Sandra Bernhard Interview (July 26, 1985)

Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures.

She is perhaps best known for portraying Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from the fourth season (1991) to the end of the show in 1997. She played Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series Pose. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.[2]

Sandra Bernhard, Film(s) Discussed: King of Comedy, Bernhard discusses her singing career (her recent album, I'M YOUR WOMAN), humor, and live performance. She and Whaley exchange anecdotes of performers dealing with hecklers. She talks about the reception of Scorsese's KING OF COMEDY, for which she won a National Film Critic's Award, and about working with Scorsese. She explores instinct and talent vs. training, and lists who, in her opinion, are the best actors and actresses in the business.

Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures.

She is perhaps best known for portraying Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from the fourth season (1991) to the end of the show in 1997. She played Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series Pose. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.[2]

Bernhard was born June 6, 1955,[1] in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette (née LaZebnik) and proctologist Jerome Bernhard.[3][4] Her parents raised her as a Conservative Jew.[5]

She has three older brothers: Dan, David and Mark.[4] Her family moved to Arizona when she was 10.[6] She attended Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, graduating in 1973.[7]

Career[edit source]
Bernhard became a staple at The Comedy Store.[8][9] As her popularity as a comedian grew, she was cast as a supporting player on The Richard Pryor Show in 1977.[10][11] Guest appearances on evening talk shows followed. Her big break came in 1983 when she was cast by Martin Scorsese to star as stalker/kidnapper Masha in the film The King of Comedy, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.[12][13] She was a frequent guest on David Letterman's NBC program Late Night with David Letterman, making 28 appearances starting in 1983.[14]

She began performing her first one-woman show, I'm Your Woman, in 1985, and an album version was released.[15] She appeared in a variety of small television roles throughout the 1980s while crafting her stand-up routine into a more performance art-oriented show.[citation needed] She launched an off-Broadway one-woman show called Without You, I'm Nothing, With You, I'm Not Much Better in 1988, which played at the Orpheum Theatre. In 1990 it was turned into a film and a double album of the same title.[16][17] The film was mostly shot on location in 1989 in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel.[citation needed]

It was during the run of Without You, I'm Nothing, With You, I'm Not Much Better that Bernhard appeared with her then good friend (and rumored lover) Madonna on a 1988 episode of Late Night with David Letterman. The two alluded to their romantic relationship and staged a sexy confrontation; the appearance received much publicity. They continued to be friends for several years, with Bernhard making an appearance in Madonna's film Truth or Dare.[18][19][20]

In 1991, Bernhard began playing Nancy Bartlett on the hit sitcom Roseanne. She appeared in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997, and was one of the first actresses to portray an openly bisexual recurring character on American television.[21][22][23] In September 1992, Bernhard did a nude pictorial for Playboy.[24] She hosted the USA Network's Reel Wild Cinema for two seasons beginning in 1995.[25][26] She continued acting in mostly independent films, TV guest roles, and forays into mainstream films such as Hudson Hawk and Dallas Doll. In 1991 she released her first studio album, Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One). In 1995, she briefly appeared as a guest in the "Jerk" episode of the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 1996, she guest-starred on an episode of Highlander: The Series called "Dramatic License", where she played a romance novelist writing about the life of the main character.

She appeared as herself on Will & Grace, in an episode where the title characters spuriously bid on Bernhard's Manhattan apartment in an attempt to become friendly with her. When their ruse is exposed, Bernhard rants at them, with the sounds of a blender (she was having a smoothie made) blotting out supposed obscenities. She briefly returned as herself two years later.