Performers (2011)

Elayne Boosler | Avi Liberman | Jeff Applebaum | Lisa Geduldig
Past Performers

Hi res photos available for download in Press Room

ELAYNE BOOSLER is a comedian, writer, and animal activist best known for her thoughtful and feisty political humor and her love of baseball and animals which all share a large part of her act. For the past 38 years, she has seemingly appeared on every talk show ever on TV, has produced and written 5 one-hour Showtime comedy specials, written and directed 2 movies for Cinemax, appeared on Comic Relief for many years and on Politically Incorrect over 30 times. She has been a frequent guest star on sitcoms including The Cosby Show, Dr. Katz, Duckman, and Sisters. She is a much sought-after host and performer for benefits, fundraisers, concerts and events around the country. Her name has been a clue in crossword puzzles over 25 times since 1994 (half of which were in the New York Times), the most recent being 46-down in The NY Times on September 12, 2011.

In 1985, Elayne financed her own comedy special “Party of One” when cable TV stations would not let a female stand up have a TV special. The success of that show blew open the gates of comedy for women. Recently, she was the permanent guest host on Stephanie Miller’s radio show for two years and hosted the TV game show “Balderdash” in 2005-2006. She is a frequent guest on The Joy Behar Show and has traveled the world doing stand up from Las Vegas to The London Palladium to The White House Press Correspondent’s Dinner for President Clinton to clubs and theaters everywhere. She has performed for the Queen of England as well as the President and Congress at Ford’s Theater. Elayne moderated the Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate on C-Span for NOW and is very active in women’s and political issues.

Elayne has written for TV, print and film; a large body of her work can be found on the Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com/elayne-boosler – She is currently performing shows and working on several writing projects including a book that will be released early next year, along with a boxed set of her specials and a new tour. Elayne has been involved in hands-on animal rescue and advocacy since 1996, and in 2001 she founded and runs her own nationwide animal rescue and advocacy non-profit organization, “Elayne Boosler’s Tails of Joy” which has saved thousands of animals and advocated for better treatment of them throughout the world. www.tailsofjoy.net

Elayne’s web site: www.ElayneBoosler.com

AVI LIBERMAN was born in Israel, raised in Texas, went to college in New York, and now lives in Los Angeles. His comedy style is a combination of life experiences and topical issues told through a varied blend of characters and voices with worldwide expertise. Avi has performed stand up on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “Make Me Laugh” as well as “Friday Night!” His acting credits include “Dave’s World,” “Boston Common,” and “Andytown U.S.A.” Avi is a frequent guest on E! on their very popular countdown series. He has also guest starred on “Movies at Our House,” and has shot a pilot titled “Through the Keyhole.” Avi has also appeared in commercials for Mercedes, LA Cellular, Miller Lite, Starbucks, and Net Zero. He has appeared at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. Since 2001, Avi has been organizing the widely acclaimed bi-annual “Comedy for Koby” stand up comedy tours in Israel; all of the proceeds are donated to the Koby Mandell Foundation. www.AviLiberman.net

JEFF APPLEBAUM’s comedy examines his particular life experiences, which include being the only white kid on his Little League team in Queens, having a Chinese wife who orders from take-out menus in fluent Mandarin, and raising a teenage son who calls himself “Jewnese” because he says it sounds better than “Chine-ish.” Jeff recently made his national TV debut on the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” He has also been seen on Comedy.TV, Byron Allen’s nationally syndicated Entertainment Studios program and has also opened for comic legends including Robert Klein, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, and Kevin Pollak. Jeff was cast by the late Buddy Hackett’s son, Sandy Hackett, to play the principal role of Joey Bishop in the long-running musical tribute “The Rat Pack Is Back” in San Francisco, Chicago, Manchester, NH, and Las Vegas. Jeff also appears in the blockbuster film “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith. Prior to comedy, Jeff worked as an engineer, using his two degrees from MIT. Along with performing, he is currently developing the Comedy Channel for Aha Radio and lives with his wife and three children in Silicon Valley. www.JeffApplebaum.com

LISA GEDULDIG is a San Francisco-based stand-up comic and comedy producer. She’s originally from New Yawk, where her entire suburban block was Jewish except the Mazzolas next door who had on their lawn what seemed to be the largest Nativity scene in the history of the world. Lisa is the creator, producer, and MC of a variety of annual comedy shows: Kung Pao Kosher Comedy; The George Bush Going Away Party: An Evening of Political Comedy; Funny Girlz: A Smorgasbord of Women Comedians; The Color of Funny: A Multi-Culty Comedy Show; and A Muslim, A Mormon, and A Jew Walk into A Bar: The Comedy of Religion. Lisa has produced Charo twice The Herbst Theatre. She currently runs a monthly show, Comedy Returns to El Rio, at El Rio in San Francisco’s Mission District where she began her comedy career 22 years ago. Lisa has also recently become a filmmaker. Her first film, “Esther & Me,” a profile of octogenarian Esther Weintraub, a former comedian (Funny Girlz 2003) and resident at The Jewish Home San Francisco, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. www.EstherandMe.com

Past Performers

LISA GEDULDIG is the Mistress of Ceremonies each year.

Past performers have included…

2010

• Wendy Liebman
• Joe Nguyen
• Nathan Habib

2009

• Jonathan Katz
• Brian Malow
• Hilary Schwartz

2008

• David Brenner
• Dan Naturman
• Page Hurwitz

2007

• Shelley Berman
• Scott Blakeman
• Esther Paik Goodhart

2006

• Cathy Ladman
• Dan Ahdoot
• Stephanie Blum

2005

• Wendy Liebman
• Gregg Rogell
• Betsy Salkind

2004

• Judy Gold
• Page Hurwitz
• Brad Zimmerman

2003

• Judy Gold
• Ed Crasnick
• Bruce Smirnoff

2002

• Jeffrey Ross
• Cory Kahaney
• Eddie Sarfaty

2001

• Cathy Ladman
• Scott Blakeman
• Lisa Kron

2000

• Marc Maron
• Page Hurwitz
• Brian Malow

1999

• Carol Leifer
• Betsy Salkind
• Dan Rothenberg

1998

• Freddie Roman
• Sara Cytron
• Dan Lewis

1997

• Henny Youngman “The King of The One Liners”
• Charlie Varon
• Judith Sloan

1996

• Sherry Glaser
• Josh Kornbluth
• The Kinsey Sicks—America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet

1995

• Cathy Ladman
• Jaffe Cohen

1994

• Carol Leifer
• Ed Crasnick
• Sara Felder
• Scott Silverman
• Andrea Leigh Levin
• Surprise Guest: Margaret Cho

1993

• Suzy Berger
• Scott Silverman
• Stu Silverstein