"Funniest Comedian GERI JEWELL vs PENN JILLETTE"

GERI JEWELL

Geraldine Ann "Geri" Jewell (born September 13, 1956) is an American actress and stand-up comedian noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Li...

Geraldine Ann "Geri" Jewell (born September 13, 1956) is an American actress and stand-up comedian noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life and the mid 2000s western Deadwood. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she is most notable for her role of Geri Tyler on the television program The Facts of Life from 1980 to 1984. This role made her the first person with a visible disability to have a recurring role on a prime-time series, as well as the first actor with cerebral palsy to be featured on a TV series. After she dropped out of college, Jewell began her career doing stand up comedy at The Comedy Store in 1978. In 1980, she performed at the 2nd Annual Media Access Awards, when she was introduced to Norman Lear by producer, Fern Field. Jewell appeared as the recurring character Jewel on the HBO original series Deadwood from 2004—2006 and in its 2019 film continuation. Her autobiography I'm Walking as Straight as I Can was published in 2011 by ECW Press. The title refers to the facts that she has cerebral palsy and is a lesbian. Jewell's first autobiography, Geri, published in 1984, talked about her personal and professional life. It did help children get comfortable dealing with a person who has a disability, and taught them the value of a good sense of humor, so I’m not going to knock the whole book. But it was such lighthearted fluff given that I was struggling so much at the time. Like I said, I had a manager who was a crook. People in my life were manipulating me and taking advantage of me. Then The Facts of Life did not renew my contract. Years later, they offered me one episode during the fifth season, and my new manager, Richard Lippin, who was trying to fix all the previous manager’s mistakes, turned it down. He felt that after everything that I’d done for Facts, it was a slap in the face that they would only offer me one show. If I had had it my way, I would have accepted it anyway. But I don’t blame him, because he was right. The problem was that he thought I was indispensable, and they didn’t. He figured that they would come back with something better. And—oops!—they never did. He told me not to worry about it, that I was going to find other work because I was very talented, and I was the first person with a disability to break ground in a series.

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PENN JILLETTE

Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his wor...

Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and is currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur. Jillette has published eight books, including the New York Times Bestseller, God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales. He is also known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific skepticism, the First Amendment, as well as previously identifying as a Libertarian, and supporting free-market capitalism. In 2020 he endorsed Andrew Yang in the Democratic primary, and later voted for Joe Biden in the general election. Jillette was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Valda Rudolph Jillette (née Parks; 1909–2000), was a secretary, and his father, Samuel Herbert Jillette (1912–1999), worked at Greenfield's Franklin County Jail. Jillette became an atheist in his early teens after reading the Bible. He was subsequently asked to leave the church, after asking questions in a youth group that purportedly also made skeptics of his peers. Jillette became disenchanted with traditional illusionist acts that presented the craft as authentic magic, such as The Amazing Kreskin on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. At age eighteen, he saw a show by illusionist James Randi, and became enamored of his approach to magic that openly acknowledged deception as entertainment rather than a mysterious supernatural power. Jillette regularly acknowledges Randi as the one person on the planet he loved the most besides members of his family. Jillette worked with high school classmate Michael Moschen in developing and performing a juggling act during the years immediately following their 1973 graduation. In 1973, Jillette graduated from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. In 1974, he was introduced to Teller by Weir Chrisemer, a mutual friend. The three then formed a three-person act called Asparagus Valley Cultural Society which played in Amherst and San Francisco. In 1981, he and Teller teamed up as Penn & Teller, and went on to do a successful Off Broadway and later Broadway theatre show called "Penn & Teller" that toured nationally.

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