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How Local Girl Wanda Sykes Made Good Using Bad Words

May 6, 2009 By BTriplett

D.C. Comedy Impresario Richard Siegel Hosted First Contest Sykes Entered

Wanda Sykes — the emcee of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, who is known for her often raw, blush-inducing commentary — has a lot of inquiring minds wondering just how raw her routine might be this Saturday night.

Richard Siegel, veteran producer on the D.C. comedy scene.

Richard Siegel, veteran producer on the D.C. comedy scene.

One of her biggest fans thinks that, when time comes for her to address her high-powered audience, “she really should tone it down. Audiences here are a lot more conservative generally,” Richard Siegel tells WHCInsider.com. “They don’t like things getting too edgy.”

The longtime producer of the annual “D.C.’s Funniest Celebrity” contest, Siegel knows a little about what kind of comedy works in this town. He’s also known Sykes since the late 1980s, when he was managing a local stand-up comedy contest at the Comedy Cafe, located above a strip club that enforced a dress code. [Read more…]

Filed Under: History of Dinner, Wanda Sykes Tagged With: Barney Frank, Edward Derwinski, Helen Thomas, Jim Bohannon, Richard Siegel, Ron Nesson, Sarah McClendon, Wanda Sykes

About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful reporters and editors in the world, the Washington press corps. We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos. Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and she hosts the Washington Insider podcast.

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