Marsha Warfield Talks ‘Night Court’ and How Her Return to Stand-Up Inspired Her to Come Out at 60

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

For years, comedian and actress Marsha Warfield has been spreading joy and making people laugh, especially through Rosalind “Roz” Russell, the hilarious bailiff she plays on the NBC sitcom. Night Court for six seasons starting in 1986.

Outside of Roz, Warfield is a seasoned stand-up comedian and delivered memorable performances in film and television throughout the ’80s and ’90s on shows like Cheers, MoeshaAnd Empty Nestand movies like Mask And Cadyshack II before actually retiring in the 2000s.

Your dose of fabulosi-TEA

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the inside scoop on all things entertainment with a twist of all things queer.

But more recently, she has come back into the spotlight and publicly revealed her homosexuality. So it’s high time we gave her her flowers for being a pioneering Black and LGBTQ+ voice in media. That’s why we were especially excited to feature her in Exceptional: A comic revolutionNetflix’s recent look at the legacy and activism of queer comedy, where she is honored among many of her boundary-pushing peers.

And, in a fine example of “art imitating life,” Warfield even reprised his most iconic role for the NBC television series. Night Court reboot, where new and old characters reunited to celebrate Roz’s wedding to the woman of her dreams, just one year after Warfield herself married the love of her life, Angie Maldonado!

Back on the road performing stand-up across the country and with a new weekly unfiltered video podcast Midnight in the MarshaverseWarfield is busier than ever. But we still managed to hang out with her and welcome the legend as the latest guest on our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, Warfield reflects on meeting Roz again and the power of comedy, and she takes us on an emotional journey when she reveals she didn’t come out until she was in her 60s.

Is there a piece of media—be it a film, TV series, book, album, play, video game, etc.—that has played a significant role in your understanding of queer identity and the queer community? Why did it impact you?

I thought about this question for a long time and after much thought, I realized that the answer is no. For me. Sort of. Let me explain.

This question seems to me to presuppose that the media, in some form or another, pushed me to come out. However, I didn’t come out until I was 60. I’m 70 now, so for the first 60 years of my life, nothing I saw was convincing enough for me to come out to myself (at 20) and then publicly.

Even though I’ve dated, I was single for many years before I came out. I stayed away from show business and everything else for almost 20 years.

So my journey has been personal, internal. I went to women’s clubs in my 30s and 40s, but overall I was never really “in the community” until now. For about 60 years I was locked in a heterosexual world. Doing stand-up again is what “inspired” me. As a performer I want to be as authentic as possible. I want to be all of who I am and honest about it. Flaws and all.

“If you are brave enough to do something, be woman enough to stand up and admit it.” My mother instilled that in me.

So, I don’t know if I answered your question, but that’s why I had a hard time giving a simple answer.
But after coming out, I discovered Gladys Bentley and Moms Mabley, talked to women who had lived their entire adult lives openly, did shows for LGBTQIA+ audiences, etc., which was… validating to be honest.

And be involved with Outstanding and Stand OUT opened my eyes in many ways, so I guess that’s the most inspiring and important thing I can think of.

Finally, being a lesbian is not a “flaw”. Being afraid is the part of my personality that I am ashamed of.

Earlier this year, you were able to reprise your iconic character Roz on Night Court in grand style, with a plot twist revolving around her marriage. What did it mean to you, as a queer woman, to play Roz as a queer woman all these years later?

I was very excited and happy that Night Court I especially appreciated that they handled it the way they did. In the past, Roz being gay would have been the issue of the episode, and everyone would have been trying to figure out how to deal with that “issue.” But that wasn’t it. It was about the wedding, not who I was marrying. Indira Wilson is gorgeous and talented, and her character, Loretta, is a successful, independent, empowered woman! Having Dan Fielding walk Roz down the aisle was the perfect cherry on top. And we shot the movie on my birthday!

And you yourself got married last summer, congratulations! As you approach your first year together as wives, what is the biggest lesson that married life has taught you about yourself?

My beautiful wife Angie and I have been together since 2019. We have been through the pandemic together and survived a long distance relationship, so we had all the details worked out before getting married.

You’ve been on a lot of fantastic sitcom classics. If you could revisit another of your characters in a hypothetical reboot of one of those shows, which one would you choose and why?

Night CourtA dream I didn’t know I had has come true.

What is one of the first spaces you remember that made you feel like you belonged to a queer community?

Hmmm… “queer community”? For most of my life, there was no such thing in my life. The word “queer” is relatively new to me. I would even say that I am not very familiar with this culture. I am still learning.

You have a background in stand-up comedy and have appeared in the Netflix series Exceptional: A comic revolution A documentary is coming out this month: why do you see the world of comedy and stand-up as a natural place for queer voices to flourish?

Stand-up gives us the opportunity to tell the truth to everyone, not just to each person. As a black, gay, septuagenarian comedian living in the United States, my entire being is in opposition to the hypocrisy of “polite society.”

You recently launched your podcast Midnight in the Marshaverse—What does the “Marshaverse” represent for you? What made you want to create this world and invite your fans into it?

The Marshaverse is my place in the world where everything makes sense to me. I believe everything we know is a lie. Jesus was not white. White people are not superior. Being straight is not a virtue. Neither is greed. War is not inevitable. Confrontation and violence are not solutions. So in my world, people can accept each other while still being themselves. A simple thing that, like most efforts to seek peaceful cooperation and community, is for some reason seen as a radical threat to the established order. So in the Marshaverse, we can explore these things without conflict and try to live and promote these “radical concepts.” Midnight in the Marshaverse Let’s relax, drink some cognac, smoke some weed and talk about shit.

Who is a queer or trans artist/performer/creator who you think is doing really cool work right now? Why should we all pay attention to them?

We need to listen to everyone. Everyone’s story is important.