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Arts InsIder Must-seeBy Gioia Patton

‘Ahhhh Kathy….’ I utter in a somewhat urgent, albeit friendly tone, to Kathy Griffin, seconds

after the comedienne/actress and New York Times Best Selling author has said “hello!” by phone from her Los Angeles home. ‘Before we go any further,’ I continue, ‘I’ve just got to have your reaction to that ridiculous remark made by Slade Smiley of the reality series The Real Housewives of Orange County. The moment I refer to took place in Smiley’s car on his way home from a local comedy club after he’d performed a standup comedy act for the…very…first…time. I cringe when recalling Smiley’s spontaneous ‘I think I’ll become a comedienne’ matter-of-fact declaration directed to his girlfriend (Housewives of O.C. star Gretchen Rossi,) who was sitting besides him and her hysterically funny, knee jerk reaction.’

Griffin, who’s a big reality television series fan, begins chuckling half-way through my rant, having seen the episode. “It’s a bad sign when your own girlfriend can’t hide the look of disbelief on her face after hearing that remark,” Griffin deadpans, before mimicking Rossi’s high-pitched ‘Reeeeally…you think you can just do that!’ slack-jawed response.

“But honestly, (laughs) I’ve learned that when I hear remarks like that to just let (people) go ahead and do it,” the very friendly Griffin continues. “I’ll always have these friends who have a friend of a friend who moved out to Los Angeles at the age of 46 to pursue a career as a comic after having received big laughs at the last office party,” she says, sounding amused. “But if I was to run into Slade tomorrow I’d say ‘well…go ahead and have at it!’ and then walk away. Because you can’t even describe the feeling of bombing (laughs)…and I even know the feeling of beginner’s luck, when you have maybe a good three minutes of a good set and you think you’re off and running. And in my case (sighs) I then bombed on stage for the next two years in a row!”

By the time this article is released Griffin will have debuted her talk show on the Bravo network (Thursdays at 10pm EST). “I’ve told Bravo, much to their chagrin, that I don’t want to book celebrities.”

“I need to be able to talk about all aspects of pop culture and what’s happening in this election year in a way that I can’t talk about if the celebrities I’ve made fun of are sitting next to me. My talk show is going to be a no holds bar conversation, thoughts, opinions and discussions of all those water cooler moments. Griffin mentions that there’s a Los Angeles billboard advertising the show that has a photo of her with yellow ‘caution’ tape wrapped around her mouth.

As to what role if any Griffin’s beloved 91-year-old mother Maggie Griffin will have on her daughter’s talk show, she wisecracks: “Well…my mom has become such a popular figure (thanks to her many guest appearances on her daughter’s 2-time Emmy Award winning 2005-2010 Bravo network reality series, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,) that the Bravo executives insisted

that she be on the last five minutes of every show. They feel that nobody would want to turn the channel if they knew that Maggie was yet to come on.”

I then wonder aloud if even with Griffin’s multitude of show business achievements over the past few years (which include an unprecedented four standup specials for the Bravo network in 2011) if she’s still held accountable to the old adage ‘you’re only as good as your last success!’

“Yeah,” she replies, without a hint of self-pity in her voice. “But I will tell you that that

is the kind of hunger that I enjoy. For example, while doing my standup — when I’ve discovered a new 10 or 15 minutes (of material) although I love to do it, I then want to put it to bed and do the next one. But it’s the kind of motivation that is positive as opposed to like ‘Ohhhh…I’m always the failure!’ It’s more like ‘that was good….but keep workin’ honey!’”

Kathy Griffin: From D-List to the A-List

Gioia Patton is an arts & entertainment celebrity Profiler and concert reviewer.

Sharing the ‘Fame train’ With mom

“Having my mom be able to sort of participate in this craziness has been my favorite thing about whatever success or accomplishments or just plain old fun that I’ve had. Truly, ever since my very first TV show, which was one line on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air sitcom I always brought my mom to the set. And I brought her there even if I had to sneak her in. To this day including my mom is the most fun part of my work,’ she declares. “It’s just fun with her. And of course she can’t walk through a mall today because she’s toooo famous,” Griffin says admiringly. “She’s like...Britney Spears!”

Kathy Griffin

WhEn: may 19 @ 7:30pm WhErE: the showroom @ Horseshoe southern indiana casino ticKEts: $45-$85 contact: the box office or all ticketmaster outlets. *must be 21 or older to attend.

I will say there is something about being 51, where it’s kinda cool where certain celebrities like David Letterman are not scared of me the way they used to be. And the one thing I like about getting older is that (people) are finally getting that it’s a big friggin’ joke!

— comedienne Kathy Griffin, talking about her humor

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