Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Judy Tenuta, a brash standup who cheekily styled herself as the "Goddess of Love" and toured with George Carlin as she built her career in the 1980s golden age of comedy, died Thursday. She was 72.
Tenuta died Thursday afternoon at home in Los Angeles, with her family around her, publicist Roger Neal told The Associated Press. The cause of death was ovarian cancer.
"She was a very funny, amazing performer," Neal said, and it was always a "happy time to be around her."
Tenuta had claimed her birthdate as Nov. 7, 1965, but she was born in 1949, Neal said. "She was old school so she would never tell her real age but now that she's gone we can tell her real age," he added.
Her heart-shaped face, topped by bouffant hair with a flower accent, conveyed an impression of sweet innocence that was quickly shattered by her loud, gravelly delivery and acidic humor, expletives included. The accordion she made part of her act was "an instrument of love and submission," as she fondly called it.
She was among a generation of performers who drove the popularity of live comedy in clubs nationwide including the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, Laff Stop in Houston and Caroline's in New York City. A typically male-dominated field found room for women, including Tenuta.
Tenuta gained national attention in 1987 with "On Location: Women of the Night," a HBO special in which she starred with Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone and Rita Rudner.
In 1988's "American Comedy Awards" TV special, Tenuta was named best female comedy club performer opposite male winner Jerry Seinfeld. Other honorees that year for their club or screen work included Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler.
"I would trade it in a minute, if I could just be a wife and mother," wisecracked the gold lame-wrapped, gum-chewing Tenuta, who accepted her award from Carlin.
She was a frequent guest on late-night talk shows and game shows and with radio shock jock Howard Stern. Her acting and voiceover credits were eclectic, including appearances on "The Weird Al Show" and "Space Ghost Coast to Coast." She appeared onstage in "The Vagina Monologues" in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Tenuta grew up in the Chicago suburb of Maywood, attending Catholic schools that included one she dubbed "St. Obnoxious and Bondage." She said she was the "isolated, petite flower" -- Petite Flower becoming one of her stage nicknames -- in a Catholic family that included six brothers.
After graduating college, she worked at odd jobs that included wrapping meat and taking inventory at an outlet for Catholic religious attire.
"I got fired because they caught me trying the stuff on," Tenuta said a 1989 interview with The Associated Press. "So the boss came in, and I guess he got kind of upset. And I said, `Well, I have to see if they look good, pig. I'm trying to make improvements for these broads."'
Tenuta went on to join the Chicago comedy troupe Second City before starting her solo standup career. Despite her outlandish clothes and bizarre stage appearance, Tenuta said most people caught on immediately to her act, which included the self-centered religion she called "Judy-ism."
"In my religion, I'm the only one that gets to complain. The really nice thing about my religion is you can forget all about your problems and think about mine for a while," she told AP.
------
Associated Press journalist Mallika Sen contributed to this report from New York.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.