Jorie Remus

Jorie Remus (born March 17, 1929, in New York, NY) was a comedian who was most associated with The Purple Onion in San Francisco in the 1950s. Her act helped inspire Phyllis Diller and she helped discover Maya Angelou.

Remus performed at the Purple Onion and the hungry i.^[1] Her routine was performed while sitting on a piano like a chanteuse and talking about the challenges a modern woman faced on the dating scene.^[2]

Phyllis Diller was a fan of Remus' before becoming a comedian. One night while watching Remus perform, Diller's husband Sherwood commented that Phyllis was funnier. Lloyd Clark, a performance coach, overheard the comment and worked with Diller, eventually getting her an audition at the Purple Onion.^[3] Diller assumed much of Remus' style, but added her own controlled lunacy.^[4]

Remus saw a singer named Marguerite Johnson sing the song "Run Joe" at the Garden of Allah and hired her to perform at the Purple Onion, working with her to help her become a professional and provided her with the name Maya Angelou. Angelou studied Remus' singing and comedy to learn how to hold an audience.^[5][6] Once Angelou was established at the Purple Onion, Remus traveled to New York to appear at the Blue Angel, helping to complete a bicoastal comedy circuit between San Francisco and New York. After finishing her appearance at the Blue Angel, Remus founded a short-lived New York based version of the Purple Onion^[7] called Jorie's Purple Onion, where the performers included Remus, Barbara McNair and Will Holt.^[8]

Despite her influence, Remus' career did not last long. Following appearances on Tonight Starring Jack Paar and The Phil Silvers Show in 1958, she continued to appear in nightclubs through the early 60s and then disappeared for several years. She moved to Hawaii and eventually turned up on several episodes of Hawaii 5-0 in the 1970s. Her last acting credit was on Magnum, P.I. in 1982.

Personal life

Remus was married to Allan Murray, but they were divorced in Puerto Rico, where Remus founded the night club the Gilded Cage, in June, 1961.^[7][9]

References

1. Duncan, Stephen Riley (2014), The Rebel Café: America's Nightclub Underground and the Public Sphere, 1934-1963 (PDF), p. 238
2. "Jorie Remus—A role for Meryl Streep". September 22, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
3. "Vinny's Mislaid Comedy Heroes: Phyllis Diller". Retrieved December 23, 2020.
4. Nachman, Gerald (2003). Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. New York, NY: Knopf. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-3074-9072-8.
5. Duncan, Stephen Riley (2014), The Rebel Café: America's Nightclub Underground and the Public Sphere, 1934-1963 (PDF), pp. 234–5
6. Wagner-Martin, Linda (2016). Maya Angelou: Adventurous Spirit. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-5013-0784-3.
7. Heimer, Mel (July 10, 1961). "My New York". Kane Republican.
8. Francis, Bob (May 14, 1955). "Intimate Purple Onion Packs Talent Vitamins". The Billboard. p. 12.
9. Wilson, Earl (June 25, 1961). "It Happened Last Night". Progress-Index.

External links

• Jorie Remus at IMDb