THE RAINBOW CONNECTION
The comedian, YouTube sensation and political pundit Randy Rainbow shares personal inspirations, his favorite source material and other true confessions. BY CRISTINA CUOMO CRISTINA CUOMO: Congratulations on your Outstanding Short Form Variety series Emmy nomination for The Randy Rainbow Show. That’s very exciting. RANDY RAINBOW: Thank you. I appreciate it. I always assumed that I would get a call from you, but I thought it would be to tell me to stop hitting on your husband. And maybe there would be a lawyer present, so this is really a welcome delight.
Hollywood Playhouse, with Josh Gad and some other notable people. Then, in high school, I did all the shows. I never really got any sort of real formal training other than just my experience on stage and community theater. I went to college for 10 minutes, and then dropped out to work on a cruise ship. I’m kind of self-taught. CC: Your satirical writing is so good. Did you study that at all? RR: Thank you. And no, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m just winging it every day. People ask me: How did you learn to do this? or Who does your editing? or Who writes for you? Really, I’m just winging it, and everything that I do comes from my appreciation for the art form, for musical theater. I grew up being obsessed with Stephen Sondheim and his lyrics. That just became a part of me and got in my ear. I try to emulate the people that I love.
CC: No, I actually love it. I showed him the video, and I had so many friends send me that video when he was sick. It was just such a wonderful humorous healing moment for everyone. You went viral in the Cuomo clan. RR: Well that was my goal, so mission accomplished. CC: I started showing Chris the video, and he was like, “I don’t want to watch any more Andrew propaganda.” So then I said, “Wait until you get to the end,” and then you gave out your beautiful shout-out to him, so he was happy. RR: Well, he’s my No. 1 Cuomo. Let’s be honest.
CC: You do the video editing as well? RR: I do that myself.
CC: That was going to be my last question!—who is your favorite Cuomo? RR: Oh my god. Chris has always been my No. 1, and Andrew is having a moment. I love him, too. But really, jokes aside, I really love my Cuomo boys. They are a constant source of clarity and comfort and wisdom, and I love them both. But if I had to choose I would choose your husband.
CC: Your timing is so perfect. RR: Again, I attribute that to the fact that I do have a musical ear, and I think that ties into my ability to edit.
CC: Good, safe answer. Tell me about your background. Where did you grow up? RR: I was born on Long Island, in Huntington Hospital, and then at age 10 I moved to South Florida. From 10 to 21, I was in South Florida, like the Hollywood area, Fort Lauderdale. My childhood was for the most part terrific. I mean, we could do a whole three hours also on my father, who is Donald Trump, because that’s kind of strange. That’s going to be a chapter in my book. It had its issues, but for the most part I come from a very loving, accepting liberal Jewish family.
CC: How did you get that catchy name? RR: I know it sounds like a horrible stage name, but it’s the actual name on my birth certificate. My parents are Gwen and Gerry Rainbow. The origin of the name was the Russian word for rainbow, so it wasn’t even changed at Ellis Island or anything. It was always Rainbow. There are a few of us in the world. My parents didn’t have to go with the alliteration of giving me Randy Rainbow, because I really sounded like a drag queen when I was 8 years old.
CC: And some good subjects, too, who offer a lot of fodder to play with. RR: It’s frankly too much. I haven’t slept in four years.
CC: Is it Randall, or is it just Randy? RR: No, it’s just plain Randy. So it works out that I do what I do, and I wasn’t a quarterback.
CC: Where did you get your theater training? RR: I was always on stage as a kid. They put me in ballet lessons when I was 6. I was always in theater camps; in South Florida I went to a summer camp called the
CC: How would your family describe you? Do you have any siblings that you’re close with? 37
