Pearl Williams

Pearl Williams (September 10, 1914-September 18, 1991) Pearl Wolfe-Williams was her stage name-was born on the lower east side of New York in 1914 to Russian immigrant parents. She started out a secretary, but quickly turned to playing the piano. She learned by ear and was an accomplished player. She was a 23 year old legal secretary in 1938, and went to an audition for a singer as accompaniment. The agent asked HER to sing, and she sang MARGIE. She was hired on the spot and that same night went on stage at the Famous Door on 52nd street opposite Louis Prima's band. But it took 14 year and a heckler to make her find her calling. One night, in 1952, a heckler was consistently telling her to get off and that her jokes were horrible, and she said to him, "Oh F**k off." In 1952, no one was using that language. The audience howled, and she quickly became a hit. In 1961, she recorded her first album, "A trip around the world is not a cruise".

Known for her bawdy humor and aggressive manner, she released nine best-selling “party” records during her career, including:

* "All the Way"
* "Bagels & Lox!"
* "She’s Doin’ What Comes Naturally!"
* "A Trip Around the World is Not a Cruise"
* "You’ll Never Remember it, Write it Down!"
* "Battle of the Mothers!" (with Belle Barth)
* "Party Snatches – the Best of . . ." (featured)

Before retiring in 1984, Williams performed for 18 years at the Place Pigalle in Miami.

"I'm tired, I need a rest. After 46 years in show business, night after night, day after day, non-stop, I'm tired", she commented in 1984. She hung up her microphone for good in April of that year. She lived out her final years in North Miami Beach and Long Island. On September 18, she passed away in her sleep from heart disease.

In 2007, she was proposed to be featured in the Off-Broadway production "The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy", which includes live standup routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s, Betty Walker, Belle Barth, Totie Fields, Jean Carroll and Williams herself.

ee also

*The Actors Temple

References

* [http://www.thejapshow.com Princessess of Comedy] website