Gearing up for laughs

November 10, 2011
By Juliette Ebner
Washington Blade

 Jason Stuart came out to his friends and family about 25 years ago, but sometimes he’s still questioned about it, even by his own mother.

“My mom calls me on the phone and we’re talking and I say, ‘Mom, I met this really great guy’ and she says to me, ‘Is he gay?’ and I say, ‘No, he’s a leprechaun, of course he’s gay’ and she says, ‘Why are you yelling at me?’ I said, ‘I’m not yelling at you but I came out 25 years ago,’ and she says, ‘Oh, I forgot.’ That’s how its evolved, that being gay doesn’t really mean anything to her anymore. It’s just another thing she has to remember.”

Stuart is bringing his new show, “I’m the Daddy and I Have Candy” to D.C. when he performs at Riot Act Comedy Theater Nov. 17-19.

While he likes performing at clubs and other venues, Stuart wishes he could do his show on the terrace of his apartment, to step out like Evita, perform and then go right back inside.

“I wouldn’t even have to wear pants,” he says.

Stuart’s show is about him. It’s about getting older, wanting to fall in love and stories about his family.

The smallest things can inspire a joke for Stuart, taking things that happen in his life and just telling them in a funny way. While being interviewed, Stuart figured out the punchline to a joke he intends on using in his show.

“I don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit down and think of things that are funny today,’” Stuart says of coming up with jokes. “As you think of things that are funny, you write them down and you work on them on stage.”

He’s opened for people such as Jennifer Holiday, RuPaul and Ellen DeGeneres. Stuart’s even been on Broadway, doing shows with Sandra Bernhard and Joan Rivers.

“She’s so current … she so seems to enjoy doing what she’s doing, even at her age, I think she’s 106. It’s hard to tell,” Stuart says of Rivers. “When I saw ‘American Idol’ … and Steve Tyler, I thought it was [Rivers] and how great she looked, but I was wrong.”

Most recently, he’s appeared in Logo’s comedy series “One Night Stand Up.”

Stuart has also performed at various benefits supports issues such as AIDS and homelessness. He is the chairman for the first ever Screen Actors Guild LGBT Committee, created to provide support to LGBT actors and to educate the membership, the industry and the public on LGBT actor’s issues, with a focus on ending discrimination against LGBT actors in the workplace.

“I would say, living in the closet is a very difficult thing to do. It’s the whole symbolism of it,” Stuart says. “What happens is … you’re standing on shoes, there’s a leather jacket in front of you … the door opens every once and a while and light flashes in your eyes … they take things out and they put things back … and that’s how you make all your decisions in your life.”

He often gives his lecture “Coming Out in Hollywood” on being openly gay in the workplace, at corporate programs based on his connection with his audience.

Even with all his success, comedy isn’t Stuart’s passion. Acting is. He’s appeared on numerous television shows ranging from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to “The Closer.”

“I just loved working with Kyra Sedgewick. I thought she was so present. I thought the writing was fabulous … the director was terrific,” Stuart says of working on “The Closer.” “My passion is to work with really talented people.”

Stuart has definitely worked with some big names throughout his career, both on television and the big screen. He’s done movies with Martin Short, Faye Dunaway, Wilson Cruz and Angelina Jolie. He has upcoming appearances in the films “BearCity 2″ and “K-11.”

“I’m really sexy,” Stuart says. “If any gay man that’s hot, sexy, smart and wants to relocate to L.A. should come to the show and profess their love to me.”

Acting Out

November 10, 2011
By Doug Rule
Metro Weekly

 ’There were no [gay] men not wearing dresses in show business,” says Jason Stuart, referring to Hollywood 20 years ago when he first contemplated coming out. “There was a lot of drag stuff but there were no guys [just] being funny.”

“Even now,” the actor and comedian says, “I’m in a very small group of people.” You can basically count the number of popular non-drag gay comedians and actors on two hands.

Stuart is doing what he can to help change the situation. He’s the first-ever chair of the National LGBT Actors Committee for the Screen Actors Guild. The committee exists, says Stuart, “to create opportunities for openly gay actors to be treated as equals and to create more work for each other, so we can play all types of roles.”

To a certain degree, it’s working — at least in Stuart’s case. The frequent TV and film supporting actor — “I’m a supporting guy, that’s what I do” — has just been cast to play a straight boss in a horror film called Guest House, and he’s recently played a homophobic Bernie Madoff-type prisoner in an MTV series. He even played a straight detective on a recent episode of America’s Most Wanted.

Playing straight isn’t a stretch. “I pretended to be straight for the first 25 years of my life,” he says, “so it isn’t that hard.”

