Lea DeLaria, born May 23, 1958 in Belleville, Illinois, is an American comedian, actor, and musician. She is a prominent figure in the worlds of lesbian stand up comedy. Her raunchy personality and irreverent political commentary have made her controversial both within and outside the gay/lesbian community. Bulldyke in China Shop and Box Lunch are two of her comedy titles. Her humorous book, Lea’s Book of Rules For the World, is also available. In a variety of films, she has appeared, such as Edge of Seventeen and The First Wives Club, and in musicals like On the Town and The Rocky Horror Show. DeLaria, like Sandra Bernhard, has always included musical performance in her stand-up comedy. DeLaria, however, focuses on both traditional and modern bebop jazz, which is not the case with Bernhard. DeLaria has stated at her shows that “It is my personal mission to bring be-bop music back into the gay community.” She released a CD of jazz standards in 2002 to further her goal. “I’m at West Virginia University for a show. They’ve done all the fucking publicity…so when it comes to my show, who are you waiting for but five hundred Christian protestors holding huge signs? “Lea DeLaria will go to hell.” Not generic “gay isn’t good”: “Lea DeLaria will go to hell.” What do I need five hundred strangers telling me? Twelve years of Catholic fuckin school was not enough. Box Lunch, Lea DeLaria. In 2000, she was the voice of Dr. Scott and Eddie in “The Rocky Horror Show”. You can hear her on the soundtrack. She was Helga Phugly’s voice in 2001 on The Oblongs, a short-lived animated sitcom. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
