Comedy

Graham Chapman came out while working on the sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus. He discusses his activism to support gay rights, as well as the many times the television program lampooned conventional masculinity.

Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad are the authors of the new book "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live." The book chronicles the eleven year history of the show produced by Lorne Michaels. Hill has written for the New York Times and is a staff writer for T.V. Guide, and Weingrad has written for SoHo Weekly News, the New York Post, and edits the celebrity page of Women's World magazine.

Dick Cavett is a television talk show host, comedian, and writer. He's had shows on ABC, public television, and cable television. He began his career writing jokes for Jack Parr and Johnny Carson. He is known for his esoteric guest and "intellectual" style.

Comedic actress Betty White played the Sue Ann Nivens, a sex-obsessed television show host, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her new book about the relationship between humans and pets builds on her work for animal welfare.

Former Saturday Night Live writers Al Franken and Tom Davis are touring the country with their own show. They join Fresh Air to discuss comedy and writing.

Billy Crystal is a comedian currently enjoying success on television. He also grew up around jazz musicians due to his father's business; Billie Holliday was his sometime-babysitter. Crystal joins the show to discuss his career and jazz memories. (INTERVIEW WITH DAVID KARPOFF)

The comic, who plays a rodeo clown in his new FX comedy series, says he is "not creeped out by clowns." Galifianakis is also the creator of the Emmy Award-winning web comedy series Between Two Ferns.

In the new sitcom Abbott Elementary, Quinta Brunson stars as a rookie second grade teacher in an under-resourced, majority Black public elementary school in Philadelphia.