Joy Behar is a professional talker. When warm to a subject she can wax if not poetic, at least enthusiastic. "I like everything about San Francisco" is her quick reply when asked about her upcoming engagement at the Masonic Auditorium. "It's beautiful. The people are smart. They have good politics. They have cable cars. I don't know. It's just fabulous. The whole place is fabulous. The food is fabulous. It's one of those places in the United States that is a true 'go and visit' destination. And have fun. It's like New York. They're very similar. They have similar vibes. Hustle-and-bustle kinds of towns. I like that."
A 10-year presence on The View, first as a guest host and then a regular member of Barbara Walter's morning chat-fest, Behar has been feisty, outspoken and more and more under fire for her opinions. In the last year, she's taken flak from the Anti-Defamation League for comparing Donald Rumsfeld to Hitler; from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights for various comments about her own faith tradition; and for ruminating on the possibility that Democratic Senator Tim Johnson's recent health problems were the result of a Republican Party conspiracy to take back the Senate.
Behar's squabbles haven't all been external. Her fiercely liberal opinions on subjects like stem cell research and gay marriage are often at odds with conservative View-er Elisabeth Hasselback. (Hasselback's own issues with colleague Rosie O'Donnell recently led to Rosie's sudden departure from the show.) And in a YouTube-worthy moment, Behar so dissed former colleague Star Jones on a call-in segment in March that Jones shot back, "Even today, you are still a bitch!" So has the cozy coffee-klatch turned into a bitchfest? Behar demurs, but adds, "If it's a bitchfest, then I'm the biggest bitch. But I'd hate to think that. Wouldn't you?"
In a career that includes being fired from Good Morning, America for being, in her own words, "a very, very bad receptionist," and a stint at teaching, the native New Yorker has tried her hand at writing ("Joy Shtick"), feature films (Hiding Out, Cookie ), scripted television (the short-lived Baby Boom with Kate Jackson), and voiceover (two episodes of Comedy Central's Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist ). The GMA ouster prompted her to explore stand-up comedy, and despite her daytime celebrity, she feels "I'm a comedian first. That's why I do stand-up on the road. People have not seen a lot of my stand-up because I don't do it that much on television. I like to give them something for their ticket price rather than overexpose myself as a comedian on television. When they come to see me at the Masonic, they'll see a different side of me. I think."
Exactly what side that is will have to be determined later. Asked to describe her brand of comedy styling, the lady deflects the question. "Tell me a few brands, and I'll tell you what I like." Subtle, polite Ellen DeGeneres comedy? "I'm not polite." In-your-face Kathy Griffin comedy? "I'm not like Kathy Griffin, either." She then adds, "I am my own thing. I don't even know how I would describe it. I'm edgy but I'm friendly. How's that?" She also deflects her show being billed as "An Evening of Hilarious Comedy!" "I have not made that statement. That must be some publicist or somebody saying that. I work all over the country, and they often say 'Hilarious Night.' Hopefully it will be a hilarious night. I'm sure we'll have some fun." Let's all hope.
Joy Behar's Evening of Hilarious Comedy [sic] at the Nob Hill Masonic Center, Saturday, June 16, 8 pm. Tickets ($45-$75): (415) 292-9191 or www.nobhilltickets.com.