Recently in Kathy Griffin Category

Kathy Griffin is basking in the glow of her New Year's Eve potty mouth during a visit to Jimmy Kimmel who told her that her off-color remark while co-hosting CNN's coverage with Anderson Cooper was "depending on your time zone either the last greatest TV moment of 2008 or the first great TV moment of 2009."

Kathy is gleeful about all the Internet buzz created by the incident and says Anderson texted her the next day: "There are tanks lining up for a ground invasion in Gaza and you're the top story on Drudge Report. Wow."

Some other choice bits from the clips:

Kimmel to Kathy: "Dick Clark has hosted New Year's Eve for 40 years and he's never said that word and his name is Dick!"

Kathy eplaining herself: "I was just trying to do anything I could to make (Anderson) laugh. I thought my microphone was off (yeah, sujre). I thought it would be funny to try and shock Anderson Cooper."

Her 88-year-old mother's post-NYE rant: "How could you do that to my Anderson? He's a Vanderbilt for God's sake...You've shamed the family again!" Says Kathy: "My mom was inconsolable. It took TWO boxes of wine to get her off that ledge."

Uh oh, I hope this isn't another Dakota Fanning moment for Kathy Griffin. Several years back, while co-hosting the E! channel pre-awards coverage (I think Golden Globes) and she asked some stars for their reaction that Dakota had checked into rehab. She was joking but got fired. Watch this from last night and see if you think she'll suffer the same fate on CNN!

My favorite part of this is Kathy dissing on Lou Dobbs. Kathy and Anderson are such a great team! They should have their own morning show. Too bad they have such kick-ass day jobs...

Here is more of last night's Griffin-fest. She was also on with Larry King...

Well, I can't say I really blame him.

We love Kathy Griffin, obviously, but it's never cool to out someone. E!Online's Marc Malkin reports that our favorite D-lister tried to make amends with Clay Aiken last week when they both guested on "Rosie Live!" but he wasn't having any of it. Kathy had gotten a lot of lmaterial out of Clay's sexuality pegging him "Gayken" in her standup act long before he came out of the closet.
"I held up one of those ghetto blasters playing one of Clay's songs, and I begged him to take me back and he said no," Griffin said at last night's Grammy nomination concert in downtown L.A. "And then I walked out of the room and Gloria Estefan said to me, 'I told ya--you shouldn't have gone in there alone.' "

Malkin writes that Griffin said she was, at the very least, hoping for some sort of thank-you or acknowledgement for her role in helping him come out. "There were no words of thanks or even really any words at all, for that matter. I would have to say he was not very nice."

He doesn't need to thank her for anything. We gotta be able to come out when we are ready.

Two-time Emmy winner Kathy Griffin's career is thriving and it's all credit to her drive and relentless self-promotion. She claimed to have specifically put out a comedy album earlier this year in an blatant attempt to win a Grammy following her first Emmy win in 2007. She has since won a second Emmy and on Wednesday, got the Grammy nod for the CD "For Your Consideration" which, by the way, is perfect for listening to on the drive from LA to Palm Springs.

Congrats to Kathy!

Below is a "For Your Consideration" cartoon:

C'mon, Kathy Griffin is at the very least C-list now that she has won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Show two years running! Who woulda thought the fun little series she previewed for us at Outfest about three or four summers ago (egads, I'm losing count!) would turn out to be such a smash and last longer than her previous series, "Suddenly Susan."??

Kathy has signed a one year deal with Bravo.

"It's Season 5. We start shooting Wednesday," she told Us Weekly. "It's going to be more celebrity oriented. [It's] the way that American Idol sort of started as a singing contest and then every week you expect to see the mentors. I have some really good guest stars coming on the D-List this year."

Kathy & David Archuleta

The poor kid! Still, the "American Idol" runner-up giggled uncomfortably during it but got through unscathed. Very entertaining...

She's a bonafide gay icon and we love her for her humor and for loving us. Kathy Griffin, two-time Emmy winner for "My Life on the D-List," turns 48 years old today.

We wish her a happy day and know she wants Prop. 8 to go down in defeat. Here is what she told me back in September about the effort to ban gay marriage: "The gays should have all the same rights as everybody else, it's ridiculous. That it's even a question in this day and age is ridiculous and arcane and it's a shame. That's why I'm saying, it might be fun to think of vice president (Sarah) Palin, but then when you really, really think about it, not so fun. No so fun for the gays, not so good for the women."

