Comedy

Actress and comedian Janeane Garofalo. She's a regular on HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show," where she plays the caustic casting agent, and was a regular on FOX's "The Ben Stiller Show." Now she's appearing in the new film directed and starring Ben Stiller, "Reality Bites." Her stand-up persona has been described as "a bitter, boot-wearing feminista." Which they go on to describe as "no act" on her part.

Actress Julie Kavner. In her first professional role, she played Brenda Morgenstern, the insecure younger sister of the title character, in the television series "Rhoda." She landed an Emmy award for that role. Also on television, she co-starred in "The Tracey Ullman Show" and now can be heard as the unforgettable voice of Marge on the animated sitcom, "The Simpsons," for which she also won an Emmy. She starred in the movie "This Is My Life," co-starred in "Awakenings," and appeared in 5 Woody Allen movies.

Comic writer and actor Chris Elliott. He was an Emmy award winning writer for "Late Night with David Letterman," where he originated such characters as "the panicky guy" and "the guy under the seats." Elliott followed his success on the Letterman show with his own FOX TV-series, "Get A Life," about a young adult man who lives with his parents and has a paper route. It was a cult hit. Elliott comes to the business naturally.

Comedienne Carol Leifer. She's been a longstanding regular as a stand up on Late Night With David Letterman, and a writer for Saturday Night Live. This year, she writes for comedy pal (and former boyfriend) Jerry Seinfeld -- some say the character of Elaine is based on Leifer. Last year she produced "Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue", a fictional recreation of the great "Blue" comediennes of the sixties: Belle Barth, Pearl Williams, and Rusty Warren (who's XXX-rated "Knockers Up" album sold six million copies in 1960).

Actor John Leguizamo. Leguizamo created and starred in the hit one-man show "Mambo Mouth," based on his experiences as a Latino growing up in Jackson Heights, Queens. "Mambo" premiered on HBO and later was published as a book (Bantam). Leguizamo's second one-man show, "Spic-O-Rama," had long runs in Chicago and New York, and was also shown on HBO. As an actor, Leguizamo has appeared in "Whispers in the Dark" and "Super Mario Brothers." He now is on the big screen with Al Pacino in "Carlito's Way." (REBROADCAST.

The four-man comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre. The Firesigns created satire out of the political and civil upsets of the late 1960's, drawing big underground radio and college campus audiences. Now, more than ten years since the last tour, The Firesign Theatre is making a comeback. Known for their eclectic comedy routines, they're celebrating their 25th anniversary with a reunion tour.

Comedian and actor Garry Shandling. He stars in HBO's parody of talk-shows, "The Larry Sanders Show." It features Shandling as a veteran talk-show host. His guests have included Robin Williams, Howard Stern, and, actual talk show host, David Letterman playing themselves. Shandling also starred in "It's Garry Shandling's Show" a few years back. Just this week,"The Larry Sanders Show" completed its second season with Larry quitting the show. (Rebroadcast of 12/03/1992)

Actor Jason Alexander. He's best known as George Costanza on the NBC series "Seinfeld", where he plays Jerry Seinfeld's best friend. Alexander won a Tony Award in 1989 for his performance in "Jerome Robbin's Broadway." (REBROADCAST FROM 6/23/92).

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld. His television show just won three Emmy Awards and an army of devoted fans are propelling his book "SeinLanguage" (Bantam) up the best-seller lists. (REBROADCAST FROM 9/2/87).

Film director and comedian, Robert Townsend. His first film, "Hollywood Shuffle" took a satiric look at the roles offered to blacks in Hollywood, and established Townsend --with Spike Lee and others-- as a new group of talented black filmmakers who won industry acceptance after making independent films. His new film is "Meteor Man". (REBROADCAST FROM 6-9-87)