Comedy

Mort Sahl has skewered presidents from Eisenhower through George W. Bush. The political comedian broke ground back in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a stand-up who looked to the day's headlines for his routines rather than relying on one-liners.

Triumph the Comic Insult Dog's bark may be worse than his bite: The canine puppet has been mocking Hollywood celebrities for over a decade now. Robert Smigel, Triumph's creator, talks about the furry late-night fixture and his other comedy projects.

"Hello, dummies!" Top insult comedian Don Rickles is still as sharp as ever. At age 82, he just received his first Emmy nomination for his performance on the HBO special Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.

Whether he's lancing boils, getting crabs from thrift-store trousers or sitting in a hospital waiting room dressed only in his underwear, one thing is clear: David Sedaris is not shy about sharing embarrassing, cringe-worthy moments.

Comic and actor Jerry Seinfeld's latest project is the animated film Bee Movie, which he wrote and starred in. Seinfeld is best known for his work on the self-titled NBC series, which ran for nine seasons, earning the actor a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.

British comedienne and actress Tracy Ullman returns to American television Sunday with the debut of her new Showtime series, Tracy Ullman's State of the Union. Ullman plays fictional characters as well as a host of notable personalities, including Cameron Diaz, David Beckham and Nancy Pelosi.

Comedian Robert Schimmel has suffered tragedies, including the death of his child and his own battle with cancer. But throughout it all, Schimmel managed to find strength in humor. His recent memoir is Cancer on $5 a Day.

Canadian actor and comedian Mark McKinney joins Terry Gross to discuss his career, including Slings and Arrows, the critically acclaimed miniseries about a Shakespearean theater troupe. It's out now in a DVD box.

Our weeklong retrospective of the year's most entertaining interviews continues with writer-producer Al Jean — a guy who knows Marge, Homer, Bart and the rest of the Simpsons gang better than almost anyone. He's executive producer and writer for The Simpsons, and he's been with the show since it began. This year's Simpsons movie, he's been heard to say, is about "what happens when a man doesn't listen to his wife." The film is now available on DVD. Before The Simpsons, Jean worked on TV's A.L.F. and It's Garry Shandling's Show.