By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
November 9, 2001
Growing up, Margaret Cho had no pop culture role models. So, she selected Olivia Newton-John as her idol, even though the “Grease” star was about as white as they come.
“She was Australian and foreign, so I identified with her,” says Cho. “Besides, she was so beautiful I wanted to be her. Everyone did.”
These days, the 32-year-old Korean-American comic has a strong following of fans who idolize her. Besides Asians, who are pretty darned pleased she’s not playing a geisha or a dry cleaner in her on-screen roles, Cho has a core audience of gays who have loved her pretty much from Day One.
“I love my fans,” says Cho, phoning from her Los Angeles home. “It means so much to me that they’re always there. And I’ve done some pretty bad stuff, too. But they came to support me. I’m glad to be a role model. I couldn’t have imagined this ever happening to me.”
Currently touring with her new one-woman show, “The Notorious C.H.O.,” which hits the Chicago Theatre tonight, Cho promises this is her most provocative act yet. Quite a statement from a woman whose last tour included segments on the best way to perform anal sex, same sex experimentation and, oh, you get the picture.
“I started working on this show over the summer,” says Cho. “In a sense, the material is quite shocking. It’s a really different view of women and comedy, and the way I talk about sex certainly is different. It’s a very sexually explicit show.”
Cho’s rise and fall and rise again to grace has been well documented. At 25, she starred in “All-American Girl,” a TV sitcom that was built around her stand-up act. Less than a year later, the show was canceled and she was singled out for blame: She was too fat. She wasn’t funny. She couldn’t act.
In real life, she turned to drugs. She drank.
Then she cleaned up her act and has remained sober.
Flash forward to 1999: Her first one-woman show, “I’m the One That I Want,” is a critical smash. All her shows are sold out, and she goes on to film the show and write a book about it. Her career takes off again and suddenly she’s guest starring as a fashion show coordinator on “Sex and the City.”
Cho is so busy these days she isn’t able to attend her favorite high-fashion church every week anymore. But she didn’t mind giving up her tae kwon do lessons.
“I would’ve quit that even if I wasn’t busy,” she says, laughing. “You take martial arts and eventually you have to fight someone. I had to spar with 14-year-old boys who were killing me. They never get tired. I wanted to live!”
SPEAKING OF CHICAGO, Cho had this to say:
Favorite hotel: I really like the House of Blues Hotel. It’s funky, lovely and fun to stay in.
Favorite Chicago sports team: I don’t know much about sports, but I would have to say the Bulls.
Most memorable Chicago performance: I did something at an outdoor festival at Halsted during the summer that was really fun. It was a really good experience.
Most unusual place you’ve played here: I played some schools. That’s not really unusual, but people generally don’t think of me when they think of education.
Favorite thing to do here during your time off: Sleep!
Favorite Chicago celebrity: Oprah.
Favorite Chicago street: Michigan Avenue. I love to shop along Michigan Avenue.
Favorite Chicago venue to perform in: I used to play at the Improv all the time and I really like that place.
Favorite thing to eat here: Room service. Or popcorn, which is really weird.
The last word on Chicago: It’s a great city with lots of smart people.