Earlier posts:
-- Kathy Griffin returns to "The Schmemmys"
-- Some Kathy Griffin clips to brighten your day...

Maggie Griffin, still sharp as a pistol at the age of 88, is featured in the Fall 2008 issue of ELDR magazine.

ELDR's Editor-in-Chief, Dave Bunnell, sat down with Maggie and her famous daughter, Kathy Griffin, as part of a segment of the reality show "My Life on the D-ist.

As one of the magazine's "Inspiring ELDRs," Maggie Griffin said she is no longer shocked by her famous daughter's antics and now comfortable in her role as a Hollywood mom.

Here are some outtakes from the interview:

On growing up with Kathy: "I know a lot of people will be surprised, but Kathy was a wonderful, easy-to-raise teenager. I'd say she's more of a problem as a grown-up, which is odd."

On whether Kathy went out drinking, smoking dope and hanging out with older guys as a teenager: "No, no. She was in the drama club and she was in all these plays and musicals. She was always funny. As a little girl she used to do a performance in our basement called 'The Kathy Griffin Show.'"

On the first time Kathy ran away from home: "Oh my gosh, she was just a little thing, about four or five. We were at a big family gathering. All of a sudden, when we were ready to go, we couldn't find Kathy. Pandemonium broke out. We called the police, and everyone was looking for her. I was crying in the back of a police car when we got a call that she was in a little café on Oak Park Boulevard. She had a bottle of soda with her that she carried from the picnic."

On her personal secrets to longevity: "I love being around my family. They all have a great sense of humor, and all my kids are funny. My husband was funny and, of course, Kathy. I think that helps an awful lot."

There's some swear words so turn the volume down if you're at work!

Kathy Griffin was the woman of the hour at the weekend's Creative Arts Emmys as she won for the second year in a row for her "My Life on the D-List" show in the outstanding reality show category.

Before the awards, I asked Kathy about gay marriage in California and the fight by backers of Proposition 8 to stop it. Here's what she said: "The gays should have all the same rights as everybody else, it's ridiculous. That it's even a question in this day and age is ridiculous and arcane and it's a shame. That's why I'm saying, it might be fun to think of vice president (Sarah) Palin, but then when you really, really think about it, not so fun. No so fun for the gays, not so good for the women."

Well, there's no stopping her now (as if there ever was). Kathy Griffin is now a two-time Emmy winner. Our favorite redhead took home the Outstanding Reality Show trophy at Saturday's Creative Arts Emmys - a repeat of last year's victory.

Here's part of her speech, which was toned down from last year when she famously said: "Suck it Jesus, this award is my God now!"

"Well, well, well! Here we go again, f--ers. Here we go again!" Kathy then acknowledged some of the bigger celebs in the audience: "Hanks, Gandolfini -- what the f--! I'm not going to tell anyone to suck it. I would make love to this thing if I could."

Awesome!!!

I spent the afternoon covering the red carpet at the Ceative Arts Emmys and it was well-worth my time since I snagged some great interviews that I'll be sharing with you throughout the coming days. I was most excited to talk to Elaine Stritch, Sharon Gless and, as always, Kathy Griffin.

Here is the column I wrote for tomorrow's paper which I share with you now:

So what if she calls them "The Schemmys." It's Kathy Griffin who really put the Creative Arts Emmys on the map with her wild acceptance speech antics last year.

On Saturday afternoon, I chatted with Kathy as she made her way into the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles for this year's show and wondered if she felt maybe a tad remorseful for giving the event what is now a pretty famous nickname.

Not a chance.

"Shmemmys is an endearment that I say with complete love because of the fact that it starts at 2:30 (p.m.) is not something a real award show would ever do," Kathy said. "I got up for hair and make-up around 4 (a.m.), it was still dark out. But there's also a lot of big stars here so I'm really excited. I'm also excited to see who's too famous to walk the red carpet. I, of course, am not."

Plenty of stars - both nominees and presenters - did show up including James Gandolfini, Lee Pace, Jennifer Beals, Valerie Bertinelli, James Pickens, Joe Mantegna, Chloe Sevegny, Bryan Cranston, Masi Oka, Seth Green, and Sarah Chalke, who co-hosted the evening with Neil Patrick Harris.

These are the Emmys given the week before the televised prime-time
Emmy telecast to animated programs, reality shows, guest spots on comedy and dramatic series and in technical categories including make-up and editing.

Highlights from the show will air on E! on September 20.

