Kate Clinton

Kate Clinton is one of America's brightest political comedians. This humorist/monologist's agenda includes political material as fresh as the daily news, savvy send-ups of modern family relationships and illuminating perspectives on life as a gay American. Clinton's first book, Don't Get Me Started, was published by Ballantine in 1998. Based on past and present monologues, it is filled with thoughts both insightful and riotous. The audio companion was named "One of 1998's Best Audiobooks" by Publishers Weekly. In addition, she writes monthly columns for The Progressive and The Advocate in which she waxes by turns comical and philosophical about the state of our nation and those who have put us in such a state. She has written pieces for the New York Times and George magazine among others. Clinton served as a writer on The Rosie O'Donnell Show during its rollout period in 1996.

When The Rapture did not materialize in 2000, Clinton gratefully opened her tour of Y2K8.comedy at The Public Theater in New York. In 1999, Correct Me If I'm Right premiered off-Broadway at the Westbeth Theatre Center. The New York Times called it a "terrific one-woman show." Throughout 1996, Clinton's show, All Het Up, toured cities across the country. In 1993, Clinton's Out Is In, debuted in Los Angeles to rave reviews and then moved to New York where it enjoyed a 3-month run off-Broadway.

She has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, Entertainment Tonight, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Roseanne Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, Leeza and numerous news and talk shows on Comedy Central, Lifetime, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNN and C-Span. She hosted In The Life and The World According To Us.

Clinton has six comedy albums to her credit including Babes in Joyland, Comedy You Can Dance To and her most recent Read These Lips.

As an actress, humorist, panelist and host, Clinton has worked with some of the great writers and performers of our time. Clinton participated in a staged reading of Tony Kushner's play, SLAVS with Olympia Dukakis, Tracey Ullman and Madeline Kahn at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. Clinton was a panelist in a public discussion "Satire in America" and hosted an evening at The Kennedy Center when Richard Pryor received the first-ever Mark Twain Award. At New York's 92nd St. Y she interviewed Calvin Trillin and Harry Shearer and took part in Leonard Lopate's Politics is Funny Business.

She emceed the amfAR Seasons of Hope event where Clive Davis, Michael Douglas and Billy Crystal presented awards to Quincy Jones, Sharon Stone and Robin Williams. At Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism she joined Dick Cavett, President Clinton's speechwriter Mark Katz and Moderator Ted Koppel for the Alfred I. duPont Forum Money, Humor & Spin in Election 2000 broadcast on PBS. Clinton performed at the 2001 V-Day celebration of The Vagina Monologues in a sold-out Madison Square Garden benefit to end violence against women.

A respected and sought after member of the Commentariat, Clinton has been featured at comedy festivals including Just for Laughs in Montreal, the Toyota Comedy Festival in New York, and Marshall's Women in Comedy Festival.
In 1999, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Previous recipients included Coretta Scott King, Edward Kennedy, Janet Reno, Donna Shalala, Richard Gephardt and Joycelyn Elders. She was listed in Yhe New York Magazine's Year 2001 "Gay Power 101."

During 2001 Kate Clinton celebrates her 20th Anniversary of performing. She is currently at work on a second book Kate Clinton: Collected Speeches [I Never Gave] (working title). Filmmaker Catherine Gund is shooting a retrospective of Clinton's first twenty years with a preview of what's to come in the next two decades. In July, Clinton replaced Dick Cavett on Broadway as the Narrator of The Rocky Horror Show. Finally, in December, she will appear in the New York production of The Vagina Monologues.