For comedian Katherine Blanford, life is weird and she likes it that way
There’s quick riff in Katherine Blanford’s “Tonight Show” debut from August that gets an easy laugh.
“I’m too cute to be doing comedy,” she said. “I probably should be selling medical equipment.”
The quirky humorist may describe herself as cute, but she doesn’t believe she’s too pretty to be a comic.
“Not at all,” Blanford said while calling from West Palm Beach. “When you go out to Los Angeles there are all of these gorgeous people onstage. I look good compared to all of these comics who are these crusty dudes in hoodies. If I have my hair right, of course I’m going to be four notches above those guys.”
Blanford, 31, who will make her Spokane Comedy Club debut Tuesday, killed during her five minutes on “The Tonight Show,” focusing on her weird Kentucky childhood.
The self-described “human golden retriever” cracked wise about growing up and impressed with her surprising dark sense of humor.
“I wasn’t your average kid,” the Louisville native said. “When my friends pretended to be shopkeepers or veterinarians, I would pretend to be a pawn broker or a ticket scalper. I would walk around my cul de sac and pretend to sell tickets. My mother has a photograph of my brother and I laying down out on our deck. She thought it was so cute but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we were playing homeless. I wasn’t the most normal kid and neither were my brothers. We’re different. That was evident with all of us since we were kids. We had to go on a different path.”
The middle child’s brothers chose careers which are just as offbeat as Blanford’s vocation. Her older sibling is a river guide and ski instructor who lives in Alaska; her little brother is a field biologist in South America who often lives in a tent while tracking animals. “None of us have mortgages or 401Ks and we’re just fine,” Blanford said. “We’re about doing our own thing.”
Perhaps the most conventional gig Blanford ever had was as a nanny. Blanford is considering turning those nanny experiences into a one-woman show. “I think that would be interesting,” Blanford said. “I liked being a nanny but comedy is my passion. Comedy is an addiction. I’m always so excited and eager to work out new material.”
The next step for Blanford is acting. “I’m doing auditions,” Blanford said. “I’m taking classes and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I wasn’t a theater kid. I was the kid who hid in the woods during cross country practice. I’m curious about what I can accomplish as an actress. We’ll see what can happen. But no matter what happens I’m a stand-up more than anything else. I’ll always go back to doing my stage work. I like to take chances up there and see where I can go. I also like going to places I’ve never been before. I can’t wait to get to Spokane to see what it’s like and to see what it inspires.”