PEOPLE
B
oh Smith loves his lesbians. W hich is a
gtxxl tiling because he often shares a hill
with them. He’ll he performing, for
instance, with comedian Karen Williams
at Just Out’s 20th Anniversary Party on
Nov. 23 at Hollywood Theatre, and he
couldn’t he happier about it.
Smith likes to make people laugh, by golly,
and he takes many opportunities to do so. He’s
had his own HBO special and wrote for Mad
TV. He travels the country as a standup and is
looking forward to his return to the Rose City.
“The people are great,” he tells me from his
home in Las Angeles. “They’re intelligent,
interesting, normal people.”
Williams, who was featured in Portland’s
recent queer film festival documentary Laughing
Matters, got her start in standup at age 30.
After years of performing at women’s festivals,
colleges and comedy clubs, she went hack to
schtxil and designed her own degree at Cleve
land State University in humor and healing.
While making fun of tofu-eating, Birken-
stock-wearing lesbians, Williams is a strong pro
ponent of the healing power of laughter. After
receiving her master’s degree in education, the
entrepreneur founded the International Institute
of Humor and Healing Arts (or HaHA Institute)
in Cleveland. She now splits her time between
comedy tours and leading workshops like “Humor
&. Stress in the Workplace" and “Humor &
Diversity” for businesses and other groups.
B
oth Williams and Smith are writers.
Williams has been a script, ghost and
speech writer. Smith is the author of two
books of essays, Openly Bob and Way to Go,
Smith! He’s now working on his first novel,
which will he set in Alaska. Smith was sent to
m m m kœ m /■ m
jÆÊÊnamm
■
Funny Gay Male seeks audience
Bob Smith joins
Karen Williams
for a night of
queer comedy
during the
Just Out
20th Anniversary
Party on Nov. 23
Bob Smith looks forward, to another visit
to normal ol* Portland
by
the 49th state to write an article for Out maga
zine when he got the idea for the kxtk.
“It’s a ‘what if’ novel," he explains. “What if
you fell in love with someone from Alaska and
moved up thereT’
Smith is also pitching a comedy series with his
friend and fellow comedian Elvira Kurt to Show
time and HBO. “We have a treatment for it, and
we know what we want to do,” he says. “Hopeful
ly they’ll love the idea.” If they get the go-ahead,
Smith and Kurt will write and star in the series.
Smith still occasionally writes for Out; his
latest piece is for the magazine’s “Hall of
Shame” in which he writes about the worst
homophobes of the year. The normally nice
Smith likes this assignment because “1 get to be
mean,” he says. “I like to be mean against peo
ple who deserve it.” The president and pope
both make the list.
Smith got his start in standup as part of the
Funny Gay Males in the early 1990s with Jaffe
Cohen and Danny McWilliams, whom he met
up with this summer in Provincetown, Mass.,
for a Funny Gay Males reunion. He said he was
amazed at how many more straight couples
came to the show than before.
“The interesting part was that a big part of our
audience were not put off by a show called Funny
Gay Males,” he comments. He credits shows like
Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
for widening the audience for queer humor.
K ath y B elge
“I do the same material no matter what my
audience. I might change the order a little,
probably move the more family stuff up front,”
Smith notes about performing for a more
straight audience. (W hich makes you
wonder what the heck he might open
with at his Portland gig.)
Smith is single, he says, but “will
ing to move to Portland for the right
man.” He has a love/hate relationship
with HollywixxJ.
“I love my house,” he says. “I decid
ed that L.A. is a city of really nice pri
vate spaces and generally not-so-nice
public spaces. People’s homes are really
wonderful and beautiful, but then
there’s the strip m alls....”
But for people watching, it can’t be
beat. “For a writer or creative person,” he
laughs, “there’s always something to
observe.’ ’ in
B ob SMITH will perform along with Karen
Williams arul Pink Martini during the Just Out
20th Anniversary Party 7 p m . Nov. 23 at
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd. The
shim’ will be preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception
featuring cake, artist offerings and organizational
tables. Tickets are $20 (cheap!) from Gai-Pied,
It's My Pleasure, Touchstone Coffee House or
www.justout. com .
mtismmsmetm
FREE
CONFLUENCE
Willamette Valley Mixed GALA Chorus
presents
Sm 9
Winter
,, Song
oR
Vic ovR
SALEM
Sat, Dec. 6 • 8:00 pm
Unitarian Church
5090 Center St. N E
PORTLAND
Sun, Dec. 7 • 4:00 pm
Unity of Portland
4525 SE Stark
$10
no one turned away
for lack of funds
Tickets at In Other Words Bookstore (Portland),
Jackson’s Books (Salem), from Chorus members, and at door
eoM pvteR i
öl one dollöR
f oR fifteen
Minvtei
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( t n r t f i oc o l o r r s X
i m p o t t f b con t nr e
“ A variety of flavor* In mi
our Fudge K ettle ’
old-fashioned
candy shop.
Stop in for a taste of our own
handmade fudge!
NEW!!
featuring Haagen Daaz milkshakes
* We’re OPEN 24 HOURS a Day!
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