Still, as an actor, Stuart is best known for playing gay. His career was kicked into high gear a decade ago, when he had a recurring role as a gay shrink on ABC’s My Wife & Kids with Damon Wayans. More recently, he’s been seen on The Closer, Entourage and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He’s also set to appear in Bear City 2, the sequel to last year’s popular gay film. And he’s co-writing the script to a feature about gay bullying, Broken Dishes, in which he’ll play a bullied kid’s gay teacher.
Ultimately, Stuart got his start in show business as a standup comic. He’ll return to his roots — and to D.C. — next weekend at the city’s newest comedy club, Riot Act, owned by his friend John Xereas.

Born in New York but raised in Los Angeles, Stuart’s comedy career was entirely accidental. “I always wanted to be this wonderful actor,” he says. “The next Dustin Hoffman.” But his first manager encouraged him to try standup. “I went up at the Comedy Club [in L.A.],” he says, “and my whole life flashed before my eyes. I was so nervous, I was funny.” And he was hooked.

Soon enough, he realized the need to come out. “It’s more important for me to be who I am than for me to be in show business,” he reasoned. At that point, in 1993, openly gay comic pioneers Kate Clinton, Lea DeLaria and Bob Smith were already out, but it would still be a few years before Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell came out to huge public fanfare.

Stuart decided to come out on the sensational talk show The Geraldo Rivera Show, as part of an episode devoted to “Unconventional Comedians.” “[Geraldo] was terrific,” says Stuart, even after he kissed the host at show’s end. “But there were people in the audience that were very anti-gay.” In particular, Stuart remembers a Shelly Winters-look-alike who was so worried that Stuart was going to rub her nose in his homosexuality, she refused to talk to him.

Stuart jokes he wouldn’t hurt anyone, much less someone straight. “As I always say, I love straight people. I have two that clean my house. They’re nice people.”

No Joke - A Gay Comic

August 10, 2011
By Jade Moon
MidWeek.com

“My mother calls me on the phone. I say, Ma, don’t get mad … I just met this really neat guy. She goes, ‘Is he gay?’” (Hoots of laughter from audience)

I say, “No, Ma, he’s a leprechaun. Of course he’s gay!’” -Jason Stuart

While the joke loses a bit of its bite in transition from manic stage performance to printed page, it reveals what you need to know about Jason Stuart he’s a funny guy who also happens to be Jewish and gay. The fact that Stuart is out and proud serves him well because, like all good comic artists, he draws his best material from his life and wields truth like a sword. He can be potty-mouthed and raunchy. He’s also vulnerable and utterly sincere. He walks a thin edge between emotional vulnerability and broad sexual stereotype.

“The deal is, I want to get married. I really want to get married. I want the whole thing. I want the wedding, I want the walk down the aisle, I want Barbra Streisand to sing ‘I finally found someone …’”

Stuart wasn’t always so open. His personal awakening, he says, was gradual, sometimes tortured and inevitable.

“I lied for a long time. I came out to my therapist at the suicide prevention center when I was 21. I came out to my first boyfriend at 20.

I came out to my parents at 24. I came out on television as an actor and comedian at 34.”

Being an openly gay man may be his hook, but being Jewish and having a crazy family are equally important to his comedic persona.

“See, I’m gay and Jewish. So I’m pissed.”

It’s what makes him relatable and likeable to gays and straights alike.

“Thank God,” he says, “that’s my goal. They gotta like you otherwise they won’t have you back.”

Stuart came to show business early in life. He started acting when he was 8, and has played straight and gay roles in more than 40 hit shows, including The Closer, Will and Grace and House. But it’s his stand-up that’s making him a celebrity. He’s performed at all the top comedy clubs and comedy festivals, hundreds of gay pride events, colleges and universities, and on Broadway.

Stuart’s brand of comedy is the beneficiary of changing attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Back when he was struggling with his identity, he had no one to talk to and really no clue about how to live his life as an out gay man. But now, “There’s gay marriage starting everywhere. There’s gays in the military now. There are gay and lesbian centers now all over the country, there’s PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) …”

And Stuart believes a lot of the change in attitude has got to come from the gay community itself. Gay men, he says, have not traditionally supported gay entertainers. “Cher, Madonna, Streisand, Diana Ross, all the way to Lady Gaga … we have given these women careers. I think now it’s time to start supporting each other. Gay men need to support gay men the way they support Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho.”

There are just a few out gay role models, he says. Neil Patrick Harris, for one.

And Adam Lambert, a pop star who has managed to break through prejudice and achieve huge success.

