Comedy

Actress Tracey Ullman. She plays Frenchy, a manicurist married to an ex-con dishwasher in Woody Allen’s new comedy “Small Time Crooks.” She also worked with Allen on two of his previous films “Bullets Over Broadway,” and “Everyone Says I love You.” Ullman is the star of her own shows, HBO’s “Tracey Takes On,” and “The Tracey Ullman Show.”

Documentary director Dean Ward. His new film, "Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: a Salute to the Friars" is about the Friars club, the place where show business entertainers meet and then roast each other. Such comic luminaries as George Burns, Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, as well as entertainers Will Rogers, George M. Cohan, and Irving Berlin were members. Then we meet two current members of the Friars. The documentary premieres on Cinemax tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26th. Also Comedy Central features the Friars' Club roast of comic Jerry Stiller, Wednesday, October 27th.

Dean of the New York Friars' Club, Freddie Roman, and comic Jeffrey Ross, are both featured in the documentary, and the roast of Jerry Stiller.

Eric Idle was one of the six original members of Monty Python's Flying Circus which, by the way, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. He wrote many of the songs from the show like, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Since then, Idle has written a number of books. His latest is a comic science-fiction thriller, "The Road to Mars: A Post-Modem Novel." (Pantheon books)

Saturday Night Live celebrates its silver anniversary this Sunday, with a prime time special. Fresh Air's TV critic David Bianculli has a review.

TV critic David Bianculli previews "Action" the controversial new show that premieres on the FOX network tonight.

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide ("WHY-dee"). He's made his reputation making films about comedy and comediennes. His films include: "The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell" (PBS), "The Great Standups" (HBO), and the Emmy Award winning "W.C. Fields Straight Up." His latest project is the HBO documentary "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth" (on HBO). It premiered on HBO August 9th.

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide ("WHY-dee"). He's made his reputation making films about comedy and comediennes. His films include: "The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell" (PBS), "The Great Standups" (HBO), and the Emmy Award winning "W.C. Fields Straight Up." His latest project is the HBO documentary "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth" (on HBO). It premiered on HBO August 9th.

We hear an excerpt of an interview with Lenny Bruce's mother, Sally Marr. The interview was conducted in 1989 by radio producer Larry Josephson for his program "Modern Times." (Josephson's radio documentary "Lenny Bruce Remembered" can be ordered by calling, 1-800-528-4424, or writing Radioart, Box 2000 GPO, New York, N.Y. 10116. The cost is $30 for 2 tapes. The documentary is 4 hours long).

Stand-up comic Margaret Cho. Her new one-woman show "I'm The One That I Want" is about her foray into the TV sitcom, when she was the first Asian-American to star in her own TV show. The series, "All-american Girl" was short lived, and a nightmare for Cho.

Scott Dikkers is editor-in-chief of The Onion, an alternative weekly based in Madison, Wisconsin. He along with the editors of The Onion, have published the new book "Our Dumb Century" (Three Rivers Press) It's a parody of newspaper headlines spanning this century.

Comedian and actor Damon Wayans talks about his new book "Bootleg." (Harper Collins) It features a collection of his humorous observations and advice on everything from relationships to race relations. After making a name on the stand-up comedy circuit in the 1980's Wayans moved on to become one of the original stars of "In Living Color" the show that launched Jim Carrey's career. Damon's film include Hollywood Shuffle, Mo' Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne and Great White Hype.

Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stiller have co-written the new book "Feel this Book: As Essential Guide to Self Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction." (Ballantine Publishing) In this parody of self-help books, the two dispense such wisdom as "You mother lied; looks are everything," to "Being poor sucks.

Comedienne Joy Behar. She can be seen regularly on the ABC women's talk show, "The View." She also appears as a neurotic patient on "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist for Comedy Central." She has a new book, "Joy Shtick: or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does it Come with Attachments?" (Hyperion)

Former writer and producer for "Seinfeld," Peter Mehlman. Thanks to him, the terms "shrinkage" and "Yada-Yada" as used on "Seinfeld" became a part of popular culture. Now Mehlman has created the new sitcom "It's Like, You Know" about a transplanted New Yorker in L.A., and the clash of East and West culture

TV critic David Bianculli previews this Sunday night's debut of Matt Groening's "Futurama." Groening is the creator of "The Simpsons."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews tonight's debut of the CBS sitcom "Payne". It was inspired by the British hit "Fawlty Towers."

Writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jon Macks. He has a new book that spoofs books about spiritualism. It's called "Heaven Talks Back" (Simon & Schuster).

Host Garrison Keillor of Minnesota Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion." His new book has caused quite a stir. "Me: by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente as told to Garrison Keillor" (Viking) satirizes Minnesota's new state governor, and former professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura. The governor, who plans to write his own autobiography, called Keillor's book "cheating" and proposed gradually eliminating state funding for Minnesota's public radio and TV. He also singled out Keillor saying he'd like to see his W-2.

Satirist Harry Shearer. His new book is "It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch." (The Library of Contemporary Thought, The Ballintine Publishing Group). He'll discuss the Impeachment proceedings.