From Vegas to Cary: Rudner talks career before local show

"I did 13 years of working almost every night of the week in Las Vegas and I didn't gamble," Rudner said in a phone interview Wednesday. "We have a real nest egg and we sit on it."

After a stint as a Broadway dancer from her teens until late 20s, Rudner turned to comedy. In the early 1980s, she burst onto the scene with her debut on "Late Night with David Letterman."

"By the time I was 30 I was doing comedy," she said. "I love standup because it is so liberating."

A successful author (she's currently working on her autobiography) and former Vegas headliner, Rudner, 65, is now in the position of only hitting the road five days a month.

"I go on the road once in a while because I like to be able to develop new material," she said.

Rudner broke into comedy before social media, something she relishes.

"I've gotten older and so has my audience," Rudner said, noting that her husband helped make her Facebook page and Twitter account. "My audience isn’t tech dependent."

For comedians just starting out, Rudner suggests doing as much standup as possible.

"There is no substitute for repetition," she said. "There is no way to get better if you sit at home."