TORONTO - Comedian Sandra Bernhard is best known for her outrageous live shows, her memorable star turn in the film "The King of Comedy" in the 1980s and a famous feud with her former best friend forever, Madonna.
And yet the tall, red-haired Bernhard, dressed in an elegant grey pantsuit, was surprisingly serene Monday as she took time out during her visit to Toronto for Pride Week to sit down for an interview.
There was no profane trash-talking of celebrities - just a gentle slap at Madonna - nor an impromptu rendition of the song "Me and Mrs. Jones," something she used to do with such hilarious aplomb during her famous live show, "Without You I'm Nothing."
Instead, Bernhard talked mostly about politics of both the sexual and presidential variety, and the delight she's taken in motherhood since she gave birth to her only child a decade ago.
"We're at the precipice of big changes down in the States and I'm really hopeful that the next four to eight years will bring about big changes in terms of the environment and a new consciousness that will help bring people back together again," said the openly gay Bernhard, who performed Sunday night to kick off Pride Week.
Times are indeed changing, Bernhard believes, for gay people - and Canada is well ahead of the U.S. on that front, she says, which is why she was delighted to come north to help for Pride Week, the city's annual celebration of gays and lesbians.
"The whole gay movement is evolving, along with the women's movement, and all the marginalized groups, although they're all fighting different battles," Bernhard says.
"Even in comedy, I think that straight audiences are starting to appreciate more camp and the type of comedy that used to be more associated with the gay community. And people here in Canada, they are just less fazed by all this stuff, and I think that's really important. It's time for everybody to just live and let live. Sexuality is just another form of expression, after all."
Bernhard, a Barack Obama supporter, confesses she was disappointed in the way Hillary Clinton ran her presidential campaign.
"I think if she'd been more genuine, if she'd been closer to who I think she really is, she would have won. She's a great politician and a smart woman, and I obviously would have liked to see a woman be president, but on so many levels she didn't follow her heart," Bernhard said. "I think she was really qualified, but she kind of blew it."
Bernhard is currently on the road for the 20th anniversary tour of "Without You I'm Nothing," although her Sunday night Pride event at Toronto's Massey Hall was mostly improv.
She reports the show went off beautifully, including her renditions of the Guns n' Roses rocker "Welcome to the Jungle" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."
At 53, Bernhard looks much younger, and says living well is keeping her looking so good. She's been a devoted mother to her daughter Cicely and involved in a happy relationship for nine years with a woman who's not in show business.
" I take good care of myself," Bernhard adds. "When you get to do what you want to do and you're satisfied with your career and your life and you have a lot of fun, it helps keep you young."
Cicely - currently fully immersed in a hippie phase, her proud mother reports - has added immeasurably to her happiness.
"She's fabulous. She's the love of my life; I just adore her," a beaming Bernhard says.
As for the famous feud with Madonna? Bernhard is dismissive - but insulting - about the pop star with whom she was once extremely close. The pair even once went on David Letterman's late-night NBC talk show and suggested they were a couple.
"I don't talk much about it because she's so ever-changing in her friendships and her relationships. I don't think it really matters to her whether she's friends with people and made up with people - that's not a priority to her, friendship," Bernhard says with a shrug.
News from �The Canadian Press, 2008
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