Comedienne Beverly ‘Pudgy” Wines became an icon when female comics were rare; there was Phyllis Diller and Totie Fields, with Joan Rivers yet to really emerge. Pudgy grew up on Chicago’s West Side and eventually worked from coast to coast, headlining in Las Vegas; Atlantic City, N.J.; and Reno, Nevada. Pudgy was often referred to as the “female Don Rickles.”
She never used writers—her material was her own. Pudgy could also sing; songs were an integral part of her comedy. She began her career as a singer-waitress at the 20 East Lounge in Chicago and then at Toffenetti’s, ”next to the Greyhound station,” she said. ”It was a tough place, and you got by, by trading remarks with the customers, telling jokes, wising around.” She was encouraged to take acting and singing lessons, and soon she began appearing at piano bars around Chicago.
Pudgy died from a heart attack on Christmas Eve 2007. She had been appearing at The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and was relaxing at h0me following two performances that night.
Photo: Lenny Babbish, Sammy Davis Jr., Pudgy and Pudgy’s husband Michael Cardella.
