This week, Ira Sternberg spoke with Whitney Cummings and John Davis.
Comedienne and actress Whitney Cummings returns to the Treasure Island Theatre September 27 at 9 p.m.
Cummings began her comedic career as a series regular on MTV’s hit series “Punk’d” in 2004. Since then, she has appeared regularly on E!’s “Chelsea Lately” and has participated in numerous “Comedy Central Roasts” including those of David Hasselhoff and Joan Rivers. In 2010, her hour-long stand up special “Money Shot” was nominated for an American Comedy Award.
She is the co-creator and co-writer of the hit CBS series “2 Broke Girls.” Additionally, she guest starred in the television series “House, M.D.” and starred in the 2008 movie “Made of Honor.”
Cummings was named one of Variety’s “10 Scribes to Watch” in 2011, and received the “Comedian of the Year Award” at the 2010 Young Hollywood Awards. In 2009, she was honored as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “Comedy Stars of Tomorrow” and Variety named her one of the “Top 10 Comics to Watch” in 2007.
Michael Davis is headlining at the Laugh Factory in the Tropicana Las Vegas through September 22nd.
A third-generation San Franciscan, Davis’s creative efforts began early. In high school, he was a published poet and won the school acting award. In the early ‘70's, Davis was intrigued with the art of clowning, and was handpicked from over 2,000 applicants to attend Clown College. Upon graduation, he landed a job as a clown with the Ringling Brothers Circus.
Spotted by a talent agent in 1979, he was hired to perform on HBO's The Young Comedian's Show, his first major television appearance. Next came Broadway Follies, followed by Sugar Babies, and soon his notices brought him to the attention of Saturday Night Live's producers, resulting in six guest appearances on the show.
Davis has been featured on The Dick Cavett Show, The Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, 20/20, and Night of 100 Stars, among others. A Command Performance at the Ford Theatre found him in the company of Liza Minnelli, Ben Vereen, and Natalia Makarova. He has been honored by his peers with a Drama Desk Nomination and a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in Sugar Babies.
Citing Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Charlie Chaplin as his greatest comedic influences, Davis best appreciates humor that he can perform for any audience, a type of "new vaudeville." "I love it when I do a show and there are kids and grandparents laughing at the same joke," he says, "It is a type of humor that doesn't age."