by Bob Walsh
If
you are in the wrong age group that name will mean little to you unless
you are a student of comedy. She started out as a very ordinary piano
player in the Catskills and in Boston, but every now and again she got a
heckler who she would shoot down with such skill and verve that she
changed gears and started doing a fairly risque ( for the 1950s and 60s)
comedy act. Her primary demo group was housewives and most of her
stuff involved sex and marriage. (She was a lesbian, which I admit I
did not know until I read her obit. I am fairly sure I don't remember
her broadcasting that bit of info.)
The
name given to her by her adoptive parents was Ilene Goldman, but she
took the stage name of Rusty to go with her red hair and Warren because
they lived on Warren Ave.
Her first album was SONGS FOR SINNERS. Her most famous one was KNOCKERS UP.
The
moved on to whatever comes next last week at the age of 91. She made a
good living doing something she was good at and had fun with. It's
hard to knock that.
1 comment:
I always liked a good comic. Today they are almost impossible to find due to political correctness. We did catch Don Rickles (Mr. Warmth) 20 years ago playing the Horseshoe in Bossier City. Nobody in the sold out room was safe. RIP, Rusty.
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