Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

For most of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic was easily the worst of times. But for Bay Area comedian Lisa Geduldig and her mother, Arline Geduldig, it was also the best. 

Quarantined together in Florida by force of circumstance, they closed a breach from 40 years of living on opposite coasts. They also created delightful routines together for “Lockdown Comedy,” a virtual show that Lisa launched during the pandemic.

Arline died Aug. 7 at the age of 93. Lisa is putting together one final episode of  “Lockdown Comedy” on Sept. 19 as a tribute to her mother, who made her comedic debut at age 89 on the show after Lisa realized just how funny she was. 

“I really had no idea till I started living with her,” Lisa told J. this week on the phone from her mother’s home in a Boynton Beach retirement community.

It was there on a visit that Lisa got stranded in March 2020 as the pandemic swept the world and led to extended lockdowns. Months later, Lisa was still there. For the comedy producer whose annual “Kung Pao Kosher Comedy” show was still months away, necessity became … well, the mother of invention. And “Lockdown Comedy” was born.

During her gigs on “Lockdown Comedy,” the Brooklyn-born Arline became a beloved figure to hundreds of audience members. A widow since 2022, she made light of quotidian errands and revealed her interest in studly firefighters. As Arline’s public persona grew, along with her appreciation for what Lisa’s work entailed, their relationship developed new dimensions.

“She had Post-It notes with ideas for new material all over the house,” Geduldig said. Sometimes they would argue about whose ideas were whose.  

“The pandemic was horrible — a million Americans died and how many millions around the world. But my mother and I got to know each other,” Geduldig said. “It wasn’t always rosy. But every single night, I would lay with her in her bed. We would talk and tell stories. And then I would kiss her goodnight on the forehead — like she did to me when I was a child — and end the day by saying ‘I love you.’”

After nearly a year and a half in Florida, Lisa came back to the Bay Area. She returned frequently to Florida over the next three years and was with her mother when she died.

“I always thought she was going to be immortal,” Lisa said. “I wouldn’t trade the time I had with her for anything.”

The Sept. 19 show will include clips from Arline’s past appearances. Comedians Wendy Liebman of Los Angeles, Scott Blakeman of New York and Eve Meyer of San Francisco may work stories of the elder comedian into their performances, while Lisa hopes to rise to the occasion because her mother would have wanted it that way. Lisa has plenty of memories to work with.

When she returns to the Bay Area, Lisa plans to start work on a documentary about her mother and “Lockdown Comedy.” The working title is “Arline and Me: A Pandemic Love Story.”

“Lockdown Comedy: The Last Show”

7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19. Online. $17-$28.50.