At our 30th (!) show, we’ll be regaled with the stories of an anti-fascist philosopher, a Hollywood It Girl, and a groundbreaking comedian.
Brought to you by a writer-editor who is also YOUR VERY OWN BARTENDER whaaaat; a stand-up comedian; and a sit-down humorist. Emceed by the co-hosts you have come to know and love. It’s going to be a real banger!
*************************************************************************************************************
SIMONE WEIL (1909–1943) (pronounced Vay) was a French philosopher, Christian mystic and anti-fascist. After studying philosophy, Weil divided her life between teaching, manual labor on farms and in automobile factories, and traveling Europe. In the 1930s she fought briefly in the Spanish Civil War and had her first mystical experience at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. During World War II she worked for Charles de Gaulle’s Free France. Despite publishing little during her lifetime, her work was discovered and championed by figures like T.S. Eliot and Albert Camus. Her work continues to attract academic interest while her life is inspirational to Christians, leftists and others.
BARBARA PAYTON (1927–1967) was a Hollywood actress known not only for her films but for her social life and her struggles with alcoholism and drugs. She was briefly known as a Hollywood “It Girl”—gossip columnists dubbed her “Queen of Nightclubs.” The film Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye was the high point in Payton’s career. Barbara’s autobiography I Am Not Ashamed details her spiral from being the next famous Hollywood actress to a sex worker on Sunset Boulevard.
PHYLLIS DILLER (1917–2012) was the first female comedian to make it big in the United States. Before Joan Rivers, there was Phyllis, a housewife and mother of 6 children. She didn’t step on a stage until the age of 37. In order to be taken seriously, Diller wore her hair in a crazy style and dressed clownishly to downplay her attractiveness. With zero female role models to look up to, she cobbled together her own comedy style, which led her to gigs on The Tonight Show and a long, storied career. The original Mrs. Maisel, Diller was a groundbreaking performer, who once said, “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
**********************************************************************************************************
Your Presenters:
CARRIGAN MILLER is a writer and editor of the KGB Literary Magazine. He is your bartender.
OLIVIA VON BLUE is a stand-up comedian & actress born and raised in Manhattan. She performs all around NYC at venues such as Union Hall, The Slipper Room & Club Cumming. Olivia will perform her solo show “Olivia Von Blue is a Star” September 12th at Union Hall.
JOHANNA GOHMANN is an essayist, humorist, and children’s book writer. A two-time Moth winner, she has written for The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The Cut, and The Wall Street Journal.
The Dead Ladies Show 