Gems & Laughs With Geri Jewell

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Geri Jewell shares her trailblazing career as the first actress with cerebral palsy to break into mainstream television From her early stand-up days at The Comedy Store to her iconic roles on The Facts of Life and HBO s Deadwood Geri reflects on the challenges and triumphs of her journey She opens up about her influential friendship with Carol Burnett the unforgettable moment she was cast by Norman Lear and the humorous yet impactful experiences that shaped her career Her stories offer a mix of inspiration humor and behind-the-scenes insights into breaking barriers in Hollywood Episode Highlights Comedy Roots Geri recounts her journey into stand-up comedy starting at the famous Comedy Store in 1978 From her struggles with early performances to becoming the first comedian with cerebral palsy to appear on national television Geri s resilience shines through Her candid reflection on bombing her second week at the Comedy Store and what she learned from it provides both humor and wisdom Carol Burnett s Influence One of the highlights of Geri s youth was becoming pen pals with her idol Carol Burnett Carol s words of encouragement inspired Geri to pursue her dreams in show business despite the societal expectations placed on her due to her disability Geri shares heartwarming memories of Carol s support and how it fueled her ambition Meeting Norman Lear A pivotal moment in Geri s career came when Norman Lear spotted her performance and immediately cast her as Cousin Geri on The Facts of Life Geri recounts the whirlwind experience of joining the cast humanizing the snobby Blair Warner and the impact of being one of the first actresses with a visible disability on a major TV show Decapitating Big Bird In one of the funniest moments of the episode Geri shares a story about her guest appearance on Sesame Street where an unexpected accident involving roller skates and Big Bird left children screaming Geri s retelling of how she managed to decapitate Big Bird during a live taping is guaranteed to leave you laughing From Stand-Up to Deadwood Geri takes us through her transition from sitcoms to the gritty world of HBO s Deadwood A chance encounter with David Milch in a pharmacy led to her role as Jewel a character created specifically for her Geri s reflections on working with Ian McShane and the unique challenges of performing in such a raw historical setting are captivating New Book Geri s Gems and Jewels Geri discusses the inspiration behind her new book a collection of essays and stories drawn from her life and career The book combines humor and poignant reflections with a special foreword from her dear friend Norman Lear Filled with laugh-out-loud moments touching memories and incredible career insights this episode is a masterclass in resilience humor and the power of breaking barriers You re going to love my conversation with Geri Jewell Geri s Website IMDB Get an autographed book Follow Jeff Dwoskin host Jeff Dwoskin on Twitter The Jeff Dwoskin Show podcast on Twitter Podcast website Podcast on Instagram Join my mailing list Subscribe to my Youtube channel watch Crossing the Streams Yes the show used to be called Live from Detroit The Jeff Dwoskin Show Ways to support the show Buy me a coffee support the show TeePublic Store Classic Conversations merch and more Love the books I talk about on the show Here is my Amazon store to shop Click here to visit this podcast episode