Judy Tenuta, a standup comic who shot to fame during the 1980s, delivering her frenetic, off-kilter comedy while dressed in outlandish outfits, playing the accordion and anointing herself “The Love Goddess,” died on Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 72.
Her longtime manager, Roger Paul, said the cause was ovarian cancer.
Ms. Tenuta broke through at a time when the comedy industry was almost exclusively male and was the first woman standup comic to win “Best Female Comedian” at the American Comedy Awards in 1988, according to a biography on her official website. She was also nominated for two Emmys for her comedy albums, “Attention Butt-Pirates & Lesbetarians!” and “In Goddess We Trust.”
