Anita Wise

Philadelphia - Anita Wise, 74, of Pennington, NJ, died of cancer on January 14, 2025, at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, much to her annoyance. She lived a life rich in experiences and warm relationships, and basked in the pleasure she brought untold thousands with her soft-spoken, wry humor as a comedian in the 1980s and early 1990s and again over the past 10 years.

Born June 9, 1950 in Philadelphia, Anita was predeceased by her parents Daniel M. and Janette Wise; and her husband, TJ Tindall, of Pennington.

Survivors include her soulmate Gary Bodner, of Bristol, Pa.; brothers Daniel R. Wise and his wife Lillian, and their children Evan, Alex, and Danielle, of Concord, NH; Christian Wise and his wife Hannah, and their daughter Celeste, of Montague, MA. Other relatives she held close include: her uncle Joseph Wise, Hanover, PA; her cousins from France, Anne-Marie Braquehaye, of Dieppe; Catherine Salviat and Christine Murillo, of Paris; Anne Pounds, Linda Steward, Nancy Spanier, and Daniel Fech, of Delaware County, PA; Susan Walters, Mary Ann Gingrich, and Kris Raymond, of greater Harrisburg, PA; Robert Brookes, of Delray Beac, FL and Donna Stewart, of Sharon, PA. Anita also treasured her extended family by marriage in New Jersey and South Carolina.

Anita graduated from Washington University in 1972, and then worked in a variety of waitressing, bartending and other glamorous jobs in Philadelphia, New Hope and then New York City where she took a comedy writing class that launched her career. Her comedy career consisted of two segments, first in the mid-1980s, based in New York City and then Los Angeles, highlighted by appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, a Bob Hope TV special and roles in two episodes of Seinfeld. She returned to the central NJ area for an 18-year hiatus during her marriage to TJ.

In 2015, Anita and TJ, a renowned Sound of Philadelphia studio musician, returned to their creative roots, playing local gigs for the pleasure of it. TJ's return to music was tragically cut short by his death in 2016. After several years of grieving and family caregiving, Anita resumed her comedy comeback, including frequent appearances with her beloved comedy colleague Julia Scotti, appearing in the "Women of a Certain Age" comedy lineup, and, in fall of 2024, nabbing a spot in the nationally known Dry Bar comedy show.

Anita's comedy career was distinguished by her ability to perform her routine in two languages, relying on the French she gained from growing up with two French-speaking parents and frequent visits to France, her mother's home country. She performed French and English-speaking gigs at the prestigious Juste Pour Rire comedy festival in Montreal, and more, recently, at an event in Harlem, NYC.

A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, March 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the New Hope Center for the Arts, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope, PA. She will be interred in the Ewing Presbyterian cemetery.