Comic Kathleen Madigan talks Bigfoot, old politicians
COMMENTARY (78), whose “teeth don’t fit right.” With old people governing, you get old ideas, she says.
“People go, ‘Well, you’re being ageist.’ Well, I am when you’re talking about governing a nation with a majority of people who are not 85,” she said. “Yes, it’s ridiculous. There should be age limits.”
She cites the example of her parents, who live in Sarasota part time. Their best hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., she said.
“The best-case scenario would be if you took my 42-year-old brother and let him be the president, but then my dad comes in for three hours a day,” she said. You can’t count on her dad 24-7, she explained, but he could be a consultant.
Her father took credit for her act when she appeared on cable news network HLN, and he did so by calling in from a Florida rest stop on his cellphone. Madigan said she wasn’t sure her father, who doesn’t hear well out of one ear, understood he was on television.
“He wouldn’t care, trust me, but on the other hand, he could say anything,” she added.
She always has talked about her family in her act. “They’re completely fine with it, as long as we go and do something awesome once a year,” she said. Awesome means a trip to Las Vegas, Atlantic City or Paris, the source of more stand-up material.
Madigan is in her 30th as a stand-up comedian. What does that milestone mean?
“I’m old,” she said with a hearty laugh. “Nothing really. It’s flown by. We’ve had a blast.”
Madigan, who lives in Missouri, estimates she’s on the road 300 days a year (including for travel), driven by her “Midwest work ethic.”
“Every single offer is a good problem to have,” she said.
Her latest album, “Bothering Jesus,” is also the name of her Netflix special. She has an Audible project, “Lewis & Kathleen Escape to Canada,” with pal Lewis Black. She has an upcoming six-episode holiday series with 14 comics for Sirius XM Radio. Her 2019 tour will be called “Hot Dogs and Angels” — “my other favorite things,” she said.
Fans are likely to hear more about old politicians. “Grudges go back so far, they can’t work together,” she said. “When they’re mad at each other for how they voted on the Civil War, you’re too old. You’ve gotta go, buddy. I don’t have a problem if 85-year-olds want to do A, B, C, D or E, but this is governing a nation. I think it’s different.”