“Adam Lambert I just absolutely adore. He is the most exciting thing to come out of American Idol ever. And not just because he’s gay. Because he’s not just a singer, he’s a fantastic showman.”

People such as Lambert, Harris and Stuart are paving the way for the young, something Stuart takes very seriously. He has used his comedy skills to raise tens of thousands of dollars to benefit gay youths. He’s also the national chairman for the Screen Actors Guild LGBT Committee, which is conducting the first-ever study on openly gay actors.

“This is exciting stuff and I am very humbled to be a part of it,” he says.

“What I try to do one day at a time is to be the best person I can be … who happens to be a gay man … who happens to be a comedian … who happens to be an actor … who happens to be an advocate for gay people.”

Stuart is hoping the Hawaii community gays, lesbians and straights will come out to support him when he brings his comedy here to Hawaii this month. It’ll be his third trip to Hawaii and his first time headlining his own show at Queen Kapiolani Hotel Saturday, Aug. 20.

"Quoted" Jason Stuart

June 10, 2011
Next Magazine

Out comic JASON STUART has been slaying audiences nationwide for since the early ’90s. He’s also racked up an impression television reel, with guest parts on Will & Grace, the Closer, House, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Entourage and other hot properties. What would be his dream role? “I would love to be in Iron Man 3 and play a villain who shoots as proficient as my straight counterpoints but who really does not like killing people,” says the Bronx native. “He’ll say thing like ‘I will shoot one more person and that’s it. Don’t push me!’” Catch Stuart tonight when he joins Brad Loekle, Jason Stuart, Harmonica Sunbeam, Emma Willmann and other hilarious homos at Bob Montgomery’s Homo Comicus at Gotham Comedy Club. Superhero costume not included!

The Jason Of All Trades

June 10, 2011
By Jeffrey Hartinger
The Advocate

Jason Stuart, a gay comedian with appearances on popular shows such as The Closer, and Entourage, talks with The Advocate about how sexuality plays into comedy, how his tumultuous high school years helped his career, and why he wants to raise children with Ricky Martin.

Jason Stuart, a gay comedian with appearances on popular shows such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Closer, and an upcoming cameo on HBO’s Entourage, talks with The Advocate about the role sexuality plays in comedy, how his youth as a bullied LGBT teen ultimately helped his career, and why he wants to raise children with Ricky Martin. Stuart is currently the national co-chair of the LGBT Committee for the Screen Actors’ Guild and can be seen in the upcoming thriller Home Invasion.

The Advocate: When did you get your start in comedy and performing?

Jason Stuart:I started out with comedy during grade school; all the kids used to make fun of me because I was gay. Like Barbra Streisand says in Funny Girl, — I know, gay guy quoting Barbra, don’t tell anybody — I made the joke first so they could laugh with me, rather than at me.

Do you believe that making jokes about sexual orientation helps to educate those who are not part of the LGBT community?

When you are out, you have the power in your life and as an artist; rather than being a victim who lives in the closet. It makes my job easier and more joyful to just be myself. Now I can talk about what I think is funny without thinking about whether it’s “gay or not.”

You have a variety of diverse acting roles under your belt. For you, is there any difference between playing a gay or straight character?

Most of my roles are not big enough to have a sexual orientation. However, there are all types of gay and straight characters for that matter. So for me, it’s about the character I am playing.

What are some of your gay-related upcoming projects?

On Friday Aug. 12th, I am headlining The Muckenthaler Outdoor Theatre in Fullerton, Calif. to benefit the Center Orange County with Jennie McNulty. I am also in two gay films that are soon to be released. In Walk A Mile In My Pradas, with Tom Arnold & Dee Wallace, I play a Jewish doctor — my mother is thrilled. In Finding Mr. Wright, starring Matthew Montgomery, Rebekah Kochan, and David Moretti, I play one half of a couple that is obsessed with the movie star Rebekah plays. My husband is Scotch Ellis Loring.

Being a gay male, has this made you sympathetic of other minority groups, such as the struggles of immigrants and African-Americans?

Yes. Also, being Jewish and having a father who was in the Holocaust has made me even more aware of others. The comedy from my Jewish family just never stops. I called my mother on the phone recently and I told her I met a new guy in Key West named Darren. She asks, “Is he gay?” I said, “No, he’s a leprechaun! Of course he is, that’s the most important part!”

Have you ever had a bad experience in performing stand up where someone in the crowd did not accept you because you were gay?

Yes, I was in Texas at the LAFF STOP where I was selling out and having a great show. This guy who was really drunk yelled out, “You all have AIDS.” After a beat, I said, “I guess we are having uncomfortable moment!” and the crowd roared. This is where I learned not to give my power away as a comic. Now that has become a catch phrase in my act. So, I should really thank that guy.

