Book Elayne Boosler

Elayne Boosler is an American comedian, writer and actress who helped open the door for women in stand-up during the 1970s and 1980s. Her observational style, mixing candid stories about single life with sharp political commentary, set her apart from the start. She began at The Improv in New York in 1973, where she was working as a singing waitress; when a booked comic failed to show, she took the stage for a hour, and Andy Kaufman urged her to switch to comedy full time. By 1976 Jimmie Walker was managing her, New York Magazine had profiled her, and she had appeared on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell and The Merv Griffin Show. In 1985 she self-produced Party of One, the first hour-long special by a female comedian to air on a cable network. Richard Lewis called her the Jackie Robinson of his generation, Rolling Stone crowned her stand-up's first lady in 1988 and in 2017 ranked her among its fifty greatest stand-up comedians ever, and CNN honored her among groundbreaking women in comedy. Boosler brings pioneering wit and history.