Youยve seen acid-tongued comic Kathy Griffin grovel on the red carpet. Youยve seen her snap off biting one-liners in her stand-up shows on Bravo. Now you can see the star of the reality show My Life on the D-List up close when she stops off in Houston. Griffinยs humor is based on her life as a minor, often ignored celebrity, always trying to get close to Hollywood stars but never quite making it. Blame it on her self-diagnosed Touretteยs syndrome. She called Ryan Seacrest a ยgreat hostessย several times. Accidentally, of course. There was that time she asked Beyoncรฉ, ยIf youยre Destinyยs Child, who is destinyยs daddy?ย (Beyoncรฉ paused for a moment and then answered, straight-faced, ยGod.ย) And then Griffin started a rumor that 11-year-old actress Dakota Fanning had checked into rehab and tricked celebs into sending her messages of hope. (Will & Graceยs Sean Hayes said, ยTake care, Dakota, we donยt want you going south!ย) Griffin spent the last year getting a divorce (she caught her husband emptying her bank accounts) and grieving the loss of her dad (some of the most touching moments on My Life on the D-List come from her dealing with his death). Neither situation is exactly fodder for great punch lines, but still, Griffinยs time on the D-list may be coming to an end. Her reality show won an Emmy Award nomination, and fans are flocking to her live shows both in the U.S. and Europe.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2007.