Comedy

Standup comic Will Durst. Durst's passion is politics, and the election season is providing him with plenty of material.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone profiles comedienne Angela Scott.

Standup comic Richard Lewis. In his act, Lewis portrays a spastic, tortured, self-deprecating man living a life of unrelieved pain. He says of his comedy that after he's finished his act "people throw prescription drugs and the names of their therapists instead of roses. I'm the wreck they can't be." Lewis has appeared roughly 35 times on the "Late Night with David Letterman" show. His new HBO comedy special, "Richard Lewis: I'm Exhausted Concert," premieres on June 18th.

Television critic David Bianculli gives us his take on the use of laugh tracks.

Critic Ken Tucker reviews video releases of the best of Carol Burnett.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Thank God for the Atom Bomb, a new book of essays by University of Pennsylvania professor Paul Fussell.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone profiles the political comedy of Will Durst.

Comic and actor Howie Mandel. Mandel is one of the stars of "St. Elsewhere," the acclaimed NBC weekly series that follows the lives of the medical staff of the beleaguered St. Eligius, a fictional hospital set in a rough-and-tumble Boston neighborhood. Today, May 25, is final episode of the seven-year series.

Scottish writer William Boyd. His latest novel, The New Confessions, follows the political and cinematic adventures of a monomaniacal filmmaker. Boyd's earlier novels include Stars and Bars and An Ice Cream War.

Comic and actress Danitra Vance. She appeared on "Saturday Night Live" during the 1985-86 season. From there she landed a part in the revue "The Colored Museum," at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. She played everything from a stewardess on a slave ship to a talking afro wig. She's currently reviving the part at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. She can also be seen in the upcoming movie "Sticky Fingers," starring Melanie Mayron, Helen Slater and Christopher Guest.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone discusses the Off-Broadway one-woman show of comic Sandra Bernhard. Bernhard is best known for her appearances on "Late Night With David Letterman" and in the Martin Scorsese film "The King of Comedy." Her new show is titled "Without You I'm Nothing." It's part stand-up comedy, part satire on the "women of rock and roll."

Comic Sandra Bernhard. She's best known for her appearances on "Late Night With David Letterman" and in the Martin Scorsese film "The King of Comedy." She's now starring in the Off-Broadway one-woman show "Without You I'm Nothing," that is part stand-up comedy, part satire on the "women of rock and roll."

Comic actor Eugene Levy. Levy is best known for his many roles - Sid Dithers, the Schmenge Brothers, Bobby Bittman - on the popular SCTV comedy series, which grew out of the Second City comedy troupe in Toronto. Bobby Bittman, is the subject of an upcoming comedy special on Cinemax.

Illustrator Ralph Steadman. Best known for his collaborations with the journalist Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Steadman's cartoons feature an America brainwashed by the mass media and manipulated by its leaders. His ink blob-splattered illustrations lampoon President Reagan, AIDS hysteria, the specter of nuclear annihilation and, of course, Richard Nixon. (Interview by Faith Middleton)

Humorist Alice Kahn shares her fantasy about being a singer, a fantasy that survives despite the fact that she's tone deaf and can't carry a tune.

Pianist and bandleader Paul Weston and singer Jo Stafford. They're better known as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, satirists of inept musicianship.

The second of a two-part interview with comedian and political satirist Al Franken. Along with partner Tom Davis, Franken has written for and performed on "Saturday Night Live" since 1975. This second part focuses on Franken's stint with "Saturday Night Live," where he has worked since high school. He discusses his relationship with the NBC censors and performs a skit that never made it on the air.

The first of a two-part interview with comedian and political satirist Al Franken. Along with partner Tom Davis, Franken has written for and performed on "Saturday Night Live" since 1975. This first part focuses on Franken's political satire, which is in full bloom during the current presidential primary season.

Ken Tucker reviews "Penn and Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends," an interactive home video cassette that features some of the magic duo's favorite scams.

Character comedian Jeffrey Essmann. His sketches mix surreal comic insight with topical humor, much in the tradition of Lily Tomlin.