I wondered how Miss Griffin felt about returning as the reigning reality
show queen after her win last year for "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List."

"It's a little bit of a middle finger up at high school, it's not
even against Hollywood," she said. "It's more against the cheerleaders who tortured me in high school. I actually wish they were all here right now - every pom pom girl and cheerleader. Then I would finally have my moment."

Sharon Gless has two Emmys at home for "Cagney and Lacey" but was excited to be nominated in the guest actress category for an episode she did of FX's "Nip/Tuck."

"This my ninth nomination but I've never been nominated in this category and I've never been to the Creative Arts (Emmys)," said Sharon, who added that she was surprised to get the nomination but gave credit to series creator Ryan Murphy who she said had "written the sickest most twisted thing he's ever written" for her to play.

Also nominated was Broadway legend Elaine Stritch, already a
two-time Emmy winner going into Saturday's ceremony. We had a good laugh when Elaine, nominated again as guest actress for her role as Alec Baldwin's mother on NBC's "30 Rock," talked about a letter she got from a man at the Television Academy "telling me how to behave."

"The part I really loved about it was when he said, 'And don't pay any attention to those people who hug you on your way up (to the stage) because they just want to get their faces on camera,'" she said, laughing. "Are you kidding? He told me how to do it! It's the funniest thing. He tells you how to behave emotionally, physically. I thought, 'This is Stella Adler's class!' And then he said, 'And please do this in 33 seconds."

It was also great to see Marissa Jaret Winokur, the Tony winner
("Hairpsray") who made it to the semifinals of "Dancing With the Stars" last season. She and her Emmy nominated husband Judah Miller ("King of the Hill") said the event was essentially their first date since the arrival of their son, Zev Isaac Miller, seven weeks ago.

"My husband had to get nominated for an Emmy for us to go out,"
Marissa said. "I put our son in a little onesie today with a little tuxedo and bow tie. I got him dressed up to take pictures with us so it was very exciting. It's a big day."

I picked up Kathy Griffin's new CD at Amoeba Records and has listened to it at least three times. I love, love, love when she does the bits about her 87-year-old mother. Apparently since her dad died, the mom has been watching a lot of bad TV and says to Kathy: "I just hope you don't turn into a skank like those goddam Kardashians." Priceless!

Here are a few clips from a "My Life on the D-List" episode. The season finale airs on Bravo tonight!

The folks from Fitness Magazine were nice enough to send me some of the quotes from their article on Kathy Griffin. You'll have to go out and buy the mag to see the whole shebang but here are a few appetizers:

ON AN ENVIABLE HOLLYWOOD FIGURE: "I've come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to be Jennifer Aniston. I spent too long trying to get a body like Jennifer Aniston. It never worked. I had liposuction, and everything else. Then I realized, oh, what if I just ate better and exercised."

ON BEING 47: "I'll say to my younger friends, C'mon I have a hot body, right? I mean not a hot body Hollywood style. But it's hot for 47. So that's my new thing. I like my body now. For 47, it's pretty darn good. For 27, it's not great. For 47, it's pretty good...I actually obsessed about it so much more. That's really the best thing about 47. When I think about when I was 27, it was all I thought about. I was constantly denying foods that I wanted and binging on foods when I was hungry and going on every crazy diet. Now it's on my mind of course, but...I've come to accept I'm going to fluctuate five pounds over the year."

ON PLASTIC SURGERY: "It's the same reason I stopped getting plastic surgery. I've been off the junk, as I call it, for five years. I've had face lift, eye job and all that stuff five years ago. What I found though was that it didn't help me one bit. It didn't get me happier or didn't make me look particularly younger, it didn't help me get jobs. I really thought ageism is so prevalent in Hollywood, especially in standup, it's such a male dominated zone. I thought dammit, I got to do everything I can to look my best. Luckily, and you know probably 95 percent of women are in this position, luckily it's not really going to keep you from what you want. For example, if you work in an office, you're probably going to do the same job if you're 10 pounds heavier or lighter. I'm not talking about anorexia or obesity---those are obviously two different animals. But I spent 20 years of my life obsessing about 10, 15 pounds, and what I found as a comedian, what I really now realize as a comedian, especially at my age, is that nobody expected me to come out in a bikini anyway. I thought as long as my jokes are funny, I've never lost a job because of my weight, and I've certainly never gotten a job because of my cosmetic surgery or my weight."

