The death of pioneering “Saturday Night Live” writer Anne Beatts last week was a reminder of the strides made by women in comedy — and the work toward equity that remains.
Beatts, who died at the age of 74, also created the ’80s sitcom “Square Pegs” and was the first female contributing editor to the revered humor publication National Lampoon.
She paved the way for women in comedy, a road that has been — and continues to be — rocky for many.
That’s the theme of the new FX/Hulu documentary “Hysterical,” in which female comics talk about what life is like in the business of being funny.
Here are just a few of the women upholding Beatts’ legacy:
Nikki Glaser: The stand-up comic is featured in the doc and recently spoke to my CNN colleague Marianne Garvey about moving back home to her parents’ house in St. Louis during the pandemic. Glaser also dug into her career and latest venture, “The Nikki Glaser Podcast.”
The digital audio project, produced by Will Ferrell and iHeartMedia’s Big Money Players Network, has really helped her, Glaser said.
“It turns out I like myself for the first time in my life, like, I really have self-esteem, which is kind of kryptonite for a comedian, but this podcast is not just comedy, I kind of look at it as self-help,” she told CNN. “And by that, I mean, I hate to say it’s like a therapy session because it’s not, but I am an open book on this podcast in ways that I am not even with my closest friends.”
Ali Wong: The native San Franciscan has used stand-up as a springboard for a career in TV shows like “Big Mouth,” films like “Birds of Prey” and “Always Be My Maybe,” as well as some extremely successful Netflix comedy specials.
She also has written a book of essays, “Dear Girls.” Wong talked to The New York Times in 2019 about almost quitting the biz early on after a comedy club host got racist by introducing Wong as someone who “does your nails” and “does your laundry” and she got booed.
“Of course I thought about quitting at times, but I just kept going because I liked the process so much,” Wong said. “Your attitude after bombing distinguishes the comics who are the real deal from the comics who aren’t the real deal.”
Issa Rae: What isn’t the creator of the hit HBO series “Insecure” doing these days?
She recently signed a five-year deal with WarnerMedia, HBO and CNN’s parent company, giving it exclusive rights to her shows and a first look at films from her production company Hoorae.
Rae also launched a record label, Raedio, in 2019 and starred in films “The Photograph,” “The Lovebirds” and “Little.” She seems well on her way to fulfilling a dream she talked to me about last year during an interview.
“I want to write and produce my own feature film,” Rae said. “It’s been cool being in other people’s stuff, but I want to try my hand at my own feature.”
Even with all the strides women have made in comedy, there is still room for progress.
A woman still has yet to enjoy the level of success men have had in late night despite Chelsea Handler, Samantha Bee and Lilly Singh cracking the ceiling with their own shows.
Likewise, there have been plenty of female buddy comedy films. For every “Bridesmaids,” there is the female version of “Ghostbusters.” (Sorry to the cast of the latter, as y’all really did all you could to make a go of it.)
What better tribute to Beatts and others like her than to keep rising in what traditionally has been a boys club?
