Merrill Markoe helped change television as head writer of David Letterman’s daytime and late night NBC shows. Since they broke up, she has continued to write, with several books to her credit. Her newest is a collection of essays entitled “Cool, Calm, and Contentious.” In it, she explains how having a narcissistic mother is one […]
I have been a fan of political comedian Will Durst for more years than either of us would like to admit, so I was happy to have him join me on KTRS/St. Louis this morning. Even though we haven’t done radio together in years, we fell into an easy rhythm as we joked about the […]
I’m a longtime fan of Albert Brooks, the comedian/filmmaker behind “Lost In America,” “Defending Your Life,” and more (he was also the voice of Nemo’s father Marlin in “Finding Nemo,” a driven network reporter in “Broadcast News,” a campaign worker in “Taxi Driver,” and Goldie Hawn’s doomed first husband in “Private Benjamin“). In the early […]
Comedian Robert Schimmel died last night from injuries suffered in a car accident. Of all the comedians who have appeared on my radio shows through the years, no one turned tragedy into comedy like Bob. From his earliest days in the business, when he moved from New York to Los Angeles to take advantage of […]
Paul Provenza has been a standup comedian and student of comedy for some three decades. He directed “The Aristocrats” and is hosting Showtime’s “The Green Room,” in which he talks about the business with fellow comics. He has also compiled “Satiristas: Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs, and Vulgarians,” a collection of discussions he had with Robin Williams, […]
Since I do radio shows for different stations in different cities on different days, when I find a good guest, I’ll often book them for interviews on multiple outlets. Tony Hendra is one such money-in-the-bank guest. He’s the co-author of his longtime friend George Carlin’s autobiography, “Last Words,” and I had him back again today […]