David Feldman · CC BY 3.0

Elayne Boosler was one of the few women working stand-up comedy in the 1970s and '80s, building an observational style that folded in frank material about being a single woman alongside political commentary. Her self-produced 1985 special Party of One was the first hour-long stand-up special by a woman on cable television. Richard Lewis called her "the strongest female working" in 1984; Rolling Stone later named her among the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.