I’ve been a comedy fan since age four when Moe Howard asked me, “What’s your name, lil’ goil?” Fortuitously somehow by way of Washington, D.C., Poughkeepsie and Jerusalem, I ended up in Chicago, the comedy Mecca of the world where comedians are kind enough to give me their time and where I was lucky enough to meet my friend the great Dobie Maxwell who introduced me to the scene (and opened the door to writing for WGN radio). Thank you to Ed Kaz! (also lucky to call him a friend) – the best of comedy columnists – whose work has always been and will always be an inspiration.
I’ve interviewed comedians and other creative folks as a contributor to the Chicago Tribune’s TribLocal and RedEye, and for the Wilmette and Evanston Patch. I then moved to the Tribune Media Group’s ChicagoNow for a city-wide focus. When Alden Global Capital (a hedge fund!) bought Tribune Media, it was the end of ChicagoNow. But comedy doesn’t stop for anyone, anything, any circumstance! Fortunately, I was able to move all my content and launch this site in September 2022. (Videos from ChicagoNow articles, unfortunately, could not be imported. If there’s a hole in a post, apologies, that’s probably what it was … ANYWAY…) This blog is about comedy, humor and comedians at every level – from first open mics to internationally touring headliners. Comedians Defying Gravity was a finalist in its debut year for the Chicago Headline Club’s top prize, and has since won multiple awards for excellence in journalism.