Maria Bamford To Honor Late Father With Stand-Up Show In Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth comedian Maria Bamford is getting ready to put on a special one-hour comedy show at Zeitgiest Thursday in honor of her father, Dr. Joel Bamford, who died over the weekend.

FOX 21’s Dan Hanger interviewed Joel in 2016, along with Bamford’s late mother, Marilynn, and sister, Sarah.  It was all about Bamford’s Netflix series “Lady Dynamite.”

On Wednesday, Bamford told Hanger she decided to put on a stand-up show at Zeitgiest to not only keep her spirits up but also raise money for the CHUM drop-in shelter and food shelf in Duluth, which Bamford said her father was dedicated to, among other organizations.

“He lived a wonderful life here in Duluth and just loved everything about it. He sailed, he participated in Duluth Playhouse and Men As Peacemakers, and so many other organizations and he’ll missed terribly by my sister Sarah Seidelmann, but will be missed by many members of the community,” Bamford said.

Thursday’s show is an intimate one, and it’s sold out, too!

Here’s what Bamford had to say about that and then her advice for anyone who wants to get into stand-up comedy.

“The show … is sold out at this point. Well, it’s small venue. I like to do a small venue – guarantee sellout. It only seats two,” Bamford joked.

And as for getting into comedy, “Just do it, as the Nike Corporation suggests.”

Bamford is staying busy.  She’s working on a new comedy special and she has a new book out called, “Sure, I’ll join your cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and The Quest to Belong Anywhere.”

Bamford, if you didn’t know, is very vocal about her struggles over the years with bi-polar disorder and depression.