Victoria Jackson

Victoria Jackson
Jackson in 2011
Born (1959-08-02) August 2, 1959
Miami, Florida
Occupation Actress, comedian, singer
Years active 1982–present
Website victoriajackson.com

Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959)[1] is an American actress, comedian, and singer known for being a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. From 2008 to 2017, Jackson was politically active as part of the Tea Party movement. White Hall publishing, part of the Liberty Alliance, published Jackson's autobiography, Is My Bow Too Big? How I went from Saturday Night Live to the Tea Party in 2012.

Early life

Jackson was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Marlene Esther (née Blackstad) and James McCaslin Jackson, a gym coach.[1] From the age of 5 until she was 18, Jackson's father trained her in gymnastics.[2]

Following high school graduation, Jackson attended Florida Bible College in Hollywood, Florida, later transferring to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina on a gymnastics scholarship. At Furman, she was cast in her first play. She transferred to Auburn University in 1979 for her senior year, changing her major to theater. Midway through her senior year, she left Auburn to pursue an acting career.[2][3]

In the 2000s, Jackson earned a degree in theatre from Palm Beach Atlantic University.[4]

Acting and comedy

While doing summer stock theater in Alabama, Jackson met former child-actor Johnny Crawford of the 1950s television series, The Rifleman, who cast her in his nightclub act. She moved to Los Angeles in 1981,[5] working various day jobs while performing comedy at night.[6][7][8] Her first big break was her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where she performed doing a handstand while reciting poetry.[6][9][10] She would go on to appear on the show twenty times.[6] In 1984 she appeared in the pilot for W*A*L*T*E*R, a failed M*A*S*H spin-off that the networks did not pick up[11]. In the pilot episode she was listed in the end-credits as "Victoria Carroll"[12].

Following a role in the short-lived 1985 television series Half Nelson,[13] Jackson received an offer to audition for the cast of Saturday Night Live. Because she was not confident her audition had gone well, on her next appearance on the Tonight Show she performed several impersonations and sent the tape to SNL's Lorne Michaels. After viewing the tape, Michaels asked Jackson to join the show.[14][15] A regular cast member from 1986 to 1992,[16] Jackson often appeared on the show's weekly Weekend Update segment as a correspondent who would go off-topic, reciting poetry and doing back-bends or handstands on the desk[4][14] Jackson was also known for her recurring skit roles where she would impersonate Roseanne Barr or Zsa Zsa Gabor.[4] She was one of few women on the show.[17]

During her tenure on SNL, Jackson was cast in a number of films including Baby Boom, Family Business, and I Love You to Death[16] as well as UHF,[6] The Pick-up Artist,[18] The Couch Trip,[19] and Casual Sex?[14]

Jackson's film career continued following her 1992 departure from Saturday Night Live, however her roles were in mostly unknown or unnoticed films.[1] On television, she was cast as the lead of her own sitcom co-starring George Clooney. When there was a change in management at Fox, the show was scrapped without being broadcast.[6] In 1994 she appeared as "Beverly" in the In the Heat of the Night[20] episode, "Good Cop, Bad Cop", and in 2000 she appeared as the unrequited love of a small-town man who can control the weather in The X-Files episode, "The Rain King".[21]

During the 2003-2004 seasons, Jackson had a regular role in the Nickelodeon show Romeo!.[16] In 2004 and 2005 she had roles in two romantic comedies, "Shut Up and Kiss Me!" and "Her Minor Thing".[16] During this period, Jackson appeared on the game show "Hollywood Squares," and participated in the show, Celebrity Fit Club.[16] She played multiple characters in the 2014 direct-to-video movie, Campin' Buddies.[22][23]

In 2016, Jackson had a role in The Matchbreaker.[22]

Politics and controversy

Jackson at a Tea Party rally in 2009

A self-described conservative Christian, Jackson has appeared in productions such as the 2007 Christian comedy concert Thou Shalt Laugh 2: The Deuce;[24] as well as a dozen times on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher as the "token religious conservative".[16] Jackson has given support to the Tea Party through appearances at events as well as her website which was affiliated with the Liberty Alliance.[25]

In October 2008, she appeared with other celebrities on The O'Reilly Factor in a National Republican Senatorial Committee advertisement poking fun at then-future Senator Al Franken, a fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus.[26]

