Sustain LAist today!

Your monthly gift during our June member drive powers our local newsroom.
1,485 sustainers of 2,500 goal
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

Comedian Carol Leifer Looks In The Mirror

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 19:28

Comedian Carol Leifer started performing stand up in the late 1970's alongside Paul Reiser, Larry David, and Jerry Seinfeld. She later went on to write and produce Seinfeld, The Ellen Show and The Larry Sanders Show.

Leifer spoke to Fresh Air about her memoir, When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror. The book, now out in paperback, details Leifer's coming out story, her early days in stand up, and her relationship with her father.

"My father was the kind of guy who'd always say 'Throw out any subject and I got a joke on it,'" says Leifer. She recounts one of the high points of his life, when he filled in as the entertainment at a convention full of psychologists. "And he killed," she recalls.

This interview was first broadcast on April 23, 2009.

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today