MOTHER-IN-LAW IN 'GAG' ORDER

A Brooklyn woman who's sick of being the butt of her comedian daughter-in-law's jokes has sued to get the last laugh.

Ruth Zafrin, of Midwood, claims her son's wife, veteran comic Sunda Croonquist, has spread defamatory and racist lies about her with the "Take my mother-in-law, please!" jokes that are a staple of her routine.

Croonquist has made the remarks in shows on Comedy Central, and has posted bits on her Web site and blog, according to papers filed in Monmouth, NJ, federal court.

Zafrin's daughter, Shelley, and son-in-law, Neil Edelman, who live in Morganville, NJ, are co-plaintiffs.

Furious at being Croonquist's perpetual punch lines, they seek unspecified damages and want the court to make the comedian remove offensive statements from her Web site, routines and recordings.

Croonquist -- who is being represented by her husband's New York law firm -- has said she will drop offensive language, but won't pay a settlement.

She also claims that her in-law and family jokes are not mean-spirited, but, rather, natural laugh-getters -- particularly because she comes from a diverse background. Croonquist is half-Swedish and half-black, has a Hindu first name and grew up Roman Catholic. She converted to Judaism when she married real-estate lawyer Mark Zafrin, and keeps a kosher house. They have two daughters.

In one of her routines, according the lawsuit, the comic recounts how Shelly Edelman, upon meeting Croonquist, leaned over to her husband and said, "Oh, my God, Neil, look at her; she's got light eyes and light hair; what kind of black person is she?"

The Edelmans claim that Croonquist fabricated the encounter, and that the joke makes the couple appear racist.

Cronquist also has joked about her first visit to her mother-in-law's house: "I walk in, I say, 'Thank you so much for having me here, Ruthie.' She says, 'The pleasure's all mine, have a seat.' " Then, in a loud aside, 'Harriet, put my pocketbook away.' "

The suit charges Croonquist's cracks about her mom-in-law are "malicious" and "based on her hatred towards [Mrs. Zafrin.]"

In another routine, Croonquist makes fun of her sister-in-law's thick Jersey accent -- and claims she speaks "like a cat in heat," according to the suit.

Croonquist said yesterday that there was a time when her in-laws would laugh with everyone else.

"They played my tape at Passover one year, and they loved it!" she said. With AP