Margaret Smith (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Smith is a six-time Emmy Award
winning standup comic, actor, writer and producer.
Originally from Chicago
, Illinois
, Smith is known for her deadpan and often acerbic delivery, reminiscent of Eve Arden
. She was a writer and producer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show
.
Her first book, What Was I Thinking? How Being a Stand Up Did Nothing to Prepare Me to Become a Single Mother, was published in 2008 by Crossroads Publishing. A reviewer at Book Apex commented:
: “The best comedians are the ones that write and perform their own material, and Margaret Smith is at the top of that list”.
. Her television and film credits include roles in Martin Scorsese
’s Goodfellas
, the remake of The Blob
and the Wachowski brothers' thriller Bound
with Gina Gershon
and Jennifer Tilly
. She made a guest-star appearance in the Pamela Anderson
series, VIP
.
Smith starred in a special for Comedy Central
. Her other television credits include CNN, PBS, HBO, Fox Network, Showtime, E! Network, VH-1 and Comedy Central. Smith worked with everyone from Bob Hope
to Rosie O’Donnell, and she has made appearances on both The Tonight Show
with Leno, as well as the Late Show with David Letterman
. She has toured the comedy circuit doing live performances throughout the United States and beyond to Amsterdam, Australia, Ireland and the Queen's Theater in London. She appeared twice at Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival.
Smith lives in Austin, Texas
with her two sons.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning standup comic, actor, writer and producer.
Originally from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Smith is known for her deadpan and often acerbic delivery, reminiscent of Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
. She was a writer and producer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
.
Her first book, What Was I Thinking? How Being a Stand Up Did Nothing to Prepare Me to Become a Single Mother, was published in 2008 by Crossroads Publishing. A reviewer at Book Apex commented:
- What SedarisDavid SedarisDavid Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
, LebowitzFran Lebowitz-Life:Born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, Lebowitz is best known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York sensibilities. Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker...
and Dave EggersDave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
should aspire to. Margaret Smith is a one-of-a-kind comedian. Her off-kilter worldview and dry-as-dust delivery is fresh and real in a world of grinning comedy clones. My favorite Margaret Smith-ism goes something like "I saw my mother today. (long pause) It's okay, she didn't see me." I'm not always able to catch her on tv like I used to, so I was delighted to hear she'd written a book. The cover says the book's about becoming a mother, but you won't find overly sweet sentimentality here. Smith makes looking on the dark side into an art form. Her story is dark and horrific, and she pulls no punches when writing about violence, abuse, racism, tomatoes and her calling plan. Only Margaret Smith could make comedy of this. But she pulls it off astonishingly well—deftly balancing tragedy and humor. Ultimately, it's not a story about adopting a baby, it's a heartfelt tale of spiritual redemption. I know that doesn't sound very funny, but it really is.
Recordings
Smith has produced and starred in her own independent projects, including her CD, As It Should Be. Released August 2000, it carries a liner note endorsement from Jay LenoJay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
: “The best comedians are the ones that write and perform their own material, and Margaret Smith is at the top of that list”.
TV and film appearances
She played the record store owner in That '80s ShowThat '80s Show
That '80s Show is an American sitcom that aired in half-hour long episodes from January through May 2002. Despite having a similar name, show structure, and many of the same writers and production staff, it is not considered a direct spin-off of the more successful That '70s Show, since the...
. Her television and film credits include roles in Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
’s Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
, the remake of The Blob
The Blob
The Blob is an independently made 1958 American horror/science-fiction film that depicts a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorizes the small community of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania...
and the Wachowski brothers' thriller Bound
Bound (film)
Bound is a 1996 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by the Wachowski brothers. Violet , who longs to escape her relationship with her mafioso boyfriend Caesar , enters into a clandestine affair with alluring ex-con Corky , and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of mafia money.Bound...
with Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
and Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
. She made a guest-star appearance in the Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
series, VIP
V.I.P. (TV series)
V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
.
Smith starred in a special for Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. Her other television credits include CNN, PBS, HBO, Fox Network, Showtime, E! Network, VH-1 and Comedy Central. Smith worked with everyone from Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
to Rosie O’Donnell, and she has made appearances on both The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Leno, as well as the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. She has toured the comedy circuit doing live performances throughout the United States and beyond to Amsterdam, Australia, Ireland and the Queen's Theater in London. She appeared twice at Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival.
Smith lives in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
with her two sons.