After the death of Judy Tenuta, Kyle A. Carrozza, the creator of the cartoon series, Mighty Magiswords spoke to Newsweek about working with the comedy legend.
"She was an absolute joy to have as a guest star on the first TV episode of Mighty Magiswords as Queen Porcina. That recording session was a hoot," Carrozza told Newsweek.
Mighty Magiswords aired on Cartoon Network from 2015 to 2019.
"We had some fancy cupcakes at the studio because it was [voice actor] Eric Bauza's birthday that day and he was also in this episode. We let Judy know she was free to have some, but she kept trying to be sneaky about it anyway! It's OK, Judy, you're allowed to enjoy some cupcakes! It was like watching a kid try to sneak their hand in a cookie jar. It was absolutely adorable," he said.
On October 6, Tenuta passed away at the age of 72 from ovarian cancer. Throughout her raunchy comedy career, she was known for calling herself the "Goddess of Love." Her first HBO special, Women of the Night, featured co-stars Rita Rudner, Paula Poundstone and Ellen Degeneres.
She toured with George Carlin between 1987 and 1988. The comedian was also featured in two of "Weird Al" Yankovic's videos: "White and Nerdy" and "Headline News." She was also nominated for two Grammy nominations for her comedy albums Attention Butt Pirates and Lesbetarians and In Goddess We Trust.
Carrozza explained he became a fan of Tenuta when he was "too young to be watching her material" when her comedy specials would air on FOX in the late 1980s.
"Hearing her song 'I Like Boys' on The Dr. Demento Show and later seeing her as Madame Judy the Psychic on The Weird Al Show would cement my adoration for her unique and completely over-the-top humor," he said.
Since Carrozza knew Tenuta from her role on Mighty Magiswords, he were able to book her as the musical guest of honor at Marscon 2017, which Carrozza defined as "a sci-fi convention that has a strong comedy music track."
"As part of her set, Judy hilariously renewed my vows with my wife. Judy let me hold her signature tiny accordion in the process," he exclaimed.
During the weekend of Marscon, she was a special guest star on Carrozza and Luke Sienkowski's podcast, Kyle and Luke Talk About Toons. Sienkowski was a writer, storyboarder and voice actor on Mighty Magiswords.
"Judy was always kind, personable, and hilarious, and I'm the luckiest boy in the world to have gotten to work with one of my early comedic heroes," Carrozza said.
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Ashley Gale is a Newsweek reporter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her focus is reporting on trends. She has covered trends, ... Read more
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