Rhonda Hansome is an American stand-up comedian, writer, director, and actress.

Career

In 1975, Hansome was a puppeteer for the Muppet Vazh on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. She has performed comedy before musical acts including

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and

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. She is known for discussing race in her comedy. Hansome began her stand up comedy career as a way to earn money between acting roles, and by 1989 was performing regularly at colleges and clubs. She also performed comedy under the stage name Passion, including in a 1985 group comedy performance titled "Comedy Comes to Harlem" and later in "The Poet and the Preacher" at the Nuyorican Poets Café, and in 1997 in her own show "Last stop before dreadlocks". Hansome is featured in Debra J. Robinson's 1984 documentary ''I Be Done Been Was Is'' about the obstacles faced in the careers four of black female stand-up comedians, Alice Arthur, Jane Galvin-Lewis, and Marsha Warfield. In 1989, she appeared in the HBO comedy series '' First & Ten'' and the film '' 3,000''. In 2005, Hansome directed the play ''Sweet Songs of the Soul'', starring

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

. In 2006, she directed the play ''Real Black Men Don't Sit Cross-legged on the Floor: A Collage in Blues''. She also appears in ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), La ...

'' (1990) and '' Little Sister'' (2016).

Selected filmography

* '' Getting Together'' (1976) * ''I Be Done Been Was Is'' (1984) * ''

'' (1990) * ''8:46'' (2011) * ''Murder on the A'' (2014) (Short) * '' Little Sister'' (2016)

Honors and awards

* 1986

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Hall of Fame * 2019 Anderson & Bert Cade Fulton Foundation Honoree, Longevity in Multi-disciplinary Artistic Achievement

Personal life

Rhonda Hansome was born in New York. She is an African-American woman who attended a Catholic school. She met her white Jewish husband in the 1970s.

References

External links