What is your best gay joke?

Come on straight people…If you let us marry each other, we will stop marrying you!

As a comedian, what is your opinion on the Tracy Morgan scandal: Did he go too far or do you think people overreacted?

I feel that Tracy, as a fellow comic, has the right to say whatever he wants on stage BUT when he does, it affects many other people and he will have to live with the consequences. When I started doing stand up in the 80′s I was teased and badgered by other comics, bookers and the audience. This was part of the job and I understood this coming into the business. I cannot tell you how many times I was rudely introduced or made fun of for being gay -sometimes it was very funny and other times incredibly offensive and uncomfortable – to both the audience and myself.

Being bullied was a large part of my childhood. So, when I became a comic and an actor, I came upon this kind of prejudice all the time in many different forms. I learned that it was a part of the job and my plight as an artist to move gracefully through the wreckage of my past and onto the front lines of advocacy for openly gay performers. I am actually a huge fan of Tracy’s. I know Tracy meant us no harm BUT when you are given the gift of talent and the ability to make people laugh, and have such success and popularity one must know that ALL of us are listening. Ten years ago this would not have gotten into the press, however, now the year is 2011 and the times they are changing, thank god.

Many comedians draw their comedy from a “dark place.” Would you agree to that belief?

Yes, for sure. My comedy comes from a place of pain. It was a way to get my feelings out. Now that I am in recovery in my life my comedy comes from what makes me laugh. But it also comes from things that make me mad, like not having equal rights in this country.

Gay marriage just became legal in New York. If you could fly there and get married, what gay celebrity would it be to, and why?

Ricky Martin for sure. I am obsessed with him. Why? Because he’s perfect for me. So Ricky… if you are reading this call me, email me, text me! I would even help raise your twins. I don’t have kids myself because I have nice furniture. For Ricky, I would change all of that!

Tracy Morgan Returns to Nashville to Apologize

June 21, 2011
By The Hollywood Reporter

After making anti-gay remarks during a June 3 comedy show in Nashville, 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan returned Tuesday to the Tennessee city and issued an apology.

“I apologize to … the people that were at the show,” Morgan said. “I want to apologize to my friends and my family and my fans and everyone in every community who were offended with this. … I don’t have a hateful bone in my body. I don’t believe that anyone should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are. … I don’t care who you love, same-sex or not, as long as you have the ability to love.”

In addition, Morgan met with Elke Kennedy, founder of Sean’s Last Wish. Kennedy’s son Sean was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime. Morgan had said that he would be returning to Nashville to apologize.

Last Friday, Morgan met with youth from the Ali Forney Center in New York City, the largest organization helping homeless LGBT.

“As a fellow comedian and actor, I applaud Tracy Morgan for his efforts in speaking out against anti-gay rhetoric, which unfortunately is still regularly expressed in some stand-up comedy acts. The Screen Actors Guild National LGBT Actors Committee appreciates Tracy’s efforts to both learn from this experience and use this as a teachable moment.
We fully support Tracy’s message that discrimination has no place in today’s society regardless of where it is practiced,” said Jason Stuart, co-chair, Screen Actors Guild National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Actors Committee.

Morgan will also participate in GLAAD’s upcoming “Amplify Your Voice” PSA campaign. Others participating include Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, Kristin Chenoweth, Chaz Bono, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Vinna Guadagnino and Tori Spelling.

Morgan is not taking the uproar over his anti-gay remarks lightly: “Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia,” Morgan said in an interview with Russell Simmons on Russell Simons Presents Def Comedy Jam, which was posted by Global Grind on June 13. “My heart is committed to giving everyone the same rights that I deserve for myself.”

Two weeks ago, GLAAD, Truth Wins Out and several others pushed Morgan to apologize and speak out against the anti-LGBT violence after he made questionable remarks during one of his shows. During the show, Morgan said that if “his son were gay … he would pull out a knife and stab” him.

Days after the show took place, Morgan issued an apology for his statements. “I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville,” he said the morning of June 10. “I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”

Morgan’s comments prompted NBC, 30 Rock creator Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock, co-star Cheyenne Jackson and others to react.

NBC’s Bob Greenblatt said, “We will always recognize an artist’s freedom to express him or herself, but not when reckless things are said no matter what the context. Unfortunately, Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC – two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations – and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. I speak for NBC and myself personally when I say we do not condone hate or violence of any kind and I am pleased to see Tracy Morgan apologizing for recent homophobic remarks in his standup appearance.”