I’m an occasional fan of stand-up comedy, particularly when it is done in character. Think of early Whoopi Goldberg. So who is my current aviation geeky favorite? Pam Ann of course! Pam Ann is the alter ego of Australian comic Caroline Reid. She’s on stage in flight-attendant drag. Her shows are called layovers. She is very interactive with her “first class passengers,” which are usually flight crews in the first rows. She has them come on stage to perform their “Terminal Struts.” She’ll ask them who they fly for and where they flew in from. Pam’s response might be something like, “Hey Southwest! He just flew in from Paris. You’ve heard of that, haven’t you? It’s in A FOREIGN COUNTRY!”
The humor is beyond edgy, hugely sexual, crude and can veer dangerously close to offensive. She creates characters based on the type and nationality of the airline. Examples include the “sluts” that fly for Virgin Atlantic, punctuality and order obsessed Brunhildas of Lufthansa, and most notoriously of them all, Lilly. Lilly is the incredibly stereotyped East Asian attendant from Singapore Airlines. It’s a high wire balancing act that when it works is hysterical. She has been called “cruelly funny” by none other than Madonna. Elton John even hired her as his flight attendant for his private jet. Nice job if you can get it!
Pam Ann presents herself as The First Class Air Hostess to The Stars. She both mocks and worships the stereotype of what Stewardess was supposed to have once been and what flight attendants are today. It’s brilliant.
The clip below is one of her most famous bits and the least offensive one I dare share. Warning! She’s foul-mouthed.