to Be Censored", Fox News, 2007-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. 
  13. ^ Reuters. "'Offensive' Jesus remarks cut from Emmys", News.com.au, 12 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  14. ^ Bravo (6 June 2007). "Bravo's Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List Season Three Premiere Sets Record Ratings and Series High With More Than One Million Total Viewers". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  15. ^ http://www.kathygriffin.net/#season4
  16. ^ a b In Case You Didn't Know. Perez Hilton Visits Howard Stern. ICYDK. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  17. ^ a b Celebrity Babylon. Perez and Kathy Griffin Make Nice. Celebrity Babylon. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  18. ^ TV Guide. Living Life on the D-List. TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  19. ^ Deborah Starr Seibel. "Last in Line for Celebrity: Griffin - Hollywood's Outcast", The New York Post, 30 May 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  20. ^ The Ellen Degenres Show retrieved September 18, 2007
  21. ^ Adam Sternbergh. "Dorothy Snarker", New York Magazine, 8 August 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  22. ^ http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/03/kathy_griffin_gets_rejected_al.html
  23. ^ http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/01/was-kathy-griffin-dumped-over-jesus-joke
  24. ^ Shia (September 28, 2007). Celebrity Atheists. nowpublic.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
  25. ^ Blase DiStefano. "Foul-Mouthed and Funny", OutSmart, June 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  26. ^ Kathy Griffin. LASIK Nightmare. kathygriffin.net. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  27. ^ Kathy’s Laser Ring Removal. Us Magazine.com (2006-09-28). Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  28. ^ Kathy Griffin: Ex-husband took $72K from me. CNN (July 10, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  29. ^ Collins, Michelle. VH1 Best Week Ever - Off The Market: Kathy Griffin Finds a New Man!. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  30. ^ Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Escorted Comedian Kathy Griffin & Her Potty Mouth To The Emmy’s.. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  31. ^ Kathy Finds Love With Apple Computer Billionaire. US Weekly (September 18, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  32. ^ Kathy Griffin on Jimmy Kimmel Live 1-7-08. YouTube.
  33. ^ Sacks, Larry (2008-04-09). A Dogs Night at the Fur Ball. Santa Clara Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  34. ^ http://perezhilton.com/2008-04-28-on-the-market
  35. ^ Keith Harris (7 June 2007). Sharps & Flats. Salon.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  36. ^ D-List Giva. Feastoffools.net. Retrieved on December 8, 2005.

[edit] External links

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