Comedy

Magician and trickster Teller of Penn and Teller. They've been performing for over twenty years, both on Broadway and around the world. The duo has just written "How to Play in Traffic" (Boulevard), an offbeat travel guide, and has also authored "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends" and "How to Play with Your Food."

Saturday Night Live cartoonist Robert Smigel. He’s created such popular segments as The Ambiguously Gay Duo, and Fun with Real Audio. Smigel is no stranger to SNL or comedy TV. He was a writer for Saturday Night Live from 1985-93.

Guest host (and our TV critic) David Bianculli interviews Tommy Smothers of the comedy duo The Smothers Brothers. In 1967, their show The Smothers Brothers Comedy hour first went on the air. The show has been credited with helping pave the way for a new generation of TV comedy shows including Saturday Night Live.

Carlin has written his first book called "Brain Droppings" (Hyperion Books). It's a collection of original humor pieces. He has been working in comedy for forty of his sixty years.

TV Critic David Bianculli talks about the history of television laugh tracks and a new development in their usage.

Rock is 26 years-old and grew up in Brooklyn. He got his start in show business performing stand-up comedy routines in Manhattan. He spent three years on "Saturday Night Live" and appeared in a few films, including the recent "Beverly Hills Ninja." He has a new comedy and talk-show series, "The Chris Rock Show," premiering February 7 on HBO.

Record produce and songwriter Neil Innes is a member of The Rutles, the band which he and Eric Idle of Monty Python that spoofed the Beatles. The band has recently been reunited and has a new collection called "Archaeology." The Rutles first came to the attention of the public in 1978 when their spoof documentary "All You Need is Cash" aired. Innes also co-founded the comedy group The Bonzo Dog Band.

Brooks' latest film is a comedy called "Mother," starring Debbie Reynolds. He joins Fresh Air to talk about humor, writing movies, acting, and his relationship with his own mother.

The former Saturday Night Live performer was best known for, Pat, the gender-ambiguous character. Sweeney took the character the big screen, but the result was a flop. When her brother was diagnosed with cancer, she took him into her home to take care of him while he was getting treatment. Her parents also moved in. Sweeney began work on a performance piece as a way to deal with the situation. Her brother eventually died, and she herself was diagnosed with cancer. She's now in remission. Sweeney's one woman show is called "God Said, Ha!"

O'Brien took over David Letterman's spot in 1993, and his "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" has just celebrated it's third birthday. Previous to that, he was a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons.