Chapter Text
June 1st, 2022
Interviewer: Mrs. Maisel, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
Midge: It’s great to be here.
Interviewer: I have to say, I was so excited when I was told I got to interview you. My mother grew up listening to your records and so did I.
Midge: Well that’s very nice of you to say. One time I played one of my records for my mother and she almost combusted.
Interviewer: [Laughs] You have cemented a reputation as one of the best comedians in the business, your book comes out in three weeks, why did you decide to write one now?
Midge: Well Joel, my partner, died last year and it got me thinking about how when I’m gone, our kids won’t have much left of us so I wrote it for them, mostly.
Interviewer: And when you say, partner…?
Midge: Life partner. That means something different now I think but Joel and I have only been friends for… god what was it now? 63 years or something like that. We were married once but got divorced in the late 50s. When Lenny died he moved in to help take care of James.
Interviewer: Lenny Bruce… can we talk about him?
Midge: Yes, yes I suppose so. What do you want to know?
Interviewer: Everything. Whatever you feel comfortable telling.
Midge: Well, we met when I bailed him out of jail in ‘58, got together in ‘62 and we were married less than a year later. He was so brilliant, the funniest person I've ever met. He was scared of things, that was part of what made him so special I think. At the time men were all trying to be macho but not him. His biggest fear was becoming irrelevant, one that all comics of our nature can relate to, [she pauses, looks down and smiles] His book was published in 65. It got republished a few years ago and I finally read it along with a whole generation of people who weren't even alive when he died. It's amazing.
Interviewer: You didn't read it until it was republished?
Midge: He asked me not to but when Kitty came to me with the idea she told me to read it and see what I thought. I loved it. The whole thing was so…him. It was nice, having him make me laugh after so long. We were always laughing when we were together. That or getting into trouble.
Interviewer: And your kids, what were they like when they were younger and what are they doing now?
Midge: Ethan was always a trouble maker, he’s a lawyer now so it figures. Esther was perfect, the best of me and her father. She works at a publishing place now, I don't really understand what she does. Kitty was always so sweet as a girl and she did a little acting but now she’s doing a lot of activism. Ellie was just adorable from the moment she was born. Headstrong, too. She was a mathematician for a big company. They all tend to brush it off when I ask about their jobs. I did the same thing to my parents so I try not to take it personally.
Interviewer: And James?
Midge: He made the unfortunate decision to pursue stand-up.
Interviewer: It would be hard not to. Having two of the most famous comedians as parents.
Midge: I never wanted it for him. It’s a terrible, terrible job and I hoped none of my kids would get into it. But he did and he's good, too. Just got added to the national comedy hall of fame. [She smiles]
Interviewer: I know you talked about it a bit in your book but would you like to elaborate on who influenced you early in your career?
Midge: The first time I went on stage I didn’t really know what I was doing when Susie, my manager, found me she took me to see a whole load of people play. I think my material itself was inspired in part by the way Lenny fearlessly said whatever was on his mind. [She smiles] I always admired that about him. As for the way I presented it, I'm not sure where I adapted it from. I think a lot of it was just me trying things out and tweaking them until I was satisfied with the outcome.
Interviewer: At the height of the Washington protests for women's reproductive rights you and your close friend/ fellow comedian George Carlin did a show where you two became the first two comics to speak out against the criminalization of abortion knowing the press was in attendance. Tell me a little about that.
Midge: It wasn't planned at all. He was opening for me on tour when one night he told me he wanted to talk about it on stage. He had read an article about a woman who had died from a self-performed abortion and it just stuck with him. The topic hit me personally not only as a woman and a mother to young daughters but because when I was in college one of my close friends died the same way. We were so nervous before the show that we did a shot just for confidence and headed straight to the bar afterwards. It seems so trivial now, considering what's happening with roe vs wade.
Interviewer: You are an icon and a trailblazer in this business, is there any advice you could offer young women wanting to pursue a career in a male-dominated field such as comedy?
Midge: I think there is this pressure when you're in a workplace with an obvious lack of women that you have to be perfect because if you're not, the men surrounding you will project your mistakes on women as a whole… well fuck that way of thinking and fuck those men. Go out, fall in love, get heartbroken, make mistakes and then get right back up. That's how we learn and progress both as a society and individually.
Interviewer: Wow. it has been such an honour to talk to you this afternoon. Mrs. Maisel’s book, Thank you and goodnight comes out in two weeks and is available for preorder now!