European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Al Al. I Chi behind the laughter with comedian Erin o Connor by Rob Staggenborg staff writer Call it the kiss of o Connor was prepping for perhaps her biggest show in front of More than 14,000 comedy fans at Stanford University. All was going Well until Robin Williams made an Impromptu visit backstage and asked if he could go on Quot for no More than five minutes Quot o Connor recalled during a Stop at the Rainbow club in Darmstadt Germany. V Williams the raucous Star of Mork and Mindy Good morning Vietnam and the dead poets society decided to precede o Connor a lunch bucket comedian who had spent much of her Early career on the Southern California club circuit. Quot Robin comes in As a Surprise Wiiest mean nobody knew he was going to show up Quot o Connor said. Quot then he decides he wants to go on before me. He kept saying Are you sure you Don t mind mind when a Guy like Robin Williams stops by to do his show you just move out of the Way. Five minutes he stayed on for 20 minutes. He just Kil led everyone. He comes backstage looks at me and says eat my dust i just looked at him and said i hate you Quot. A a 7 a a a Quot a a a �?�7 a o Connor survived that night. A regular at los Angeles improve new York s Dangerfield s and Boston s catch a rising Star comedy clubs her resume includes stints on a a Cable television s a amp e network and Fox television s comedy express show. O Connor is now on tour on the military club circuit in Europe for the second time in two years. She s teamed up with comedians Rob Brackenridge and Larry Wilmore in the Miller Lite gaffs comedy tour. \ a _ _ the comedy business is no laughing matter she said. Plagiarism is rampant. V a Quot you have absolutely no idea what its like Quot she said her Raspy voice rising an octave. Quot nothing is original anymore. There s such a terrible danger of having your jokes stolen that it s just become a Hazard of the Industry. Quot i copyright All my jokes but whoever gets it on 7national to wins it. Period. That s just How it works \ sit there every night watching Carson and see people stealing other s jokes wooo it s so. So. Frustrating Quot o Connor s act is relatively clean which puts the. Former advertising copywriter at a slight disadvantage to Blue acts like Williams Eddie Murphy George Carlin arid Andrew Quot Dice Quot Clay. V the there s a name that strikes a nerve with Connor. A. Quot people forget that he s just found a character that. Works Quot the Sassy blonde said. Quot i mean when you sellout a 14,000-seat stadium it works. Andrew Clay is a great Guy out of character. He s a Loving father is really Sweet to his Girlfriend if you look at a Cross Section of the audiences that go to see him you d be amazed. There Are a lot of women in the audience. They love him. Explain that to me. I respect him a it o Connor s father works As one of the legions of official baseball scorekeepers for the san Francisco giants and. Oakland athletics and named her after baseball great Hank Aaron. She looks to her family for most of her material. V 7 Quot my dad he loves it. He s disappointed if i Don t use one of the jokes about him. One year in Spring training he invited Bob Lurie the owner of the giants and a Bunch of the players to one of my shows to watch his daughter make fun of . Erin o Connor says it s possible for a comedian Tabe a hit and to be funny without being off cohr. A amps Dav Idip the Rise of the comedian traces Back Long before Ito Connor graduated from a san Francisco High school. Phyllis Oiler Carol Burnett Defayne boozier and now Roseanne Barr have paved the Way for women in 7 comedy a f -7-7. -.-7�7 .7 .-77 a 7,. A a a Quot la Promise no pms jokes Quot o Connor said pointing to a comr Hoh subject for laughs for throngs of female comedians Quot it s an easy laugh. I be found that when you Start out you have to rely on things that you know will get a laugh. I Don t want to be a typical girl comedian. That s 7 Why i do baseball jokes. I mean How Many different ways can you make a joke about pms Quot 7 t .77o Connor s inherent knowledge of sports even landed her a Quot cutting Quot role in the hit baseball movie major league a a a. Quot Well i ended up on the cutting room floor Quot she said a mite chagrined. Quot i was supposed to be in the Library scene with Tom Berenger and his estranged wife. I was supposed to give a dirty look at them and say something like Shah he they ended up cutting it. I was so sad Quot because i fold All my friends that i was going to be in a movie. 77 77 .7r. A 7 a Quot i had More people say they rented that Damn movie looking for my part. It s like Gimme that Remote control. Fast Forward. Of rewind. There no. There no. Where a is it Quot 7- a 7.- a 7 o Connor May have been Cut off the reel but she certainly in t off color. A Quot generally i m clean Quot she said Quot really. I swear no a getting Back. Last night in Grafen Wuhr Germany i was Quot Crystal clean i did t swear at All. Since i m the Only girl on this show i feel like i have to be clean. I Don t need to swear to be funny. I Don t talk about sex because i mean is there anything new to say about sex i Don t know but if there is i sure Don t want to share it with a roomful of total . While Burnett started the construction of the female comedian s Road o Connor Points to Barr As the crucial Brick in the pavement. V 7v 7 Quot she s a marketing Genius a o Connor said Quot she found a Niche that worked. She had an act that was a. A different she literally parlayed her show into an act for Carson and marched into the network and demanded her own show it worked v 7. The comedy circuit is such a close knit fraternity that everybody knows who s doing what when and where a 7 but when talk turns to Barr s current husband Tom. Arnold o Connor s Bladd boils. 7 Quot Tom Arnold is an opportunist pig he s a notorious thief. Mean he gets credit As a writer for her show when he does nothing remotely resembling what a writer does i think Roseanne is a a fixed up kid. Success happened much too fast for her. Arnold took advantage of her weaknesses a the whole overweight thing her need for attention a and tie is really interested in her. _ come 7.v. A work Rodney Dangerfield at his new York club was an experience Shell never forget. Quot you see at Dangerfield a Rodney has like an apartment Over the club he s been known to come Down in his Bathrobe hand the emcee a note telling the person on stage to get off because he wants to go on. Rodney s a great Guy when he s but it s Williams who holds a special place in o Connor s heart. A a a a a r a Quot it s like the fishbowl phenomenon Quot she said. Quot Robin Williams is like a Mentor to every san Francisco based comedy act. He s a part of the very close knit scene. He s really kept his feet on the ground. You look at a Guy like Robin Williams and say a wow used to hang out with him and now he s nominated for an Academy award Quot what s so neat about it All is to see someone who s become such a phenomenon who can still come Home. Quot that s so to tip Quot on stage1&Quot listing on Page 15 by a Ach Adula of a Miliar in lasts comedy toys. December 6, 1990 stripes Magazine 3
