Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier - Softcover

Zweibel, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1419735357 ISBN 13: 9781419735356

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2021

Synopsis

With his tender, funny memoir of four decades in the business, one of the first writers for Saturday Night Live traces the history of American comedy.

Alan Zweibel started his comedy career selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

From SNL, he went on to have a hand in a series of landmark shows—from It's Garry Shandling's Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Throughout the pages of Laugh Lines Zweibel weaves together his own stories and interviews with his friends and contemporaries, including Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Bob Saget, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Dave Barry, Carl Reiner, and more.

The book also features a charming foreword from Billy Crystal, his friend of forty-five years.

“In Laugh Lines, Zweibel looks back, affectionately and informatively, at a career that began when he was a young deli worker grinding out jokes for old-school borscht belt comedians in his spare time, and that, after his SNL years, included rewarding collaborations with, among others, Garry Shandling, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Larry David and Dave Barry. . . . Fascinating.” —New York Times

“Any comedy fan will thrill to see the contemporary art's invention through the eyes of consummate funny man Alan Zweibel. He takes you behind the velvet rope and makes you weep for all those artists who made us laugh. Screamingly funny—also very moving. A classic.” —Mary Karr

“Alan Zweibel is legendary among us comedians. He is the man who delivers comedy with an emotional clout that makes him respected and revered.” —Steve Martin

About this title

About the Author

Alan Zweibel is an original Saturday Night Live writer who has won multiple Emmy, Writers Guild of America, and TV Critics awards for his work in television. His theatrical contributions include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award–winning play 700 Sundays. He is the author of several books including the 2006 Thurber Prize–winning novel The Other Shulman.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1419735357
• ISBN 13: 9781419735356
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272