Blue, But True

When Carole Montgomery is on stage, she talks about a lot of the same topics as most comics: relationships, being married and having a kid.

But her delivery is what one might call a little…adult.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Montgomery, who performs this weekend at Scotty's, said, certain four-letter words naturally become adjectives. And those four-letter words naturally find their way into her act.

“People say I’m a blue comic,” she said. “To me, it’s a very truthful act.”

A fan of Richard Pryor’s work, especially how he talked about his life during his act, Montgomery said she likes to be able to deliver her material on stage the same way she talks off the stage.

“A lot of my act now is about my 19-year-old-son leaving home,” she said. “I’m a street kid from Brooklyn, so I’m not going to be saying, ‘Oh, my son just left home today. Cheerio!’ No, I’m going to say, ‘My f---ing kid’s leaving me after 19 years.’”

Of course, if she is asked to keep her material clean for a corporate gig or similar show, she is willing to do so, but vastly prefers to deliver her material unrestrained.

Starting out in 1979, Montgomery said she was one of no more than two dozen female comics in the business. Furthermore, at least in the early years, she was one of only five females, including Felicia Michaels and Sheila Kay, to perform blue comedy.

“There are all these women now who are doing this balls-to-the-wall material,” she said. “But the group I came up with who were the blue comics paved the way for everybody who does it now.”

Montgomery got her start in the New York clubs and says that, upon returning after a few years of doing Las Vegas revues, realized that the club scene had changed dramatically from what it was before she left, noting that comedians were getting paid “exactly what I was getting paid when I started 30 years ago.”

She said the overall attitudes of today’s comedians have changed, as well.

As a young comedian, Montgomery said she felt like a freshman in high school, always showing respect for the top dogs of that era: Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Bill Maher. However, she said she doesn’t sense that same respect from today’s comedians.

“I miss the rapport comics used to have,” she said. “In the early years, we were all so gung-ho about our careers, but there was a lot more helping out than there is now.”

Over the years, Montgomery has been a guest on various TV shows, such as “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher” and “Comics Unleashed,” but still hopes to obtain her goal of someday scoring a sitcom.

“I did a lot of TV, as far as stand-up was concerned, but I never really had the chance to get on a sitcom, which still is something I’d like to do,” she said. “And now, at my age, I can play somebody’s grandma.”

Montgomery will perform at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Comedy Cove at Scotty’s Steak House. Her set will be preceded by comedians Matt Christmas and Kirk Smith. Tickets are $12. Visit the club's website for more information.