Susie Essman--Yes, I'm Related!

Actress Susie Essman is constantly asked if she's related to Elliot Essman, me in other words. Now and then, I am asked a similar question. I have to answer, yes, I'm her big brother. Yes, during her formative years, Susie, who stars in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, routinely bounced her developing comic protoplasm off me. Ouch! I was recently asked from which of our parents we inherited our sense of humor. I answered, from neither; we developed our bite based on the abiding need to manufacture humor out of familial grimness. This is called survival.

susieessman.com, a site I maintain, follows the career of this quintessential iconoclast. Of course I have to censor many of Susie's gems for general public consumption. We don't include an email link on Susie's site, since she got tired of hearing from people who knew her way back in fifth grade in Mt. Vernon (New York) where we grew up, but you can always get in touch with me, if it's important, through my own home page stylegourmet.com.

Susie recently had her moment on the podium at the Friars club for a roast of Donald Trump. See susieessman.com for a few shots of Susie with "The Donald" as well as Susie's inimitable remarks.

Susie, being a dedicated New Yorker, thinks I have betrayed my origins by moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, but I am unrepentant, as further posts will indicate.