"Debbie Kasper's writing sets standards."
- Backstage, West
"Fresh and consistently hilarious! " - La Weekly
The Writer
"You're Not That Pretty" & other things my parents told me Is a hilarious, scathing yet often poignant memoir by Award-winning and Emmy-nominated writer, Debbie Kasper. This collection of stories begin in the '50s, in Debbie's chaotic family, and travel up to the eighties, as Debbie overcomes some of the worst parental advice doled out: ("Don't have children, you'll just end up hating half of them," and "Would you rather a poke in the eye with a sharp stick?") She barely escapes the three brothers who terrorize her with dangling reptiles and mice in her underwear drawers.
She finds her self-esteem and her path, but along the way the adventures include: making best friends with a Mafia hit man's daughter, waiting for Herman's Hermits to show up at her 13-year-old birthday party, meeting her half-sister for the first time at age 12 (just in time to watch her go mad,) getting caught shoplifting dressed as a clown, fending off an international stalker who tracks her to England, getting busted in Germany, turning down a date with Billy Joel, selling blood for money in graduate school, cruising the Caribbean as a comedian, the transvestite hooker who bled to death at her front door in NYC, and teaching her stoic mother how to cry.
Debbie is a two time- Emmy nominated writer, she wrote for the seminal shows: Roseanne,” and "The Rosie O’Donnell Show."
Her one-woman show “Without Me. My Show Is Nothing!” was hailed as a “masterpiece,” and won the prestigious Drama Logue Award for the best written one-woman show in Los Angeles. Her other shows include Zelda Bing: "Love Yourself,” “Self Help The Comedy,” (with Sheila Kay) and “BoomerMania: The Musical” (with Pat Sierchio) all of which have toured and entertained America, garnering rave reviews from all corners of the country.
Her current passion is the personal essay. She is a frequent contributor to Purple Clover, and has also written for Dame Magazine, She’s Got It. Singular City, as well as contributing to a few essay book anthologies: Moms Are Nuts, No Kidding.
“I write because
it keeps me
from eating.”
Her own book, written by her alter-ego Zelda Bing, “There’s Men Everywhere--if you Lower Your Standards,” is available on amazon. And “Bras and Penus on a Date” a parody of John Grays,” Mars and Venus on a Date.” (co-written) has been translated into three languages and sold on four continents and is also available.
Her book of personal essays, “You're Not That Pretty" & other things my parents told me is a humorous, yet poignant book of stories spanning from the fifties to the eighties, highlighting Debbie’s indomitable spirit and struggle to find her way through her chaotic, yet hilarious upbringing. IT IS OUT ON AMAZON!!!
Some Essays...
Mothers and Other Strangers - https://www.purpleclover.com/relationships/8538-mothers-and-other-strangers/
Honey, I Forgot the Grandchildren - https://www.purpleclover.com/relationships/6751-honey-i-forgot-grandchildren/
My Crazy Sister - https://www.purpleclover.com/relationships/6689-i-didnt-want-be-my-crazy-sister/
End of the World - https://www.purpleclover.com/entertainment/8472-end-world/
My Mom Was Always Old - https://www.damemagazine.com/2015/05/06/my-mom-was-always-old/
Queen of Hearts - http://www.freshyarn.com/52/essays/kasper_queen1.htm
My Other Books..
Available on Amazon.com
Other Websites...
Boomermaniatheshow.com
ZeldaBing.com