Rita Rudner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rita Rudner
Rudner in August 2011
Born	(1953-09-17) September 17, 1953 (age 71) Miami, Florida, United States
Medium	Comedy
Nationality	American
Years active	1968–present
Spouse	Martin Bergman (m. 1988)
Children	1

Rita Rudner (born September 17, 1953) is a famous American comedian. She started her career as a dancer on Broadway. Rita noticed there weren't many female comedians in New York City. So, she decided to try stand-up comedy. She has been making people laugh for over 30 years! You might have seen her on HBO specials or The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. These shows helped her become one of the top comedians in the 1980s.

Early Life and Dance

Rita Rudner was born in Miami, Florida. Her mom was a homemaker, and her dad was a lawyer. Rita grew up in a Jewish family. She started taking ballet lessons when she was only four years old.

When Rita was 13, her mother passed away. Her father got married again. Rita found it hard to get along with her stepmother. She wanted to be independent. So, after finishing high school at 15, Rita left Miami. She moved to New York City to become a dancer. She performed in several big Broadway shows. These included Promises, Promises, Follies, and Mack & Mabel. She also played Lily St. Regis in the musical Annie for over a year.

Comedy Career

Rita began her stand-up comedy career in the late 1970s. Her first time on TV was on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982. She appeared on many TV shows in the US and the UK. She was often on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She also appeared in a special called Rodney Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special.

Rita has made several popular comedy specials. Some of her most famous ones are Rita Rudner: Born to Be Mild and Rita Rudner: Married Without Children. She also had Rita Rudner: Live From Las Vegas on PBS in 2008.

Rita and her husband wrote the movie Peter's Friends in 1992. She also acted in it. She played a character named Bunny in her husband's 2011 movie Thanks.

Rita has written several books. These include I Still Have It; I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It and ... Beneath My Clothes. She has also written novels like Tickled Pink. She often writes screenplays and plays with her husband.

Since 2001, Rita has mostly performed in Las Vegas. She has sold almost two million tickets there! This makes her the longest-running solo comedy show in Las Vegas. She even moved to a bigger theater in 2011. She also created a show called Ask Rita. It was a talk and advice show where she used improvisational comedy. She won an award for it! In 2009, she performed for President Barack Obama and Senator Harry Reid in Las Vegas.

Personal Life

Rita Rudner is married to Martin Bergman. He is a producer from Britain. They have an adopted daughter together.

Filmography

Film

Television

Writer

Comedy Specials