Tracy Ullman
Ullman Exposed
Tracey Ullman’s autobiographical comedy special Tracey Ullman: Live & Exposed tells her story from childhood to stardom when it debuts
Tracey Ullman: Live & Exposed presents her without "heavy makeup, wigs or even chest hair." Joined by a live band, with whom she sings her hit single "They Don't Know," Ullman draws on personal photographs and films as she tells her story. She begins her account at age six, when she performed the original "Tracey Ullman Show" in her mother's bedroom, recalling her early struggles as a dancer, and her success on the BBC and then American TV, as well as in movies. Along the way Ullman marks personal milestones, including the death of her father, marriage and childbirth.
Using minimal props, she looks back at some of the characters she's created, and reveals how they came to be. Among the roles she revisits are Long Island matron Fern Rosenthal, hard-luck actress Linda Granger, African-American airport security worker Sheneesha, hard-boiled lawyer Sydney Kross, profane Big Apple cabbie Chic, gay flight attendant Trevor Ayliss, Vietnamese doughnut maker Mrs. Noh Nang Ning, and seen-it-all Hollywood makeup artist Ruby Romaine.
Ullman's HBO series "Tracey Takes On..." ran for four seasons, wrapping its 47-episode run in 1999. Overall, Ullman's HBO series and previous HBO solo specials received nine Emmys(r). Her 2003 HBO special "Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales" received four Emmy(r) nominations.
Ullman burst on the U.S. TV scene in 1987 with the broadcast network series "The Tracey Ullman Show," which brought her two Emmys(r), and introducted "The Simpsons." She also won Emmys(r) for guest appearances on "Ally McBeal" and "Love & War." Ullman's film credits include John Waters' recent "A Dirty Shame," as well as Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks" and "Bullets Over Broadway," "Panic," Robert Altman's "Ready to Wear," Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "I Love You to Death," "I'll Do Anything," "Household Saints" and "Plenty."
