Betsy’s Bio

A comedian, writer and more.

Betsy Salkind is an actress, comedian, writer and former drummer for the PHENOBARBIDOLLS. She was a founding member of the TERRORIST BRIDESMAIDS (4 comediennes determined to get a second use out of those dresses), and alumna of the improv troupe GUILTY CHILDREN and the sketch comedy group THE OTHER WHITE MEAT. She was also a staffwriter for “SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL” and “ROSEANNE” (the sitcom), and a jokewriter for Anthony Robbins.

Her stand up career includes an early banning in Boston, where she performed “The Emperor’s Getting Fucked,” a short piece about misogyny, racism, and viciousness in the comedy clubs. Performed only twice, it caused a stir in the comedy community and took her for several years into the world of performance art. Several years later she reemerged in New York and LA comedy clubs and is a regular at NY’s Comic Strip and LA’s Comedy Store, and has appeared on “Girls Night Out,” “Stand-Up, Stand-Up,” “ARLI$$,” “Pet Shop with Andy Kindler,” the “TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO,” and most recently in the SHOWTIME special “Fierce Funny Women.”

She has written and performed 3 one woman shows to date, including “ALL MY LIFE” (the darkest comedy this side of hope), “MASTER OF SCIENCE” (an irreverent look at science and scientists), and most recently “ANNE FRANK SUPERSTAR: THE ETHEL SPILIOTES STORY” (a satire of Anne Franxploitation).

Born in Troy, New York and razed in Connecticut and Virginia, she was not the funny one in her family. As a child she put on plays with her brothers in which she was always cast as the wicked witch or cruel stepsister. She graduated from MIT with a BS and a Master’s degree from the Sloan School of Management. Her master’s thesis was titled: “Can’t You Take A Joke? A Study of Sexual Harassment Among Peers.” Preferring the security of the arts, she left her career as a Federal Reserve Bank Examiner to become a comedian.

She is perhaps best know for her squirrel impression, but refuses to be pigeonholed as a squirrel. She is currently developing an animated series based on Ethel, the lead character from Anne Frank Superstar, as well as a comedic play about depression. She is also producing a feature documentary with Amy Kofman of Jane Doe Films (“Derrida”), and writes for “ETHEL’S LAW”(a blog by a 5th grade activist who has turned her girl scout troop into a revolutionary cell.)

She is the author of “More Than Once Upon A Time” (2006), a short, illustrated children’s-style book that tells the story of a child who is raped by her father and his friends, but manages to overcome it and then ruin his life, as well as the hilarious “Betsy’s Sunday School Bible Classics” (2008).

In her spare time, Betsy lobbies and organizes for the National Association to Protect Children, and was instrumental in changing CA law to offer equal protection to children sexually abused by family members.

Betsy was Andy Kindler’s Tae Kwon Do sparring partner, and hangs her own drywall.

She has 28 teeth.