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Margaret Cho

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Margaret Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, fashion designer and actor.

Cho is best known for her stage performances, recordings, and concert movies. Her shows are a mixture of her comedy stylings with strong political and cultural commentary.

Early life

Cho was born to a Korean-American family in San Francisco, California. Named "Moran" she was frequently called "Moron" by other children. [1] Cho grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood, which she described as a community of "old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts from the '60s, drag queens, and Chinese people. To say it was a melting pot - that's the least of it. It was a really confusing, enlightening, wonderful time."[1]

Cho's parents ran a bookstore on San Francisco's Polk Street, and she became fascinated by the gay men who worked for her parents. After she expressed an interest in performance, Cho auditioned and was accepted into the San Francisco School of the Arts, a performing arts high school. While at the school, she became involved with the school's improv comedy group.[2]

Career

Early career

After doing several shows in a club adjacent to her parents' bookstore, Cho launched a standup career and spent several years developing her material in clubs. Cho's career began to build after appearances on television and university campuses. She secured a coveted spot as opening act for Jerry Seinfeld, and was featured on a Bob Hope special. She was also a frequent visitor to The Arsenio Hall Show.[3] In 1994, Cho won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian.[4]

All American Girl

That same year, ABC developed and aired a sitcom based on Cho's standup routine. The show, All American Girl, was initially feted as the first show where an Asian family was prominently featured.

Cho has expressed subsequent regret for much of what transpired during the production of the episodes of the show.

  • After network executives criticized her appearance and the roundness of her face, Cho starved herself for several weeks; her rapid weight loss, done to modify her appearance by the time the pilot episode was filmed, caused serious kidney failure.
  • The show suffered criticism from within the Asian-American community over their perceptions of stereotyping. Producers told Cho at different times during production that she was "too Asian" and, alternately, that she was "not Asian enough". At one point during the course of the show, producers hired a coach to teach Cho how to "be more Asian".[3]
  • Much of the humor was broad, and at times, stereotypical portrayals of her Korean relatives and gay bookshop customers.

The show was quickly cancelled after suffering from poor ratings, and the effect of major content changes over the course of its single season.

Following the cancellation Cho became addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 1995, her substance abuse so degraded a performance in Monroe, Lousiana, that she was was booed off the stage by 800 college students.[5]

I'm the One that I Want

Cho's career and personal life were challenged after the cancellation of the show, but Cho refocused her energies and developed new material. In 1999, she wrote about her struggles with the show in her first one-woman show, I'm the One That I Want. Cho released a book of the same name, and the show was filmed and released as a concert film in 2000. Her material dealt with her difficulties breaking into show business due to her ethnicity and weight.

Other shows, films, and books

The second, 2002's Notorious C.H.O. (the title derived from slain rapper "The Notorious B.I.G.") dealt with her having been raised in 1970s San Francisco and her own bisexuality. Both tours spawned live movie versions, albums, and books.

In 2003, she made another stand-up film, Revolution, released in 2004.

In 2005, Cho started promoting and touring with her new show Assassin. The show became her fourth live concert film, and premiered on the gay and lesbian premium cable network Here! TV in September of 2005. In this DVD, she notably includes herself when talking about gays, saying "we" and "our community." Posters for Assassin feature Cho in paratrooper gear holding a microphone in the style of an automatic rifle, a reference to the infamous 1974 photo of heiress Patty Hearst.

Also in 2005, Cho released her second book I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, a compilation of essays and prose about global politics, human rights, and other topical issues. Cho launched a national book tour in support of the collection. An audio reading of the book was also released. A DVD of a live taping of the Assassin tour was released in conjunction with the book.

In late 2004, Cho began work on her first self-written and starring film role. The movie is called Bam Bam and Celeste and is a low-budget comedy about a fag hag and her gay best friend. The film co-stars Cho's friend and co-touring act Bruce Daniels. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005.

Nature of material

Cho's comedy routines are often explicit. She has covered substance abuse, eating disorders, her bisexuality and fondness for gay men, and Asian-American stereotypes, among other subjects, in her stand up.

The poster for her first one-woman show (and film), I'm the One That I Want, featured her holding her arms out as if gripping a steering wheel but with her index finger extended, an allusion to a long joke she tells involving the rides home after using digital rectal stimulation as a means to expeditiously complete oral favors for men.

Cho also became well known for portraying her relationship with her mother in her work, particularly in imitating her mother's heavily accented speech. Her depictions of "Mommy" became a popular part of her routine.

Political advocacy

Cho's material often features commentary on politics and contemporary American culture. In addition to her shows, Cho also developed an additional outlet for her advocacy with the advent of http://www.margaretcho.com and her daily weblog.

A substantial segment of her material and advocacy addressed gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. When San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom directed that San Francisco's city hall issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco in 2004 (until reversed by the state supreme court), Cho started Love is Love is Love, a website promoting the legalization of gay marriage in the United States.

Cho has also been outspoken about her dislike of current president Bush. She began to draw intense fire from conservatives over her fiercely anti-Bush commentary; a live performance in Houston, Texas, was threatened with picketing. Although protesters never showed up, she held a counter protest outside the club until security told her she had to go inside.[6]

In 2004, Cho was performing at a corporate gig in a hotel when, after ten minutes, her microphone was cut off and a band was instructed to begin playing. Cho claims this was because the manager of the hotel was offended by anti-Bush-administration comments. Cho's payment, which was issued by way of check directly to a non-profit organization, West Memphis, initially bounced but was eventually honored.[7]

In July 2004 during the Democratic National Convention, Cho was un-invited to speak at a Human Rights Campaign/National Stonewall Democrats fundraiser out of the fear that her comments might cause controversy.

