RITA RUDNER is a veteran standup comic, a screenwriter, an author and an actress. Starting out in the fertile Manhattan comedy scene of the 1980's, she's now a part of the Las Vegas strip, performing six nights a week at the New York, New York Hotel Casino. Her novel, Tickled Pink, was just published. It's her first. Rudner is familiar to millions from her many appearances on late night television, her many cable television specials and her movie roles. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Rita Rudner.

SHECKYmagazine.com: You work mostly in Las Vegas these days, but you recently performed at comedy clubs again as part of your book tour. Do you miss the road? In how many states have you performed?

When I was working on the road, I always enjoyed the actual show, but waking up at four in the morning to get a plane that has been delayed and running through the airport to make a connection in Dallas to a plane that has not been delayed, only to sit on the runway and wait for the thunderstorm to pass before arriving in Pin Point, KY, to discover that your luggage is still in L.A. is nobody's idea of fun.

I don't know how many states I've performed in; indeed, I'm never sure when I arrive at a destination if I've been to that particular place before. I rely on other people to tell me if I look familiar.

SHECKYmagazine.com: The New York, New York casino in Las Vegas built a "special theater" just for you. We're assuming that it is a great room for comedy. Did you have any input into the design? Exactly what makes a great comedy room?

I had very little input in the design of my theater at New York New York because I didn't pay for it. I think that was a fair deal. It is, however, a great room for comedy because there are no tables and people don't have to strain their necks to see. All the chairs face forward, there are no obstructed views and absolutely no alligators.

SHECKYmagazine.com: In the recent past we observed with some dismay that some of the comics of the '80s thought they were "too cool" for Vegas, that Las Vegas might've been a great place for Rickles and Shecky Greene and Buddy Hackett, but not for the "young and hip." How would you characterize Vegas in 2001?

In my whole life there has never a period of time when I have been hip. I have been hippy, if that counts. Present-day Vegas has the best restaurants, stores, golf courses, spas and lap dancers in the world. That's hip enough for me, my husband and Hugh Hefner. Almost every big entertainment act now includes Las Vegas on its itinerary, so I think the perception of Vegas has altered enormously over the past decade. It's become much more chic again, thanks primarily to Steve Wynn. I think the re-modeling of the Desert Inn and the introduction of high-price, non-gaming condominiums is going to take the city somewhere else over the next few years. Only 18 per cent of Americans have ever visited Las Vegas. It's got room to expand even further.

SHECKYmagazine.com: You're a casino headliner and you're no longer a club comic, do you still feel connected to the rest of the "comedy community?"

The comedy community that I belonged to was Manhattan in the '80s-- Catch and The Improv. Since then the members of that community have all gone on and gotten married and divorced and married again and are in counseling. However, I'll always feel part of the comedy community because I love comedy.

SHECKYmagazine.com: You've had two best-selling books, but "Tickled Pink" is your first novel. What made you decide to tackle the task of writing a novel? Since you and your husband write screenplays do you see "Tickled Pink" as a movie? Have you seen "Punchline?" What did you think of it?

Ninety nine percent of fiction in America is serious. England has more of a tradition of comic writing - PG Wodehouse (who actually wrote in America), Noel Coward, Evelyn Waugh, Kingsely Amis and more recently Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby. I decided to try my hand at writing a story from a point of view that might be a little quirkier than the style of fictional books that currently exist in the American marketplace. There has been a bit of interest in the film rights to Tickled Pink, but who knows. It's not a priority for me. I like it as a book, although it would be nice to see the standup milieu represented accurately on screen. Punchline didn't have much verité, did it? Comedians were depicted as tortured, sad and desperate; they left out paranoid, lazy and severely unkempt. As far as I can recall, the plot involved people auditioning on primetime TV for spots on late night TV. That happens, doesn't it? And did you have a locker in the basement of the Improv? I don't remember mine.

SHECKYmagazine.com: "Tickled Pink" is set in the 1980's. Do you look back fondly on the comedy scene of the '80s?

Tickled Pink is set in Manhattan in the eighties because I think it was a great period for comedy. None of us in the clubs at that time were there because of some pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We just liked the look of the rainbow. Many of the comedians who later made an impact on the comedy landscape in America were developing at that time. I feel really fortunate to have been able to experience that particular comedy decade.

SHECKYmagazine.com: You're known for your concise writing style. Was it difficult to make the transition from standup to narrative writing?

As Ronnie Braverman in my book advises Mindy, the novel's protagonist, "Start with the truth, then fuck around with it." This holds true for both joke writing and novel writing. The character of Ronnie, incidentally, is based loosely on my friend Ronnie Shakes, who left us much too early. I do like using as few words as possible when writing a joke, whereas a novel can obviously be much more expansive. However, distilling a thought to its essence and then expressing that thought in as individual a way as possible still applies.

SHECKYmagazine.com: Your decision to work clean turned out to be a good one. Was it a conscious decision or is it just how your mind works?

I think comedians should do what comes naturally to them. I love swear words in jokes when they're effective. Sam Kinison and I were friends - we appeared on one of Rodney's HBO specials together - and we both always enjoyed each other's styles and watching each other work. It never felt right for me to swear on stage. I save that for my personal life. I do think comedians should avoid using swear words to prop up poorly constructed material. Many comedians, some very famous, sometimes struggle when they get the well-paid, private gig at which they're expected to work clean and their material gets exposed when they edit out the swear words.

SHECKYmagazine.com: Percentage-wise, how much new material do you add each year? What joke in your act have you been doing the longest?

I try to say something new every time I get onstage. Now that I'm working in Las Vegas full-time, I feel relaxed and impelled enough to try more things, although I usually only end up with one or two new jokes a week.

SHECKYmagazine.com: As a standup comic you're used to working alone. How difficult is it to adjust to a collaborative project such as your movie "Peter's Friends?

I like collaborating on projects, other than my standup which I do by myself (with the help of an audience.) I love it when other people have ideas; it takes the pressure off me. My husband is my favorite collaborator. We've written a lot of screenplays together and he was also a big help in the writing of "Tickled Pink." I also had great fun collaborating with Steve Martin on the Oscars last year.

SHECKYmagazine.com: By pursuing a showbusiness career at 15, you essentially left yourself with nothing to fall back on. Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like had you not been successful in comedy? Would you recommend that others take the same risk?

Although I had nothing visible to fall back on, I think I would have thought of something else to do. Even within the confines of show business, I've been a dancer, a singer, a comedian, a screenwriter, an actress and now a novelist. Rather than having something to fall back on, I would suggest staying as diversified as possible. If a door slams shut, try going through the window. If the window is closed, try going through the cellar.

SHECKYmagazine.com: Do you still find standup to be challenging and fun?

For me, standup is the purest, most fun form of expression in the whole of show business. A lot of show business involves people who can't do something telling people who can do something how to do something. In standup, there's nobody between the audience and me. I'm like an Avon Lady. I go straight to the consumer. I'll always love that.