Sherry Glaser (born June 7, 1960) is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, noted for her performance in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

solo show ''Family Secrets'' about a Jewish family in California. Glaser is also a

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, who was arrested for her topless protest against the “immoral injustices of war” (Breasts Not Bombs), and for opening a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. In both cases, charges were dropped.

Early life

Sherry Glaser was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and raised on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Glaser moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1978 and attended

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. She developed her improvisational comedy skills with the feminist comedy group Hot Flashes. She then moved on to solo performance work, aided by the direction and co-writing of her then-husband Greg Howells. Glaser's inspiration for solo performance came while practicing

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

in the early 1980s in San Diego in the company of

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo S ...

and

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She was first nationally known for her feminist play ''The Kathy and Mo Show'', which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney. On film, she is best known for her ...

Career

Glaser is best known for her long-running

solo performance piece ''Family Secrets'' and her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Family Secrets: One Woman's Look at a Relatively Painful Subject'', published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

in 1997. In the play, Glaser portrays five different members of a Jewish family who migrated from New York to California in the 1980s. Glaser won numerous awards for her role in ''Family Secrets''. The show was presented off-Broadway twice, from 1993 to 1995 and again in 2006. Glaser then played Ma and Miguel in her one-woman play, ''Oh My Goddess!'' Ma was depicted as the Great Jewish Mother of us all, "reminding us of the simple and sacred nature of life on earth". In 2004, Glaser collaborated with Thais Mazur on a theater/dance project called ''Remember This (An Intimate Portrait of War through the Eyes of Women)'' which debuted in Mendocino and then went on to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Glaser wrote another one-woman show called ''Taking the High Road (Comic Confessions from Behind the Cannabis Curtain)'' in 2015 after her

Medical Marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...

Dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

and her home were raided by local and Federal agents. Glaser also co-authored a book with her mother, Rochelle (Shelly) Glaser about their experiences with mental illness, titled ''The First Practical Handbook for Crazy People''. Glaser also writes a weekly Tuesday evening editorial on

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

, radio station

KZYX KZYX (90.7 FM), is a National Public Radio member station in Philo, California. The studios are located at 9300 Highway 128 in Philo, CA, and the transmitter is located on Cold Springs Mountain (near Philo, CA) in the State of California Depart ...

. Glaser's writing has been featured in the anthologies, ''Exit Laughing'', ''The Other Woman'', ''He Said What?'' (Victoria Zackheim, editor), and ''Warrior Mothers'' (Thais Mazur, editor).

Family life

Sherry Glaser met her future husband, Greg Howells, through her comedy career. At the time Howells was a friend of a friend of Glaser's next-door neighbor. Glaser and Howells' shared passion for comedy brought them together. Glaser and Howells had two daughters, Dana and Lucy. Glaser commented that "I had always wanted two (so they could have someone to talk to about their crazy mother)". Greg Howells disappeared on June 18, 1997. He was last seen golfing at the Rancho Cañada Golf Course in

Carmel Valley, California Carmel Valley is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River (California), Carmel River watershed east of California ...

Political activism

Breasts Not Bombs

Breasts Not Bombs is a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

political movement based in Mendocino County, California. The group focuses on the intersection between top-free

equality Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

through non-violent public protests involving street theatre and

toplessness Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is known as barechestedness. Social norms around toplessness ...

in order to bring attention to what they term the "immoral injustices of war. On November 8, 2005, Sherry Glaser and Renee Love, members of Breasts Not Bombs, went topless on the steps of the California State Capital to protest the policies of

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

. They were arrested on suspicion of

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

and violation of the terms of their protest permit. If convicted, the women would have been required to register as

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s. In the court battle that followed their arrest, they argued that women should have the same right to go topless as men. In November 2008, the courts awarded the women $150,000. The court also required that

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the principal state police agency for the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary jurisdiction, including patrol and Criminal investigation, investigations, over all California Controlled-access highw ...

officers assigned to the Capitol Protection Section be provided training in

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

rights of protesters. She comments on her website, "Their bare breasts were called 'indecent', so I thought, let's use this incident and our equal protection under the 14th Amendment to show what real

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

and decency look like. She realizes, words alone can be easily disregarded, but bodies are harder to ignore." On her website, Glaser has written that "It's ironic that

can grope and molest women's bodies and become Governor yet we stand in power exercising our

first amendment rights The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of t ...

and we get arrested. I Protest!" Glaser began a

political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

claiming breasts are not indecent, wars are. Glaser and others have been protesting topless in order to give public awareness to the deaths which occurred in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. Glaser has her own website where she discusses her political actions and upcoming productions as well as making her weekly radio commentaries publicly available.

Other activism

She was instrumental in a recent tsunami relief benefit which raised over $10,000 USD, she has done benefits for women's shelters, environmental agencies, and the

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

, and she has taught workshops in radical emotional transformation and Organic Improvisational Theater. Glaser opened the first Medical Marijuana Dispensary in the Village of Mendocino California in February 2011. It was called Love in It and dispensed organic, local cannabis to over 3000 patients. Her dispensary was raided on March 4, 2014. She went to jail along with all the employees and bailed out the next day. She filed forms to reclaim her property and medicine and fought the D.A. David Eyster all the way. Love in It reopened on April 1, 2014, and all charges against Glaser were finally dropped in 2017.

References

External links

* *
Sustainable World Coalition website

Breasts Not Bombs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaser, Sherry Actresses from New York (state) American performance artists American stage actresses American lesbian actresses American lesbian artists People from Mendocino County, California People from Long Island Living people 1960 births Nudity and protest Activists from California 21st-century American actresses American women comedians Theatre World Award winners