Fran Lebowitz Bringing Her Cutting Talk To San Diego's Balboa Theatre On May 2

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego

March 15, 2022

Pop culture icon and critic Fran Lebowoitz, 71, has a famous case of writer’s block. But not talker’s block.

That will be on display in May when the star of “Public Speaking” sits down to chat with Matthew Hall of The San Diego Union-Tribune at downtown’s Balboa Theatre. See info here.

Seattle Times art critic Moira Macdonald recently reported on an upcoming visit there:

“Speaking with the rasp of a longtime smoker (which she unapologetically is), Lebowitz holds forth on topics ranging from New York in the ’70s, the idea of fame, Lebowitz’s stint as a judge on TV’s “Law & Order” (“my dream job”), gay marriage, her childhood struggle to learn to tell time and what it’s like to know everything. (‘Really pleasurable,’ in case you were wondering.) We learn that Lebowitz makes her living these days addressing college audiences around the country.”

Now the sneering social commentator is on a world tour — even though a press release says: “Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.”

Lebowitz was a taxi driver, belt seller and apartment cleaner (“with a small specialty in Venetian blinds”) before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. That was followed by a stint at Mademoiselle.

Her first book, a collection of essays titled “Metropolitan Life,” was a bestseller, as was a second collection, “Social Studies.”

Her books are collected in the Fran Lebowitz Reader, and has been published in nine languages including French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Lebowitz is also the author of the children’s book “Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas.”

Between 2001 to 2007, Lebowitz had a recurring role as Judge Janice Goldberg on the TV drama “Law & Order.” She also had a part in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Lebowitz has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien and Bill Maher.

She told Paris Review: “I’m not a nervous person. I’m not afraid to be on TV. I’m only afraid when I write. When I’m at my desk, I feel like most people would feel if they went on TV.”

Scorsese in 2010 directed “Public Speaking,” an HBO documentary about Lebowitz. A limited documentary series, “Pretend It’s a City,” also directed by Scorsese, premiered on Netflix in 2021 and was nominated for the 2021 Emmys in the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series category.

Lebowitz was named to Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2008.

Tickets range from $31 to $66 for the May 2 event. Proof of COVID vaccination is required or a recent negative test.

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.