In November 2005, Cho campaigned to pardon Stanley "Tookie" Williams, an early Crips gang leader, for his death sentence for four felony murders. On December 13, 2005, after exhausting all forms of appeal, Williams was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, California.[8]

She joined the True Colors Tour 2007, emceeing for Cyndi Lauper and a cast of others in benefit of PFLAG and others.

Other activities and projects

  • In 2006 Cho took up bellydancing and started her own line of bellydancing accessories (sold through her website). She also had extensive tattooing done to cover the majority of her back.[9]
  • She co-wrote and starred in a sitcom pilot based around the "Mommy" character of her stand-up, but it was not picked up.
  • She began releasing comedic rap animated videos on her website under the moniker "M.C. M.C." (MC Margaret Cho) including the tracks "Finger" and "Roofies".
  • In April 2006 Cho started "The Sensuous Woman," a monthly burlesque/comedy/bellydancing show at Largo, a restaurant in California.[10]
  • In July 2006 she directed the music video for the song "Former Miss Ontario" by The Music Lovers.
  • In October 2006 she appeared as a dominatrix in the Liam Kyle Sullivan music video for the song Text Message Breakup.[11]
  • In November 2006, Cho joined the board of Good Vibrations.[12] She co-wrote a rap song entitled "My Puss", which was recorded by a duo called "Maureen and Angela"; she then appeared in and directed the music video for the song.[13]
  • In 2002, Cho founded a clothing line with friend and fashion designer Ava Stander called High Class Cho. The company eventually went defunct due to lack of consumer interest[unverified]; however, in 2006, Cho introduced her own line of belly dancing belts called Hip Wear.[14]
  • In December 2006, Cho appeared on the Sci Fi Channel (United States)'s miniseries The Lost Room as Suzie Kang, a tough, chain-smoking independent operator who will sell information to anyone about the motel room's Objects — for the right price.[15]

Personal life

Cho’s legal name is Mo Ran Cho (Cho Mo Ran). The anglicized version is Margaret. Cho cannot speak Korean, but does understand some simple conversation.

Cho has dated Quentin Tarantino (who appeared on an episode of her sitcom), Chris Isaak, and Garrett Wang. Cho has also spoken about her relationships and sexual experiences with women, and identifies as bisexual.[16]

In 2003, she married Al Ridenour, an artist involved in the creation of Cacophony Society and the Art of Bleeding; she was featured in an Art of Bleeding performance in March 2006.[17]

Cho began getting major tattoo work done in 2006 and has become an enthusiast; as of March 2007 she estimates that 15-20% of her body is currently covered. 1

Commendations and discommendations

  • In 1999, "I'm The One That I Want" won New York Magazine's Performance of the Year award and was named one of the Great Performances of the year by Entertainment Weekly.[18]
  • In 2000, her "E! Celebrity Profile" won a Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television organization acknowledging its "superior quality and effective portrayal of the changing roles and concerns of women."[19]
  • In 2000, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awarded her with a Golden Gate award and described her as an entertainer who, "as a pioneer, has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity." [20]
  • In 2001, she was given a Lambda Liberty Award by Lambda Legal for "pressing us to see how false constructions of race, sexuality, and gender operate similarly to obscure and demean identity." [21]
  • In 2003, she received a "Justice in Action" award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. [22]
  • In 2003, she was given an Intrepid Award by the National Organization for Women.[23]
  • A 2006 Maxim magazine article named Cho as the "2nd Worst Comedian of All Time".[24]

Trivia

Template:Trivia

  • She was interviewed by comedian Dawn French in her television program "Girls Who Do Comedy", which profiled 30 female comedians.[25]

Filmography

Bibliography

Discography

Tours

  • "I'm the One That I Want" (2000)
  • "Notorious C.H.O." (2002)
  • "Revolution" (2003)
  • "State of Emergency" (2004)
  • "Assassin" (2005)

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.margaretcho.net/biography/biography.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.margaretcho.com/articles/individual_articles/asian_week_article.htm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.jademagazine.com/Ad_sample_large.html
  4. ↑ TheEnvelope.com - Margaret Cho search results
  5. ↑ http://www.asianweek.com/2001_11_09/feature.html
  6. ↑ http://margaretcho.com/blog/protestthis.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.margaretcho.com/blog/theyturnedoffthemic.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.margaretcho.com/blog/savetookie.htm
  9. ↑ http://margaretcho.com/blog/tattoophotospartthree.htm
  10. ↑ http://margaretcho.com/blog/thesensuouswoman.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcidD2HFK8M You Tube
  12. ↑ http://www.247gay.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=11541
  13. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10i17NNujDE&eurl= You Tube
  14. ↑ http://store.yahoo.com/suhailaonlineshopping/margaretcho.html
  15. ↑ http://www.scifi.com/lostroom/cast/cho/
  16. ↑ http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Get_Informed4&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=14042
  17. ↑ http://artofbleeding.com/poison-march29.html
  18. ↑ http://www.augsburg.edu/news/news-archives/2000/00,10,24,cho.html
  19. ↑ http://www.augsburg.edu/news/news-archives/2000/00,10,24,cho.html
  20. ↑ http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=99&PHPSESSID=f
  21. ↑ http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/PrintFriendly?oid=oid%3A1114
  22. ↑ http://www.asianconnections.com/a/?article_id=41
  23. ↑ http://www.now.org/organization/gala/2003/cho.html
  24. ↑ http://www.maximonline.com/slideshows/index.aspx?slideId=2095&imgCollectId=98]
  25. ↑ http://imdb.com/title/tt0843186

External links

References

This article is based on a GNU FDL LGBT Wikia article: Cho Margaret Cho LGBT
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