Carol Leifer has been a working stand-up comedian and writer for nearly 50 years. And she shows no signs of slowing down. After winning her first-ever Emmy Award in 2024 for her work on ‘Hacks,’ Leifer, 68, is currently toiling away in the writers’ room for her 11th Academy Awards ceremony, this one airing live with host Conan O’Brien on March 2. And she is about to release a new book that attempts to teach people ‘How to Write a Funny Speech’ for the big events in their own lives. In this episode, Leifer looks back at her extensive comedy career, including her one season as a writer on ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ “weird year,” her role as a “real-life Elaine” behind-the-scenes at ‘Seinfeld,’ why she tried to talk Larry David into keeping ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ alive, what she makes of ‘Curb’ star Cheryl Hines embracing the MAGA movement alongside her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr., channeling her experience with aging into Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance on ‘Hacks,’ and a lot more.
Pre-order Carol Leifer’s new book ‘How to Write a Funny Speech’
Follow Carol Leifer on Instagram @carolleifer
Follow Matt Wilstein on Bluesky @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod and Threads @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!