For all the bitterness and acerbic wit on display during her onstage act — and her seemingly dozens of guest appearances — veteran comic Judy Gold has one put-together, fulfilling life.
It’s just hard for her not to be a little miffed, considering she’s a Jewish, left-leaning, lesbian parent in a world generally unappreciative of that background.
“I grew up 27 miles from New York but it was such a small-minded community,” Gold said.
Her natural funny stems from this difficult New Jersey childhood.
“I was 6 feet tall when I was 13,” Gold said. “I was really funny but really unpopular. You talk about bullying, I couldn’t walk down the hall, couldn’t walk home — it was constant. Constant.”
Despite her talent for laughs, Gold’s humor may never have made it on the stage. She went to college for music, focusing on classical piano — she still bangs out tunes on the ivories as an emotional release at her home in New York.
But Gold got the chance she needed early in school through a Secret Santa exchange, which is extra amusing for the Jewish comedian. In order to receive the anonymous gift, Gold had to perform a task. Luckily for her, the assignment was to do stand-up and the material had to be about all the other people on her dormitory floor.
“It’s like the first time you do coke,” Gold said. “It’s like people watching someone chase that first high, when the audience is your orchestra.”
She plays people well, her rapid fire delivery exhibiting an eloquence and polish that betrays her work ethic.
Well, that and her constant appearances on television, in movies and off-Broadway.
Gold is recognizable from a slew of late night appearances, cable specials and guest spots on such different shows as “Law & Order,” “The Big C,” “30 Rock,” “The Smoking Gun Presents: World’s Dumbest” and when she spoke to A&E last Friday she was busy filming an episode of “2 Broke Girls.”
Gold is outspoken, with a wide range of material. But she’s got decades of experience behind her, 17- and 12-year-old kids, a partner who’s a shrink and intense political views, so it’d be a darn shame if she weren’t funny.
“You know it’s disturbing on so many levels that Putin can use our First Amendment rights to write an op-ed in the New York Times, but silences the GLBT community,” Gold said. “I mean, would he allow Obama to write an op-ed in the … Moscow … I don’t know … A&E section?”
That’s Judy Gold, ready to spill the beans, unafraid of criticism, loud, confrontational and smart as all hell.
It goes without saying that she’s not for everybody.
What: Judy Gold
When: 8 p.m., Thursday, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Friday, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Acme Comedy Club, 708 N. 1st St., Minneapolis
Cost: $15
Age: 18+