“I don't do Jewish stuff because I don't want people to be left out. If I mention the Torah in Alabama, it's not going to go down that well. I used to do some Jewish jokes because when I started, I used to play lots of Jewish country clubs.”

American stand-up comedian and actress

Rita Rudner is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She began her career on Broadway, then moved into stand-up comedy after noticing how few women were working in that field in New York City. She has performed for more than three decades. Rudner became known through HBO specials and repeated appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Those appearances helped establish her as part of the comedy boom of the 1980s, when a new generation of American comics came into wider view.