Beginning in 2008, Jackson stated that she believed Barack Obama to be a communist.[27][28][29][4] In 2015, she spread conspiracy theories about Obama's religion, stating he was an "Islamic jihadist" who supported the Islamic State, that he had Muslim Brotherhood members in his cabinet, and that Obama's support for legal abortion and same-sex marriage showed he was not a Christian.[30][31]

In 2011, Jackson wrote that she thought she was being spied on because of her conservative views.[32] Jackson criticized the TV show Glee for showing a kiss between two male actors, citing the Bible as the source of her criticism. When accused of being homophobic, Jackson countered that the label was merely a "cute liberal buzzword", and suggested that Glee should be replaced with a show promoting celibacy instead.[33]

In 2011, Jackson joined the staff of Patriot Update as a writer and video blogger and host of the talk show, Politichicks. Co-hosts included Ann-Marie Murrrell, Jannique Stewart, and Jennie Jones.[34][35] Jackson wrote a satirical song for "Politichicks" titled "Shariah Law" with the song's lyrics claiming, "They [Muslims] like beheadings and pedophile weddings".[34] Among her work for Patriot Update was a piece on Occupy Wall Street that was critical of the protesters.[36][37]

In 2012, White Hall publishers, part of the Liberty Alliance, released Jackson's autobiography, Is My Bow Too Big? How I went from Saturday Night Live to the Tea Party.[25][38][39]

In 2012 after Todd Akin's remarks regarding pregnancies resulting from rape, Jackson was quoted as saying, "If I got raped, I would have the baby. And if I didn't want to keep it because I had these horrible nightmares, I would adopt it out. But I think that God can turn a bad thing into a good thing. And that, if I got raped and a beautiful baby who was innocent was born out of it, that would be a blessing."[40]

In 2014, Jackson filed a petition as an independent candidate for one of two District 2 seats in Williamson County, Tennessee. Jackson's run resulted in 632 votes, not enough to secure either seat against the incumbent candidates.[41][42]

In 2017, Jackson explained why she dropped out of politics.[43]

Personal life

She married a fellow performer, a fire-eater, in 1984,[5] and had a daughter with him; they divorced in 1991.[4] Shortly after her divorce, Jackson reconnected with her high school sweetheart, then a Miami-Dade SWAT-team police officer.[2] When her husband retired in 2013, the couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee.[2][24]

In 2017 BroadStreet Publishing released a comedy/devotional about Jackson's cancer journey, "Lavender Hair."[43]

Books

  • Is My Bow Too Big? How I went from Saturday Night Live to the Tea Party, 2012 ISBN 978-1-4675-0256-6
  • Lavender Hair: 21 Devotions for Women with Breast Cancer, 2017 ISBN 978-1-4245-5562-8

