Adrianne Tolsch

Tolsch grew up an only child in the Flatbush[4] neighborhood of Brooklyn.[5] She attended Erasmus Hall High School,[4] and earned a degree in art from Brooklyn College.[6] Her family was Jewish and she identified as Jewish.[7] From a young age she idolized Lenny Bruce,[7] so her father once snuck her into a Bruce show in the Village by claiming she was a midget.[8]

After graduating college, Tolsch's first career was as a graphic artist. Her work consisted of architectural renderings, paintings, drawings, and sculptures from recycled garbage.[9][10] Her website tolschart displays a mini gallery of her artwork.[11] Aside from being an artist, she also waitressed at a comedy club, Pips, early on in her adult life. Around this time, Tolsch went through a career shift from being an artist to venturing into the world of comedy. People told Tolsch she was comical.[12] She had a love for comedy and making other people laugh.[12] Although she was a successful and talented artist, she went on to pursue her passion in comedy.[13][7]

Tolsch began her comedy career at age 30.[14] In 1976, she began performing improv with The Original Cast troupe before starting in stand-up comedy.[5] Performing had an allure for her. Tolsch stated, "The first time I ever got a standing ovation, you could have taken me right to comic heaven. It was such an affirmation. It's attention, love, it's everything but food and rent."[15][16]

At that time, there were few women working in standup comedy, and fewer were able to earn a full-time living at it.[6] When Tolsch herself first started in comedy, she kept her day job as a commercial graphic artist while performing at night.[1] During this time, the women comics in New York would often congregate on Sundays at Tolsch's West Side apartment. Tolsch said, "There are so few of us that we need to get together. The camaraderie is essential and we are so all over the lot that we don't get to talk together all that much."[6] She experienced backlash from the public and struggled to find her place in the comedic world. One critic described her stand-up as "bold and brassy" indicating her role as a confident and outspoken woman in comedy was threatening and ahead of the times.[2] During stand-up routines, she got the silent treatment from audience members.[17] She persevered as continued performing stand-up at venues in New York City. She headlined at every major club in NYC.

She eventually became a success in the New York City comedy club circuit, and became the first woman emcee at Catch a Rising Star.[13] She also managed the club for years, and served as a mentor for young comics.[4][18] She started out by working in the club and checking coats for people. She spent seven nights a week in the club trying to get a chance to perform.[17] She also considered comedian Richard Belzer to be her mentor, as he had helped her get her start at Catch a Rising Star.[1] In 1981 she was the only woman emcee in any of the New York clubs, in part because she was adept at dealing with hecklers.[13][19]

My name is Tolsch. Tolsch is Russian for 'the yogurt has spoiled.' Where you from? New Jersey? You here for the water? Must be your first time, you ordered the food. We had a nice nonsectarian Christmas at our house. My mother let me hang my earrings from her fern.

— Adrianne Tolsch[13]

As a young adult, Tolsch left college and married her first husband and had a son named David Kerzner.[17] The two split and she later remarried and divorced her second husband.[17] On December 29, 1980, Tolsch met her future husband, comedian and writer Bill Scheft, when he (at first unsuccessfully) auditioned for her at Catch a Rising Star.[4][18] She rejected Scheft and it wasn't until his sixth audition for her at the club that he secured a regular gig there as an emcee.[18] The two started dating shortly after. Sheft was a writer for comic star David Letterman, who hosted The Tonight Show and other late night comedy shows.[20] Tolsch and Sheft moved in together in 1984 and married in June 1990.[21] She was an avid crossworder along with Scheft.[22] The two shared a passion for comedy and worked on numerous projects together including a YouTube channel called The Tolscheft and the documentary film Take My Nose... Please!, about women in comedy and the unrealistic expectations of women's appearances. They also toured and performed together at multiple locations across the United States.

She later died of esophageal cancer on December 7, 2016.[5] Aside from Scheft, she was survived by her son, David Kerzner, and a grandson Jonas[23][24] from her first marriage.[6]

As a woman in comedy, Tolsch faced backlash from people inside and outside of the comedy industry. She opened up about audience members refusing to laugh during her shows and calling her “not funny.” She reports criticism and men trying to break her spirit as a female comedian.[17] She disclosed an experience performing at a comedy club in Savannah, Georgia and none of the audience members laughed during her set. She stated, "it was a moment where I realized it wasn't my content, or my outfit, or my makeup, it was a mindset of the audience.[17] Despite feeling immense push back in a male-dominated industry, she was determined to continue performing stand up as a woman and was highly successful. Women were not very present or represented in the comedy scene during the 1970s and 80s and had to work harder than men to be successful and have the same opportunities.

Her comedy steered away from traditional female comedians. She did not enjoy self-deprecating humor and chose not to perform this style of comedy because she found it boring and not funny.[12] However, early on in her comedy career, she did use self-deprecating humor to be accepted as a female comedian before creating a name for herself.