Marina Franklin discusses her comedy journey and Paul Mooney’s influence on her.
Marina Franklin is an American comedian known for her unique style and sharp wit. She has made a name for herself on the comedy scene with her clever observations, relatable storytelling, and her ability to tackle sensitive subjects with humor and grace.
The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Franklin: [00:00:00] I actually opened for Paul Mooney at Carolines on Broadway, and it was an honor to open for him and to go on stage and have him shake – well, no, he actually doesn’t shake hands. He was the original person who never shook hands – but he said, I will hug you. And I actually took that from him. I stopped shaking other people’s hands and I just hugged.
Franklin: [00:00:26] But it was also like, being a comedian – for a comedian like that, you know, that really does not exist anymore –that is authentic. That is the real deal. That tells it like it is. That tells white people that they’re the devil and could still make them laugh in the audience. That can not apologize about Black history and still make people laugh. That can give a narrative, a story, a comedy story to a Black audience, not to a white audience. A narrative that is unapologetically Black as a comedian. I’ll miss that. And to open for him and to watch it, I learned a lot. I learned to take those chances on stage to not pander to a white crowd. I learned that from Paul Mooney.
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