In her 22 year career, Kathleen Madigan has never been hotter. With her new Showtime special, “Gone Madigan,” in constant rotation and the DVD-CD of the special topping the Amazon and iTunes charts, Madigan has the entire year booked with over 100 theater gigs across the country and numerous television appearances. She’s recently back from her second Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s USO Holiday Tour of Iraq and Afghanistan. This year Madigan shared the stage with Robin Williams, Lewis Black, Lance Armstrong, Kix Brooks and Admiral Mike Mullen who hosted the tour. After the ten day tour, she returned home to tape appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “The Green Room with Paul Provenza” and “The Joy Behar Show in New” York. She’s had countless appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and every other late night show that has come and gone. She’s had her own hour specials on HBO and Comedy Central. In addition to the stand-up appearances, Madigan has been a correspondent for “The Dr. Phil Show,” ESPN 2 and done commentary on VH1, CNN, E! , CMT and TV Guide’s Emmy Red Carpet. She’s performed not only in the US, but in Canada, China, Ireland and England.
Madigan has won the American Comedy Award for “Best Female Comedian” and the Phyllis Diller Award for “Best Female Comedian.” Although she’s has turned down many writing jobs because she loves performing more, Madigan has written and produced for Lewis Black’s “Root of All Evil” on Comedy Central and for Garry Shandling. “I’ll write for other people–not many– but a few and only if they have a clear voice and persona that I already think is funny and if they let me write in my pajamas and smoke.” She remains the only comedian in the history of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” to go unchallenged by any other comedian–meaning no other comedian would say they were funnier than her. Madigan was a finalist in season 2 of “Last Comic Standing” and a judge on season 5. “It was fun to judge it once, but never again. I just can’t think of 2000 ways to tell someone they’re not funny without turning into a full blown alcoholic.”
She’s a favorite on nationally syndicated radio shows such as “The Bob and Tom Show” and “The Stephanie Miller Show.” She’s also a constant on SIRIUS-XM Radio and last year beat out all the guys– including Larry the Cable Guy, Ron White and Jeff Foxworthy– to win the listener determined “SIRIUS Challenge Cup,” deeming her the number one favorite comedian played on SIRIUS radio.
Madigan has released four CDs and two hour long DVDs.
Born in St. Louis, she now lives in Los Angeles but spends, as she puts it, “inordinate amounts of time,” with her 6 siblings and parents who live in the Midwest where she hangs out on her farm and on a raft in a lake. After 22 years of 300 nights on the road, her goal remains to move to Ireland and drink Guinness while feeding her sheep herding dogs.
