User:Nerdypunkkid/Judy Carter

Judy Carter (November 10 1970 - Present) is an American comedian who parlayed her successful career in stand-up comedy and went on to become: a motivational humorist, speaking’s coach, bestselling arthur of numerous books and the owner of the Comedy Workshop Productions.

Early Life
Judy Carter was born in Los Angeles, California the second daughter of Esther Silverman Carter, an entrepreneur and owner of a Beverly Hills dress boutique “My Flair Lady”, and Sidney Allen Carter a mechanical engineer for LA Water & Power.

Judy was influenced by her older sister, Marsha who was born with cerebral palsy and was a quadriplegic. In order to better communicate with her sister and to make her laugh, Judy, then eight years old, had a speech impediment and began checking books on magic tricks out of the public library. She would practice the tricks to entertain her sister. She quickly became obsessed with magic and would take trips to Joe Berg’s Magic Store on Hollywood Blvd where she would buy her magic tricks. Each of the tricks came with suggested patter and by practicing the patter over and over again, Judy overcame her speech impediment.

Magica The Magician
Even though she was still in Elementary school Judy took her obsession with magic to a new level when she began performing at children's birthday parties as “Magica” the Magician with her assistant PG Rogow. She turned her magic act into a thriving birthday party business, performing three or four shows a weekend eventually adding an accordion to her act.

(this is citation)(In September of 1961, the LA Times profiled Judy and PG when their backyard benefit for Cedars-Sinai hospital raised over $500.)The article was entitled, "Girl Magician and Chum Have Good Deed Up Sleeve."

Judy continued performing her magic birthday parties all the way through High School and paid her way through two years of college at California State Northridge by performing magic acts at birthday parties and fraternity houses. She finally graduating with a BA in Theatrical Arts from the University of Southern California.

By this time, Judy was performing as “Judiwitch” and she was invited to perform on a local television show airing on KCET. After doing her act, she was asked by the interviewer if she experienced discrimination being a female magician. She joked that she was often asked, “to see your bottom deal.” KCET refused to air the interview and the controversy surrounding their decision made the CBS Evening news. As a result of the media attention, Judy was contacted by Gene Murrow who invited her to run the theater and television department for the Harvard School for Boys.

(CBS Evening news)(citation find it)

In early 1970, Judy began hanging out at The Magic Castle in West Hollywood, which is the head quarters of the Academy of Magic Arts and a private club for magicians and magic enthusiests to network swamp tricks and perform. Judy hoped to network with other magicians and eventually perform in the Close-Up Gallery. At The Magic Castle she was able to network with Ricky Jay and the Great Tomasini they advised her to study sleight of hand with Dai Vernon.

Dai who was a legend in card manipulation and known as the professor at The Magic Castle because he mentored many younger magicians, Dai was so impressed upon meeting Judy he took her under his wing and got her an act with mime Tina Lenert. Soon their mime/magic/comedy act was gaining fame and the owner of the Magic Castle Milt Larson invited Judy to perform in the Close-Up Gallery at The Magic Castle. She was the first woman ever invited to do so. The Great Tomasini was so offended, he picked Judy up, threw her over his shoulder and tossed her out of the Gallery. Judy marched back in, took the stage and was a hit.

Big Break
Judy’s big break came when she insisted on meeting Irvin Arthur the booker for the playboy clubs. Judy took her tricks and sat in his office for five hours until he agreed to see her act. She performed at his desk and as offered $50 and dinner for a one-night try out at the Century City Playboy Club. Irvin liked her performance and sent her on a tour of ever Playboy Club across the country. She opened for such playboy entertainers as Barbie Benton, Bobby Darin and Eartha Kitt. She would have continued her career as a magician indefinitely but arriving at the Cincinnati Playboy Club, she found that the airline had lost all of her props. She had to go on without her tricks and she discovered she didn’t need the tricks to entertain.

Comedy Career
When Irvin Arthur became a manager representing [Steve Allen], [Joan Rivers] he also signed Judy booking her in comedy clubs and night clubs, 45 weeks of the year. From the age of 25 – 34 years of age, she worked as a regular at Caesar’s Palace (in Atlantic City), opening for both Prince and Kenny Loggins and headlining at hundreds of comedy clubs across the country. She was the first comic to open The Comedy Story Main Room in Los Angeles. She was seen on over 100 TV shows, as well as several television pilots and series for ABC TV and Paramount Television. She wrote and starred in a musical, “The Goddess of Mystery” which was produced in Los Angeles and optioned by Warner Brothers Television She was nominated Atlantic City's "Entertainer of the Year."

http://thecomedystore.com

In 1984, Judy formed Comedy Workshop Productions, the first comedy classes ever offered in Los Angeles at Igby’s Comedy Cabaret. Prestigious alumni include Seth Rogen  Sherri Shepard  and many of Hollywood’s comedy producers. For the next thirteen years, Carter produced the California Comedy Conference in Palm Springs   There, standup comics from all over the world gathered to take workshops with industry professionals that included agents, casting directors, and managers.

Writing Career
In 1989, Judy wrote STANDUP COMEDY: THE BOOK (Dell Books, 1989) which launched on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and went on to sell over 80,000 copies and after twenty years is still ranked in the top twenty of Amazon’s comedy books.

Her follow up book, THE COMEDY BIBLE (Simon & Schuster; September 2001) sold over 50,000 copies and is considered the definitive guide to making a career out of making people laugh covering everything from joke writing to comedy rules and even different jobs in the field.

It was reviewed by Newsweek, Parade, The Washington Post, Atlantic City Press, Inside Business, MSN, For Me Magazine, Business Strategies, Galveston Daily News, Minnesota Manufactured Housing, Real Estate Professional, Day Spa, Parade, Time, and The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post lists The Comedy Bible as a “top ten all time comedy essential.”

Judy’s book tour and signings took her to more than 25 different American cities and led to appearances on over 100 television shows and networks, including Oprah, Good Morning America, CNN, ABC World News Report, The BBC, Joe Franklin, FNCNN, Larry King Live, and on reality shows such as 10 Years Younger, Faking It, and Life Moments.

Current/speaking Career
Judy is now one of America's top motivational humorists speaking in front of national and international audiences including government groups, professional associations, and Fortune 500 companies. Judy has shared stages with President Bill Clinton, Deepak Chopra, Lance Armstrong and Lily Tomlin. She’s taken her "don’t get mad, get funny" philosophy to hundreds of Fortune 500 companies such as Boeing, FedEx, Roche, Blue Cross, and Pacific Bell. Even the US government hired Judy to speak and conduct workshops for the IRS, FICA, the US Congress, and even the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

As a result of her success, she began teaching other comics how to adapt their stand-up acts for a corporate audience, launching Keynote University and writing The Message of You, (St. Martin’s Press, 2013).

She also became a regular contributor to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” a radio program that explored how comedy has changed over the years. It was here that she proved that she could make even the most serious person funny. She did this by giving two IRS agents a comic makeover.

TV Appearances

 * Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1973)
 * Mike Douglas Show (1975)
 * The Dick Clark Show (1976)
 * American Bandstand (1976)
 * Merv Griffin Show (Guest appearances) (1976 - 1980)
 * Rock Concert (1977)
 * That Thing on ABC (1978)
 * Midnight Special (1980)
 * The Shape of Things (1982)
 * Paramount Comedy Theater (1986)
 * Faking It (2004)
 * Marie (2013)