Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Jo Anne Worley

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: 

Jo Anne Worley

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to the Ladies Of Comedy. Theses are the gals who made us laugh and, on occasion, brought a tear to our eyes. They are visionaries, capturing aspects of the human condition while holding up a mirror to the world. Their characters, style, and phrases have helped form our daily vernacular in ways we are not even always aware of - but that is the power of comedy and the magic these ladies all possess. One such quirky, classy diva?

Jo Anne Worley.

Such a sense of fashion! Why she never met a feather boa she couldn't wrestle.

This diva knew how to stand out of the crowd and make a real entrance. Why, the only thing that preceded her into a room before her eyelashes was her voice!

And what a voice. The lady could sing!

In fact, pre- and post-Laugh-In she became a regular presence on stages throughout the world, including Broadway, appearing in such shows as Wonderful Town, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, The Wizard Of Oz, Gypsy, Wicked,  The Prince Of Central Park, and many, many more.

She once served as the understudy for Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly on Broadway and she provided the voice for a certain piece of furniture in the animated Disney classic, Beauty And The Beast.

Point is, the lady kept working because... she loved making people laugh. And the world responded, embracing her loveable, goofy ways, thus guaranteeing her place as a comic legend.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Her Craft

"I was quite introverted as a little girl. As I grew, I broke out in more ways than one. And it seems I have always used comedy."

"I have a big mouth, and I'm sorry to say I've always had one. When I was young, in church, I never sang with everybody else."

"It's ironic then, that I am an entertainer. One of the reasons I wanted to go into show business was because I didn't want to go to school, and I'm still going to school. I'm always learning more about my craft."

"I've always done a lot of different areas of show business but it hasn't always been that way. In the olden days you wouldn't dare to even think of doing a commercial. Now you say hurrah, hurrah."

"I really think it's a calling, particularly comedy. You can learn some things, but basically you either know how to be funny or you don't."

"Well, dirty is not funny. I remember when I was coming up, we would work in the clubs to get a piece of material that we would then do on television. You would never waste your time doing dirty material that you couldn't do on television, in a club. Mainly what I look for is... I think heart. It's hard to describe, but when you see it, you know it."

"I write stuff that I do in nightclubs. I find that when I was starting out, people would write things for me...and instead of writing for me, they would write at me, instead of coming from wherever it is I come from. So I like to do my own things... that tickle me."

"I'm always on the lookout for funny props and things that tickle my fancy. I look for things that I might use later in the act. One of the most profitable props I found I used on a children's TV special in Chicago. I was dressed as a kangaroo and had a baby 'roo I tucked inside the pouch. I worked it with my hand. That's what got me on Laugh-In."

"Two years ago, I heard someone say: 'Oh, she's so loud.' There are loud and soft people. I guess I'm one of the loud ones."

"They always say you have to do a departure role because I guess people are just curious to know whether you are really crazy or not."

"I mainly wanted to make my living making people laugh. I promised myself when I started that if I didn't make it in the business by the time I was 21, I would quit. But once I started working, I kept on."

I Am Loud - Jo Anne Worley

from the television show Laugh-In

 Red - Jo Anne Worley

1968 television commercial for 'Bold'

I Love You, Engelbert Humperdinck - Jo Anne Worley

from The Engelbert Humperdinck Show - 1970

And one last parting shot...

"Jerry Lewis... I loved how he would surprise people, and one of the biggest thrills of my life was actually working with Jerry Lewis on his television series. Before that, when I first came to Hollywood, they were having a contest at Paramount to start a comedy class, that's when he was King of Paramount. Literally thousands auditioned, and about a dozen of us were chosen to be in this class taught by a joke writer who taught at UCLA. Jerry would come in and play a week of takes, bits and sketches and things like that. He held up this big bottle, Jeroboam of champagne and said "The first person to make it in this class is gonna get this champagne". And he gave it to a girl by the name of Caroline Richter. ? Exactly! And so when he opened on Broadway in Damn Yankees, I happened to be there doing...golly I don't know...Grease...and I got him a big bottle of champagne and took it to his dressing room."