Comedian Kathy Griffin's talk show "Kathy," airs on Bravo.

LONG BEACH -- No joke - Kathy Griffin says she learned her brash, outrageous comedy while working as a junior high school special education teacher's aide in Beverly Hills.

Griffin, 51, got her comedic start with the Groundlings, but after she left the improvisational troupe in the late 1980s, she helped make ends meet by working at the El Rodeo School.

Griffin took the job at the public school, which is attended by many kids of the rich and famous, so her afternoons were free to attend auditions. But she also got an unexpected chance to practice her acerbic comedy with the special needs students.

"Many of the students who attended El Rodeo were from affluent families. Vidal Sassoon's kids went there," Griffin says. "But the students who were in special education were treated like outsiders because of their learning disabilities. I would joke with the kids, but they told me, we get picked on every day. You have to do more than that. That's when I learned nothing is off the table.

"I would make fun of their lives, having to deal with the rich kid down the hall, having dyslexia. I'm dyslexic," Griffin says. "We connected through humor. We made fun of each other, as long as it wasn't hurtful. It was our sanctuary."

Outside of school, Griffin's sanctuary is the stage and television. June 23, she will perform two shows at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach.

Griffin is known for her exposes of celebrity behavior. Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce and Ryan Seacrest are some of Hollywood's sacred cows who have been skewered by Griffin's double-barreled comedic assault.

For her June 23 performances, Griffin says she will ponder many of the same topics inquiring minds want to know.

"When my 92-year-old mother is questioning Miley Cyrus' marriage, it makes me think, what's the rush?" Griffin says.

Audiences also know Griffin from TV. After working with special needs students, Griffin did stand-up in numerous Los Angeles comedy clubs and made a series of TV appearances.

Some of the TV gigs paid off, including her appearances on "Seinfeld" as the acid-tongued Sally Weaver and a four-year stint (1996-2000) on "Suddenly Susan" as Vicki Groener, the sassy, ultracool but neurotic co-worker.

But Griffin didn't find herself on the A- or B-list.

Instead, she says her position is on the D-list.

That label became her lamenting trademark for a while. Griffin even starred for six seasons (2005-2010) in a Bravo "reality" show about her life and showbiz experiences called "My Life on the D-List."

Her latest TV endeavor also is on Bravo. This time it's a talk show, "Kathy," airing 10 p.m. Thursdays. The show is filmed at a Hollywood production studio on Sunset Boulevard. The set is decorated with exposed brick, furniture and plasma TVs.

Every week, Griffin is a chatty Kathy, chewing and spitting out rapid-fire comments with noncelebrity guests on everything from John Travolta's alleged gay sex encounters and pop culture to politics.

Before the first episode debuted in April, Griffin said celebrities wouldn't appear on the talk show.

"They're not invited, and here's why. I don't feel that I can do the Lord's work -- making fun of Ryan Seacrest," Griffin has said. "I don't feel that I can make fun of these celebrities if they're next to me, or if their friends are next to me."

Well, that rule didn't last very long. Jimmy Kimmel and Chelsea Handler were recent guests, so the no-celebrity rule was scratched.

"I swore I wouldn't have any celebrities on the show, but Jimmy and Chelsea wanted to be on. I was like, ohhh. OK," Griffin says during a phone interview from the "Kathy" production office.

"I didn't think celebrities would want to talk about each other when the camera is on, but once they get started, they can't stop."

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Kathy Griffin
When: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23
Where: Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Tickets: $55- $65
Information: 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.