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Victoria Jackson biography (1959 -)". Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies. FilmReference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Page, Jamie (March 18, 2014). "Victoria Jackson's values no laughing matter". The Tennessean. Nashville – via USA Today.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Jeremy (October 16, 2014). "SNL alum Victoria Jackson's year at Auburn". The War Eagle Reader.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Garcia-Roberts, Gus (26 January 2012). "Victoria Jackson's excellent Tea Party adventure". Miami New Times. Response by Jackson and paper's response: Garcia-Roberts, Gus (26 January 2012). "Victoria Jackson Says New Times Profile of Her Was Lies Penned by a Socialist (Updated)". Miami New Times.
  5. 1 2 Barber, Mary (16 August 1984). "Bottom Lines: Gymnast-Actress and Fire-Eating Musician Make Their Dreams Come True". Los Angeles Times.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Walters, Robert S. (November 11, 1999). "'SNL' alum brings stand-up routine to Tulsa club". Tulsa World.
  7. ↑ Montville, Leigh (July 29, 1984). "Adventures in the LA skim trade by LEIGH MONTVILLE Boston Globe (1960-1986), Jul 29, 1984,". Boston Globe.
  8. ↑ Damsker, Matt (1 November 1983). "'Rainbow Of Comedy' Coming To San Diego: Stand-Up Comics Set For Old Globe Stand-Up Comics". Los Angeles Times. Opening for each of these headliners is an assortment of lesser-known stand-ups. ranging from ... comic poet-acrobat Victoria Jackson,...
  9. ↑ Berger, Phil (29 July 1984). "The New Comediennes". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Daltry, Laura (19 August 1984). "'Tonight Show' Special: Women, 19 Cents A Pound". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ↑ Arielle Miranda Seaboard (2015-11-20), W*A*L*T*E*R clip featuring Victoria Jackson, retrieved 2018-08-28
  12. ↑ TW Walker (2013-06-07), WALTER - Pilot, retrieved 2018-08-28
  13. ↑ "Half Nelson - Television Obscurities". Television Obscurities. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 Beale, Lewis (April 28, 1988). "A Christian Fundamentalist Disrobes For `Casual Sex?`". Los Angeles Daily News via Chicago Tribune.
  15. ↑ Miller, James Andrew; Shales, Tom (2014). Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests. Little, Brown. pp. 301ff. ISBN 9780316295079.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gehrke-White, Donna (October 28, 2005). "Ex-'SNL' star Victoria Jackson balances career, motherhood". Daily Herald.
  17. ↑ Kahn, Eve (16 February 1992). "Television; Women in the Locker Room At 'Saturday Night Live'". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (19 September 1987). "Movie Reviews : 'Pick-up Artist' Meets His Match". Los Angeles Times.
  19. ↑ "The Couch Trip". 1988 In Film. July 9, 2015.
  20. ↑ "In the Heat of the Night, Season 7, Episode 13 Good Cop, Bad Cop". TVGuide. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Meisler, Andy (2000). The End and the Beginning: The Official Guide to the X-Files Season 6. HarperCollins. pp. 80–89. ISBN 0-06-107595-7.
  22. 1 2 Stokes, Justin (October 7, 2015). "Victoria Jackson talks Tea Party, Zanies show". The Tennessean.
  23. ↑ McLevy, Alex (January 30, 2017). "Nothing says "garbage movie" like Victoria Jackson in 7 different roles". Film.
  24. 1 2 "Victoria Jackson: Funny Begins with Faith". The Christian Broadcasting Network. October 2017.
  25. 1 2 Ingersoll, Julie J. (2015). Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction. Oxford University Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 9780199913787.
  26. ↑ Johnson, Ted (29 October 2008). "Hollywood Republicans Against Franken". Variety.
  27. ↑ Parlett, Martin A. (2014). Demonizing a President: The "Foreignization" of Barack Obama: The "Foreignization" of Barack Obama. ABC-CLIO. p. 164. ISBN 9781440830563.
  28. ↑ Sabloff, Nicholas (2 December 2008). "Former SNL Member Victoria Jackson: Obama A "Communist," Like "Castro In Cuba, The Guy In China"". Huffington Post.
  29. ↑ Huffington Post: Victoria Jackson On Fox News: Obama Is A Communist, Rush Limbaugh Should Run The Country. April 12, 2009.
  30. ↑ Brian Tashman (20 February 2015). "Victoria Jackson: Obama's Gay Marriage Support Proves He's 'An Islamic Jihadist'". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015.
  31. ↑ Luke Brinkner (February 20, 2015). "Former "SNL" cast member Victoria Jackson: Obama is "an Islamic jihadist"". Salon.
  32. ↑ Jackson, Victoria (March 11, 2011). "Spies: National security or silencing the opposition?". WorldNetDaily. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  33. ↑ Jackson, Victoria (March 22, 2011). "Victoria Jackson: Homophobic a 'Cute Little Buzzword'". Newser. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  34. 1 2 Lambiet, Jose (21 November 2011). "Victoria Jackson goes online". Miami.com.
  35. ↑ Tanabe, Karin (December 13, 2011). "Victoria Jackson's conservative view". POLITICO.
  36. ↑ Chaney, Jen (13 October 2011). "Victoria Jackson brings opinions about Obama and Jesus to Occupy Wall Street (Video)". Washington Post.
  37. ↑ "Occupy Wall Street: Former 'SNL' Actress Victoria Jackson Grills Protesters (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 12, 2011.
  38. ↑ "Bookmarks: Recent publications from Furman writers". Furman News. 3 June 2013.
  39. ↑ Guarino, Mark (10 March 2013). "Can Victoria Jackson return from the fringe?". Salon.
  40. ↑ Signorile, Michelangelo (August 31, 2012). "Former 'SNL' Star Makes Shocking Comments About Rape And Gay Friends". Huffington Post.
  41. ↑ Page, Jamie (February 19, 2014). "Former SNL star Victoria Jackson officially files for county commission". The Tennessean via USAToday.
  42. ↑ "'SNL's Victoria Jackson falls to incumbents". The Tennesseean. August 7, 2014.
  43. 1 2 Jackson, Victoria (October 11, 2017). "Why Victoria Jackson dropped out of politics". WND.
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