Ruby Wax
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Ruby Wax (born April 19, 1953, birth name Ruby Wachs) is an American female comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors. She is married to television producer and director Ed Bye.
Career
Originally she had been a straight actress, working at the Royal Shakespeare Company alongside Juliet Stevenson.
Her popularity in terms of comedy came from her interviewing skills in which she was always forthright, brash and loud, conforming to the British stereotype of an American. Her physical appearance matched this image, with red hair and blood-red lipstick. She cemented this trademark image in 1985 when she starred as loud-mouthed American actress Shelley DuPont on the British sitcom Girls On Top.
According to a BBC Arena documentary narrated by Dawn French it was Ruby's role as backstage interviewer at the annual charity event The Secret Policeman's Ball 1987 that finally launched her career.
Many of her early television shows involved her being put into a situation where she simply met and interviewed people, mostly extraordinary members of the public (including a memorable visit to pre-breakup Soviet Russia in which she first hated and then touchingly made friends with her female translator, explaining, in ways that words can't, the grim situation in the country at the time).
More recently she's made a career from interviewing celebrities such as Imelda Marcos and Pamela Anderson, where she again applies her interviewing style, often to jaw-dropping effect. Critics have called her 'abrasive' or 'vulgar'. She also makes many guest appearances in Absolutely Fabulous (for which she is script editor) and other similar sitcoms.
In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Sale of the Century before getting knocked out. She also appeared on Only Fools on Horses.
Controversies
- In 2004, the BBC planned to show a cartoon series called Popetown. The series poked fun at the Catholic Church. In it, Wax was to portray the Pope as a spoilt child. After protests, the BBC chose not to show the series.[link]
- In February, 2004, Irish broadcaster Patricia Danaher reached an out of court settlement with Wax who apologised after allegedly making slanderous comments.[link]
- In March, 2004 Wax was criticized by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign for attending a Jewish National Fund dinner.[link]
- In November 2005, Wax was criticised by the Daily Mail columnist Richard Kay in November 2005 for opposing a proposed disabled access ramp for the nearby Couper Collection charitable art gallery. UK Sunday newspaper The Observer also reported the controversy.[link]
External links
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