Comedian Melanie Chartoff to Perform Stories From Her New Book At Sunday Morning With The Braid

Melanie Chartoff has done it all. Broadway, soap operas, hit TV series, movies, and cartoon voice-overs. Now she's an author, and she will perform and discuss stories from her new book, Odd Woman Out, when she visits Sunday Morning with The Braid (formerly Jewish Women's Theatre) on Valentine's Day.

Chartoff may be best known for her starring role on ABC's Fridays, a sketch comedy show that aired in the early '80s. She anchored its fake news segment and stood out as a Nancy Reagan impersonator. Later, she starred as an uptight school principal in Parker Lewis Can't Lose and was featured on such memorable shows as St. Elsewhere, Seinfeld, Newhart, and Desperate Housewives. Her films include American Hot Wax and Stoogemania, and she's voiced two characters in five Rugrats movies.

Through it all, she laughed, cried, and survived more than her share of romantic disappointments. But - spoiler alert - at age 65 she finally found true love when she gathered the courage to go on Match.com. Now she's put all her stories into a hilarious and heartwarming new book, Odd Woman Out: Exposure in Essays and Stories, which she will share with a virtual audience at Sunday Morning with The Braid's Zoom edition on Valentine's Day, February 14, at 11 a.m. PST, 2 p.m. EST.

Sunday Morning with The Braid is free to attend, but The Braid hopes viewers will consider choosing a virtual ticket from its website. For the link to register and more information on how to use Zoom, visit: www.the-braid.org.

"Melanie's life is fascinating, and we're so delighted to host her telling tales about her career, her life, and most important her loves, this Valentine's Day," says The Braid's artistic director, Ronda Spinak. Melanie has appeared in many Salons at The Braid, formerly Jewish Women's Theatre, where she is also an Abby Freeman Artist-in-Residence.

Odd Woman Out is a collection of stories that recounts her confusing family life and unusual career, which began with go-go dancing at bar mitzvahs at age 14 and getting hired by the late Phil Spector to back up the Crystals. It takes readers through summer stock, getting cast in All My Children, working in the Catskills, doing musicals and Moliere on Broadway and Sondheim off-Broadway, and then moving to Los Angeles.

But mostly it focuses on love. And sex. Readers are sure to laugh and identify as she reveals her deepest secrets and discloses how bumpy her road to celebrity was and how the television smiles often covered up a very different, inside story.

"I'm so excited to introduce our virtual viewers to Melanie," says Professor Maureen Rubin, who will interview Chartoff at the Sunday event. "Everyone who watches will get the benefit of a two-fer, since Melanie not only writes but will also perform several of her stories."

Chartoff shared a Daytime Emmy Award for her voice work on Rugrats, playing Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka. She was also heralded for her role in the Los Angeles premiere of the musical March of the Falsettos. In addition, she was lauded by the City of Hope for creating and producing the yearly event Halloween for Hope to benefit children's cancer research, and she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Mayor of Los Angeles for her concerts for the city's homeless.

Melanie Chartoff is the latest in a series of noteworthy and significant speakers who have shared their knowledge with The Braid's audiences. Previous guests include Rabbis Naomi Levy, Toba August, and Laura Geller; LA Superior Court Judges Renee Korn and Angela J. Davis; writers Rob Eshman, Angella Nazarian, Judy Zeidler, Amelia Saltsman, Maggie Anton, Gina Nahai, Esther Amini, and Jacqueline Saper; politicians Jackie Goldberg, Joy Picus, Alicia Weintraub, and Laura Friedman, as well as costumer Debra McGuire and numerous other artists, attorneys, composers, musicians, philanthropists, and movie and tv executives.

The Braid, formerly Jewish Women's Theatre, is the 2020 winner of The Argonaut's Best of the Westside's "Best Live Theatre Award" and The Santa Monica Daily Press award for "Most Loved" in the live theatre category. Its performances present inspiring Jewish stories, art, and other programming that highlight Jewish contributions to contemporary life. Now in its 13th (bat mitzvah) season, The Braid's salon theatre of original dramatic shows, each written to a specific theme, displays the diverse and eclectic community of writers, artists, and creators who celebrate Jewish life, one story at a time. Learn more about The Braid at: www.the-braid.org

For virtual tickets to Sunday Morning with The Braid, featuring Melanie Chartoff performing and discussing stories from her new book, Odd Woman Out, visit: www.the-braid.org.