Art of Aging: Comedian proves it's never too late to be funny - and fearless
Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging
Julia Scotti returned to stand-up comedy later in life.
In one of her comedy acts, she jokes that she can't afford to retire, because her 401K only has enough for "about a month-and-a-half of Netflix."
I love seeing people laugh," says Scotti. "It's the best job on the planet."
Scotti writes comedy about age and on becoming Julia.
"I am the T in LGBT," she says in a bit.
"I'm sharing a lot, a big piece of myself," she says. "There is such a feeling of liberation when there's no secrets."
Scotti revealed her transition during the 11th season of "America's Got Talent."
"For the first 48 years of my life I was known as Rick Scotti," she says on the show.
That experience and more is told in the documentary, "Julia Scotti: Funny That Way," directed by Susan Sandler.
An archival clip from the film shows Regis Philbin interviewing Julia before her transition, where Rick admits wanting to be a comedian "ever since I was a kid."
"I wanted to be like Lou Costello, you know?" she says.
Scotti grew up in Fairview, New Jersey.
"It was kind of a rough childhood, and to make it easier, I found that if I made people laugh it made me feel better. It made me feel accepted," she says.
Scotti first tried standup in 1980.
"It was scary," she says, "but it went pretty well and I was hooked."
She says after doing many shows you start to find "your voice."
"I wrote in the styles of those comics that I admired," she says.
She has a photo wall of her idols that she can look up to while she works. It includes an image of the great Jean Shepherd.
"I wasn't real conscious of the gender issue back then, but I knew something was not right inside of me," she says. "I tried to write material that sort of alluded to those issues inside of me."
After two decades, Scotti quit comedy, went back to college, became a teacher and transitioned.
In a bit she jokes, "I was pretty old when I did it, so I didn't get to do all the fun things that young girls get to do. You know, like go to the prom. You know, make less money than men."
Scotti says she came back to comedy with a promise.
"That I would be fearless and that I would speak the truth," she says. "It's been my philosophy; well-behaved women rarely make history."
She says she's writing a bit now on "life quality versus life quantity" and "doing the things that make you happy."
"It's a rough journey to do even now and you can survive it, and not only survive, but thrive. And that to me is worth everything," she says.
Julia Scotti has two comedy albums and is performing live locally this weekend. You can catch her on Saturday, November 22, 2025 at the Act II Playhouse in Ambler at 8pm. She's also going to have singer/songwriter Christy Martucci opening for her.
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