13 of the Best Jokes and Moments from Sandra Bernhard on Her 68th Birthday
Since the 1970s, Sandra Bernhard has been a show-business mainstay, getting her start performing alongside Richard Pryor all the way up to her current work on American Horror Story. In-between has been a storied career filled with ups and downs as a stand-up comedian, actor and activist. But for our purposes, the most important thing about her is that she’s goddamn funny.
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In honor of Bernhard’s 68th birthday, and her impact over the last five-plus decades, allow us to present some of her most hilarious jokes and moments...
On Relaxation
“It’s so good to be back on Sunset. I just turned 10 to 15 tricks; I feel great, I really do. I relaxed right into the evening.”
On Judaism and Drag
“Purim is one of my favorite holidays. It’s like the original drag queen’s holiday. It’s when all the Jewish men go for it and feel no guilt for a change.”
On ‘Wits’
During the Wits audio interview variety show, Bernhard discussed how she got on The Richard Pryor Show due to her being “a cigarette come to life” and her friendship with Madonna.
As Joedth on ‘Two Broke Girls’
On the sitcom, Bernhard played Joedth (pronounced “Joe” as the “dth” is silent), the owner of the high-end restaurant where Max and Caroline both applied for jobs.
On ‘National Geographic’
“I love National Geographic. Just when you think you’ve seen the last lost native tribe, National Geographic will find a new one.”
Coming Out on ‘Roseanne’
A time capsule during an era in which homosexuality was a “touchy subject” on network TV, Bernhard played Nancy Bartlett on Roseanne as one of the few out recurring characters on television at the time. While aspects of the show haven’t aged well, Bernhard is great in it.
As Herself on ‘Will & Grace’
Bernhard seemed to have fun playing herself, trying to sell her apartment to the titular characters. At least she got to sing.
On Hollywood Casting
“I just finished a series of small but important films. The first one will be out in about six months. It’s called 15 Women Cross the Country By Railroad. I play a Chinese woman and a small Black girl.”
‘Sandra After Dark’
As a satire of Playboy After Dark, Bernhard provided her own interpretation of the variety talk show/party on HBO. The show would allow Bernhard to bring some laughs, music and sensuality. I mean, she had Tom “It’s Not Unusual for Me to Have 89 Pairs of Panties Thrown at Me” Jones on, so the show knew what it was doing.
Sammy Gives a Dammy!
Bernhard has been a frequent guest on Watch What Happens Live and gave Andy Cohen some from-the-hip opinions on that day’s top topics and BS.
As Rhonda on ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’
Bernhard got weirdly sultry on the Saturday morning children’s show as a video phone operator. Although, given Paul Reubens’ history, it shouldn’t have really been a surprise.
As Herself on ‘The Larry Sanders Show’
As a guest host on Larry’s show, this meant Bernhard was an integral part of the episode, able to showcase her ability to keep the show’s pace and laughs-per-minute level afloat. She nailed it.
On Her Worldview
“My father was a proctologist, and my mother was an abstract artist, so that’s how I view the world.”
