Title:
Margaret Cho ACA Oral History, June 2, 2021.
Creator:
Cho, Margaret
Creator:
Matz, Jenni
Creator:
Emerson College. American Comedy Archives
Creator:
American Television Foundation
Record Type:
digital moving image formats
Record Type:
oral histories (literary works)
Date:
2021-06-02
Description:
In her nearly two-hour remote TheirStory interview, Margaret Cho talks about growing up in San Francisco and getting into stand-up comedy as a teenager. She discusses a pivotal career moment - opening for Jerry Seinfeld - and how that opened doors for her, particularly at MTV, and she describes how she honed her act over the years. She details her groundbreaking 1994 ABC series, 'All-American Girl,' shares how much creative input she had on the show, and addresses some of the criticisms of the program. Cho then talks about returning to stand-up after 'All-American Girl' was cancelled and speaks of the healing power of comedy. She also describes her experiences on VH1's 'The Cho Show,' playing "Teri Lee" on 'Drop Dead Diva,' guest-starring on 30 Rock and being nominated for an Emmy for her role, and playing a North Korean general on the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. She talks of being a mentor to Eddie Huang and to Ken Jeong as they developed 'Fresh Off the Boat' and 'Dr. Ken' for television, respectively, recalls her time on 'The Masked Singer,' describes hosting 'All About Sex' on TLC, and talks about reuniting with 'Jerry Seinfeld on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.' She speaks of co-hosting Fashion Police, guest-starring on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' and hosting her podcast, and shares what the COVID-19 pandemic experience has been like for her. She discusses the violence against Asian-Americans during the pandemic, offers advice to aspiring comedians, and comments on how she'd like to be remembered. Jenni Matz conducted the interview in partnership with the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College on June 2, 2021. Additional topics covered include: Advice, Censorship / Standards & Practices, Creative Influences And Inspiration, Criticism Of TV, Diversity In Television, Emmy Awards, Historic Events And Social Change, Natural Disasters, New Media, Pivotal Career Moments, Television Industry, Underrepresented Voices, Women, and Performers.
Extent:
2 digital files
Subject:
Asian American actresses
Subject:
Comedy
Subject:
Career Development
Subject:
Television comedies
Subject:
Women comedians
Subject:
Duke, Patty, 1946-2016
Subject:
Elliott, Brooke
Subject:
Fey, Tina, 1970-
Subject:
Garofolo, Janeane
Subject:
Hanks, Tom
Subject:
Huang, Eddie, 1982-
Subject:
Jeong, Ken, 1969-
Subject:
Luna, Selene, 1971-
Subject:
Meyers, Seth, 1973-
Subject:
Oliver, John, 1977-
Subject:
Poehler, Amy, 1971-
Subject:
Prince
Subject:
Rivers, Joan
Subject:
Rockwell, Sam
Subject:
Seinfeld, Jerry
Subject:
Sykes, Wanda, 1964-
Subject:
Tran, Robin
Subject:
Williams, Robin, 1951-2014
Subject:
Wong, Ali
Subject:
30 Rock (Television program)
Subject:
All About Sex
Subject:
All-American girl (Television program)
Subject:
The Cho Show
Subject:
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Subject:
Dr. Ken
Subject:
Drop dead diva (Television program)
Subject:
Fashion Police
Subject:
Fresh off the boat (Television program)
Subject:
The Golden Globe Awards
Subject:
Good times (Television program)
Subject:
Law & order: Special Victims Unit (Television program)
Subject:
The Masked Singer
Subject:
Move The Crowd
Collection:
Bill Dana Oral History Interview Collection (ACC-MSS 002), 1L
Location:
Emerson College Archives and Special Collections
Rights Restrictions:
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) (http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/). For questions about rights statements, or access to the original document please contact the Emerson College Archives and Special Collections at www.emerson.edu/library/archives.
Access Restrictions:
No known access restrictions.
Language:
English
Identifier:
Margaret Cho ACA Oral History
