Judy Tenuta, Comedian and LGBTQ+ Ally, Dead at 72
Judy Tenuta, a beloved comedian and ally to the LGBTQ+ community, has died at age 72.Tenuta died Thursday in Los Angeles, Variety and other outlets report.
The cause was ovarian cancer.Tenuta was born in Oak Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, and was named for Judy Garland. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago, she became popular in Chicago comedy clubs in the 1970s and ’80s.
She had a quirky, over-the-top persona, and she used such monikers as “The Petite Flower,” “Fashion-Plate Saint,” “Queen of Candy-Pants,” “Princess of Panty Shields,” “Empress of Elvis Impersonators,” “The Love Goddess,” and “Aphrodite of the Accordion.” She wore outrageous costumes and often used an accordion in her act.Later, she was variously based Los Angeles and New York City, and she toured nationally.
She appeared in several television comedy specials, including Women of the Night with Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone, and Rita Rudner on HBO in 1987.
