Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She has worked in the theater and voiceover work and is a regular cast member on ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Rober ...

Early life

Birdsong was born in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and grew up on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, one of five sisters. She graduated from

Southern Regional High School Southern Regional High School is a regional comprehensive public high school located in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades and operating as part of the S ...

in 1986.

Career

Film and television

Birdsong is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she earned a BFA in acting. She made her on-screen debut in the 1996 TV film ''Live On Tape''. She is best known as Deputy Cherisha Kimball on the comedy series ''

'' (2005-2007, 2020–present) and it's two spin-off movies in 2007 and 2021. She is also known for playing Nancy McDonald in

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

's '' Halloween II'' and Kai Mitchell opposite

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

in the

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (; born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for the films ''Citizen Ruth'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), ''About Schmidt'' (2002), ''Sideways'' (2004), ''The Desc ...

film ''

The Descendants ''The Descendants'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the mai ...

''. She appeared alongside

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

in the stoner comedy ''

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

'' (2010), playing Mrs. Gordon, a high school dean's promiscuous wife. She has also made numerous cameos on film and television, including in the major productions ''

Made of Honor ''Made of Honor'' (''Made of Honour'' in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia) is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film stars Patrick ...

'' and '' Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters'', and the psychological thriller '' Buried''. She is a former correspondent on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' and ''

Crossballs ''Crossballs: The Debate Show'' is a Comedy Central television show which poked fun at cable news networks' political debate shows, especially CNN's ''Crossfire'' and MSNBC's ''Hardball with Chris Matthews''. In each episode, comedians posing as ...

''. As a voice actress, she has appeared in animated series such as '' Goldie and Bear'', ''

Stroker and Hoop ''Stroker & Hoop'' is an American adult animated television series created by Casper Kelly and Jeffrey G. Olsen for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The series is a parody of buddy cop films and television series suc ...

'', ''

Little Bill ''Little Bill'' is an American animated educational television series created by Bill Cosby. It is based on the ''Little Bill'' book series, written by Cosby with illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood. Cosby also composed some of the theme mu ...

'' (as Dorado's mom in the episode "New Foods"), '' Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law'', '' Tak & the Power of Juju'', ''

T.U.F.F. Puppy ''T.U.F.F. Puppy'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It premiered on October 2, 2010, on Nickelodeon along with '' Planet Sheen'', which premiered a half hour earlier. ''T.U.F.F. Puppy'' is Hartma ...

'' and ''

'', as well as the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' and '' Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight'', and animated film '' Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe''.

Broadway and live theater

From July 2006 to January 2007, Birdsong performed in the '' Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me'' comedy musical, alongside

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadw ...

Nicole Parker Nicole Frances Parker (born February 21, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show '' Mad TV'' (2003–2009, 2016), which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as El ...

Brooks Ashmanskas Brooks Ashmanskas (born June 14, 1969) is an American actor. He has appeared both on Broadway and Off-Broadway as well as in regional theatres. Ashmanskas has done limited film and television work, most recently appearing in the Netflix series ' ...

, and

Capathia Jenkins Capathia Jenkins is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her work as a Broadway performer, with roles in shows such as ''Caroline, or Change'', ''Newsies'', and Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a ...

, winning a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for her performance. On January 29, 2008, Birdsong joined the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast of the musical, ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''. She played the role of Velma Von Tussle, the bigoted, pushy stage mother and television producer. Birdsong left the production on April 6, 2008. She then performed her one-woman show ''3 Days in the Tub: A Mama Drama'' in Los Angeles at Comedy Central Stage (September 2010) & the Fake Gallery (November 2010), and in New York City at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

(January 2011). before going to San Francisco to play Mona Ramsey in ACT's adaptation of

Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for ''Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...

's ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...

''. She is also known for her

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

impression. Together with author

Justin Halpern Justin Samuel Halpern (born September 3, 1980) is the American author of the Twitter feed "Shit My Dad Says" and the best-selling book ''Sh*t My Dad Says''. He was also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS $♯*! My Dad Says, televis ...

(''

Shit My Dad Says Shit My Dad Says is a Twitter feed started by Justin Halpern, who, at the time, was a semi-employed comedy writer. It consists of quotations made by Halpern's father, Sam, regarding various subjects. Halpern started the account on August 3, 2009, ...

'') and comic Jen Kober (''

American Reunion ''American Reunion'' (also known as ''American Pie 4: Reunion'' or ''American Pie: Reunion'' in certain countries) is a 2012 American ensemble sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installme ...

''), Birdsong performed as a member of the May 2012 cast of '' Don't Tell My Mother!'', an LA-based comedy showcase.

References

External links

* *
Interview with WickedInfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsong, Mary Living people Actresses from New Jersey American comedy musicians People from Florida American film actresses American impressionists (entertainers) American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Women rock singers People from Ocean County, New Jersey Southern Regional High School alumni American women comedians 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Theatre World Award winners 21st-century American singers 1968 births