ON WORKING OUT: "It doesn't mean you have to schlep to the gym every day or have a trainer or whatever. So that's something I'm more open to. And exercise doesn't always have to be this nightmare trip to the gym. For me, when I started going to the gym, I would feel inadequate. I'd be next to the bimbo with the perfect body and big tits and I'd be kind of going if I worked out more I could look like her. And I was never going to look like her. And I'm actually doing fine not looking like her--and most women do fine not looking like her."

ON STANDUP EXERCISE: "Also, by the way, I just want to say that when you're doing standup for two hours a show and two shows a night, that's a workout itself. So when I'm walking off stage covered in sweat that's got to be some kind of workout."

IF SHE WERE HOSTING THE SHOW AT 27: "It's a weird combo for me of being more focused and I'm calmer. You know, the cliché, I don't sweat the small stuff. But when it comes to the big stuff, I'm a shark. I've finally learned what's the important stuff...For example, If I'd had this year when I was 27, I wouldn't have been able to focus on the D List and trying to make it a good show. I'd probably have a crush on one of the camera guys, I'd be obsessing about my weight, on a diet, I'd be auditioning for some show, whether it was going to become a pilot. Now I'm okay, I get it, the guys who come to work here come to work. And now that they're so much younger, I can ignore them anyway."

ON HER PREFERED WORKOUT GEAR: "To me, I'm more of a cardio person, I'm not a calm, yoga zen person. If it were up to me, I would have way tight thongs and striped leotards and leg warmers and head bands. That's my era. Jane Fonda."

THOUGHTS ON HER BODY NOW: "I like my body now more than I did two decades ago."

HER FAVE SNACK: "Peanut butter. It's pure protein but won't drag you down like a burger. When I'm on tour, I have my own personal jar--I'm fancy like that--and I eat it with a spoon."

Gee, i don't post enough about Kathy Griffin. Ha! But the truth is, this woman is so endlessly funny that there's always fresh material. She is the cover subject of the new issue of In Magazine Los Angeles which I picked up on my way out of Hugo's in West Hollywood this morning. Here are some highlights:

On new teen mom Jamie Lynn Spears: [She's] just writing my act for me. I should send her a muffin basket, not to congratulate her on the birth of her child, but just to thank her for material.

On Miley Cyrus: Someone needs to cool that crazy bitch. OK, what is going on with her? And not even the Vanity Fair pictures, what about the (expletive) ones on the Internet? Those are way worse. And she took it herself because you can clearly see her clicking the camera."

On Star Jones' divorce from Al Reynolds: Not as shocking as the pictures of [Al] in the underwear. It's one thing for him to blog and say, 'If you come up to me, I'm just a normal guy. Call me Al.' No, I think I'm going to call you gay model."

On Tyra Banks: One of the greatest gifts that I have been given in show business is not the gift of laughter but, believe it or not, when I was on 'The Tyra Banks Show' as part of the gift bag, they give you a little Vaseline holder that is bedazzled. I still have it, it;s in my purse. It is my favorite thing that I have ever been given by a celebrity because everytime I take it out, it;s a conversation piece. I love that wherever I am, people are like: 'Where did you get that Vaseline?' And I just go, 'Oh, Tyra Banks gave it to me.' I know, I 'm kind of implying that we're friends, and we're clearly not.

What can I say? Kathy Griffin makes me laugh, she makes me happy. I missed her appearance on Carson Daly's show yesterday and as I was looking for it (unsuccessfully) on YouTube, I came across this visit to "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" that can't be more than a few weeks old.

"My audience has gotten even gayer since I saw you last," she said as she talked about entertaining on a flight from San Francisco to Sydney for Mardi Gras.

Flashback: This bonus video is really random and really funny. It's Kathy with Justin Timberlake AND Britney Spears when they were still a couple. I have no idea what is on Kathy's neck, OK? Check it out:

Finally caught the season premiere of Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List." She's as funny as ever and this portion that I've posted has her getting ready for her New Years Eve gig - co-hosting CNN's coverage from Times Square with that cutie pie Anderson Cooper. She calls him "Andy." I love, love, love his laugh. And she makes him laugh a lot!

Enjoy!

I fell asleep before Kathy Griffin's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Thank God for YouTube!

She discusses Al Reynolds' recent bikini shots, asked Jimmy is he has a hairy a** and suggests he manscape, the Apple computer dude she was dating who emailed her that he was getting married to someone else, and about her efforts to be the white Oprah Winfrey on "My Life on the D-List"

Here's the whole thing!