Judy Tenuta
Encyclopedia
Judy Tenuta is an American
entertainer, actress, comedienne, author
, producer and accordion
ist.
. She has been featured in several productions of "Weird Al" Yankovic
, including The Weird Al Show and the music videos for "Headline News" and "White & Nerdy." She has also appeared on game shows such as Hollywood Squares
and the 1998 revival of Match Game
. Her most extensive profile came from a series of TV ads for MTV
and most notably, Diet Dr. Pepper in the late-1980s, as well as her HBO, Showtime and Lifetime specials which became popular and gained her a loyal following. She is also well known for her often quoted catch phrase, "It could Happen!"
Her use of voice in her act has lent itself to voice-over
work in several animated programs. This includes doing the voice of Edna on Duckman
, Black Widow on Space Ghost Coast to Coast
, and as herself in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
.
in 1988, but they never lived together. They co-headlined at the Raue Theatre in Crystal Lake, Illinois on March 12, 2010 and indicated that they had dated in the eighties while they were touring & have been friends for years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entertainer, actress, comedienne, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, producer and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
ist.
Early life
One of nine siblings, Judy Lynn was born in 1956 into a huge Catholic family; to a Polish mother Joann, and an Italian father, Caesar, in Oak Park, Illinois. Her older brother, Danny Tenuta, is a retired union electrician. She has a younger sister and several younger brothers, including Jim who had a career as a dancer and now has his own studio. Tenuta's nephew, JP Tenuta, is a professional dancer who studied at Ailey and The Martha Graham School.Career
Judy gained notoriety as a wisecracking, accordion wielding self-proclaimed "Petite Flower and Love Goddess" during the golden age of character comedy in the mid 80's with such notable contemporaries as Sam Kinnison and Stephen WrightStephen Wright
Stephen Wright is an English football defender who currently plays for Hartlepool.-Liverpool:Wright joined Liverpool on a youth contract in June 1996, choosing to join Liverpool over rivals Everton, the club he supported as a boy...
. She has been featured in several productions of "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
, including The Weird Al Show and the music videos for "Headline News" and "White & Nerdy." She has also appeared on game shows such as Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
and the 1998 revival of Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
. Her most extensive profile came from a series of TV ads for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and most notably, Diet Dr. Pepper in the late-1980s, as well as her HBO, Showtime and Lifetime specials which became popular and gained her a loyal following. She is also well known for her often quoted catch phrase, "It could Happen!"
Her use of voice in her act has lent itself to voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
work in several animated programs. This includes doing the voice of Edna on Duckman
Duckman
Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man is an American animated sitcom that aired from 1994–1997, created by Everett Peck and developed by Peck. The sitcom is based on characters created by Peck in his Dark Horse comic...
, Black Widow on Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
, and as herself in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist is an American animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to December 24, 1999,–with a final set of three shelved episodes airing in 2002–starring Jonathan Katz, Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman...
.
- 1986 - 1990 - Judy made several guest appearances on her favorite female comedian's show, "Joan RiversJoan RiversJoan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
"
- In 1987, Judy became nationally known in her first HBO special "Women of the Night", costarring Ellen DeGeneresEllen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
, Paula PoundstonePaula PoundstonePaula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian.- Early life :Poundstone was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and her family moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts. Poundstone attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, but dropped out to pursue a show business career...
and Rita RudnerRita RudnerRita Rudner is an American comedienne, writer and actress.-Early life:Rudner was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Frances, a homemaker, and Abe Rudner, a lawyer. Her mother died when she was 13. After graduating from high school at 15, Rudner left Miami and headed to New York City to embark...
.
- In 1987, Judy became the first female stand-up to win the "Best Female Comedienne" at The American Comedy Awards.
- 1987 - 1988 Judy toured across the country with aother of her favorite comedians, comedy legend, George CarlinGeorge CarlinGeorge Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
.
- In 1988, Judy became the "Spokes-Goddess" for a series of "Diet Dr. Pepper" Commercials, and also filmed her second HBO Special.
- In 1989, Judy appeared on "Larry King LIveLarry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
", and converted him to her signature religion, "JUDYISM"
- In 1991, she published her first book, The Power Of Judyism, following up with an audio CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
version in 1999.
- In 1994, She was nominated for her first Grammy, for her comedy CD, "Attention Butt Pirates and Lesbetarians".
- In 2011, Judy plays Zania, a menacing, aging actress in the recently screened independent film, "Going Down in LALA Land".
- In 1995, Judy was nominated for her second Grammy, for her comedy CD, "In Goddess We Trust".
- In 1996, Judy appeared as a drill sargeant, SAM ROTTWEILER trainining gay men to defend themselves against bullies in the cult classic film, "BUTCH CAMP"
- In 1998, she conceived, produced, and starred in the film Desperation Boulevard.
- In 2001, Judy appeared on "The ViewThe ViewThe View is an American talk show broadcast on the ABC as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts...
" dishing with Joy BeharJoy BeharJosephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...
, Star JonesStar JonesStar Jones is an American lawyer, journalist, writer, and television personality. She is known for her role as a co-host of the ABC weekday morning talk show The View...
, and Barbara WaltersBarbara WaltersBarbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
.
- In 2007, she had a guest appearance as Mrs. Holler, the librarian on Ned's Declassified School Survival GuideNed's Declassified School Survival GuideNed's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...
.
- In 2007, Judy had a pivotal role as "Margo the cat lady" in the Hilary DuffHilary DuffHilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
movie "Material GirlsMaterial GirlsMaterial Girls is a 2006 American satirical teen comedy film starring Hilary and Haylie Duff. It is based on a script written by John Quaintance and is directed by Martha Coolidge It also stars Anjelica Huston, Lukas Haas, and Brent Spiner...
".
- In 2011, Judy played Zania, a menacing, aging actress in the independent film, "Going Down in LALA Land".
Comic persona
Tenuta's act is primarily structured around an exaggerated, offbeat persona that is referred to primarily as "The Love Goddess." Other monikers include "The Petite Flower," "Aphrodite of the Accordion," "Fashion-Plate Saint," "Princess of Panty Shields," and "Empress of Elvis Impersonators." Tenuta's persona encourages fans to convert to her own personal religion, "Judyism."Personal life
It was rumored that Judy Tenuta eloped with comedian Emo PhilipsEmo Philips
Emo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
in 1988, but they never lived together. They co-headlined at the Raue Theatre in Crystal Lake, Illinois on March 12, 2010 and indicated that they had dated in the eighties while they were touring & have been friends for years.
Discography
- Buy This, Pigs! (Elektra Records) 1987
- In Goddess We Trust, 1995
- UnButtPlugged, 1999
- Attention, Butt Pirates And Lesbetarians - Live at CSW, 1999
- A Space Goddessy, 2002