Comedian and writer Carol Leifer feels fresh about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Carol sits down with Conan to chat about her roots as a stand-up in the 70s, how her relative inexperience landed her a job writing on Seinfeld, opening for Frank Sinatra, and her new book How to Write a Funny Speech. Later, Matt Gourley gives much-needed insight into the health and habits of his family’s beloved cat Margaux the Fat Guy. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847. Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.
Chapter 1: Who is Carol Leifer and what is her connection to Conan O'Brien?
Hi, my name is Carol Leifer. And I feel fresh about being Conan O'Brien's friend. Fresh? It's new, it's fresh.
It's new, it's fresh.
Yes.
Fall is here, hear the yell Back to school, ring the bell Brand new shoes, walkin' loose Climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we are gonna be friends I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Chapter 2: How does Conan describe his current solo life and eating habits?
Hey there, welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. And joined by two of my friends, my good friends, contractually. Sonam of Session and Matt Gourley. No, it's in the contracts. True. And I'm going through a little bit of an unusual moment right now, which is... My wife is out of town, and my kids are away. They're in school.
I am living alone in the house with my two dogs and my daughter's cat, or our two dogs and my daughter's cat. And it's just becoming clear to me that I don't know very basic things, like how to feed myself. And I don't cook. Yeah. And, you know, you can't use like a delivery app. Well, you know what? In the past, I used to like call my son and say, can you get me a hamburger? And he would do it.
I am using a delivery app, but I won't mention which one it is unless they give us some money.
Yeah.
But anyway.
I know which one because I get the email confirmation. You get the email confirmation. I do.
Do you know what he's eating?
So I try not to check. I want to give you some privacy. But then I do anyway. What do you mean? That's so weird that you know what I'm eating. I know.
But have you noticed that lately, so I'm at home alone. Robbers, I'm at home alone.
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Chapter 3: What is Carol Leifer's background in stand-up comedy during the 1970s?
And I've talked to people like Susie Essman about what it was like in those early days to be a woman who's trying to do stand-up comedy in the 1970s. Yes. It was, I would guess, not easy. Not an easy thing to crack.
You know what? It was actually quite the opposite because there were not many women. And I always thought that was a tremendous advantage because... I always talk about the 70s stand-up. They were looking for comedians. But it's really true. So when I started, there were like four or five women comics. You know, Rita Rudner was of my generation. And they wanted women comics.
And I always felt I got so much support from the guy comics. Oh, good. Yeah, a lot of people thought it was a little rough and tumble and all that, but I got so much support, so I found it to be advantage. I mean, what was obnoxious was way back then, they wouldn't put on two women following each other. It was like it had to be separated.
Like, we'll have the singer, then the ventriloquist, then a woman, then the monkey act, then maybe another woman.
You're a novelty. Yeah. It's like someone who can separate both shoulders, you know?
Right, the contortionist, then a woman.
Another oddity that represents 50% of the population and is responsible for the continuation of our species. One of those things is so weird.
I could follow a bearded woman.
Yes.
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Chapter 4: How did Carol Leifer get her start in television writing, including SNL?
Yeah, yeah. A great place to meet a single pregnant woman. Who's going through a bad divorce. But every night we don't have our regular television. We just, you know, we don't have Apple TV or Max or anything. So we're just thumbing through and we always land on Seinfeld. Oh, nice. And we watch Seinfeld and I watched your Rye episode.
Ah, yes. Marble Rye.
Three nights ago I watched the Marble Rye episode, remembered that you had written that episode, which is one of my favorites.
Oh, thank you.
If you don't recall, I think it's George's fiancée. George Costanza is going over to eat with the fiancée, and he brings his parents, who, of course, humiliate him. The great Jerry Stiller and the actress. I can't remember the actress's name. Estelle Harris. Estelle Harris.
And they come over, and they bring a marble rye, and then they notice that these waspy parents of their future in-law don't eat the marble rye, so Jerry Stiller takes it back. And then that couple realizes, the Waspie couple realizes that the marble rye has been taken back and they're enraged.
And then the whole episode is about how do we get the rye back into the apartment, which is a great, great idea for an episode. Where did you get that idea?
It was crazy because, you know, a lot of times people come up to you when you write on a hit show like that and they're like, something really funny happened to me. And you're like, oh, boy, here we go. You know, and it's like Betty's egg salad was in the fridge at work and somebody took it, you know, and it's like, oh, boy, here we go.
But a friend of mine from high school was like, I had the funniest thing happen. This couple came over and brought a bread. We didn't put it out and they wanted to take it back. And I knew when I went in to Larry's office, Larry and Jerry, you would pitch to them one on one. If Larry liked an idea, he would get so ecstatic. You know what I mean? When I pitched that, he was like, I love it.
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Chapter 5: What was Carol Leifer's experience working on Seinfeld and writing the Marble Rye episode?
You work on a show like that, I think it's an immersive experience. I've said the same thing about Saturday Night Live where you're not just a writer. There's the old idea of the writers are off in a separate building. Yeah. There's no light, the shades are drawn. they're just in there coming up with this and they're, they're treated sort of with contempt.
And then the scripts come out and then the director, the producers, the actors make it and no one ever goes near the writer's building. And I always thought a great gift that Lauren gave all of us was even if you had only been working there for a week. And it sounds like the same thing that, that, uh, Larry and Jerry would do, which is, no, you're in charge of everything.
If it's your sketch or if it's your episode, you're in on the whole thing, which opens you to the world of casting, props, when should we see things, how should we see things, maybe go talk to the director, make sure you don't cross any lines, do it tactfully, but you're in charge of the whole thing because it's your baby. And that invests you with great sense of responsibility
You try so much harder.
Exactly. Because also, you know, your ass is on the line if something goes off. So you do have that sense of responsibility with an episode, which is great. You know, the saddest thing to me is that I'm a big collector. So I took the, we couldn't use Beefaroni for some reason.
It's Beefarino.
Yes. Yeah. They made us change the name. So I had the can that the prop guy came up with for Beefarino. And I had it in my apartment on Flores in West Hollywood. And then when I moved, I forgot to take it, you know, move it away. And the guys thought it was just an empty can and they tossed it. I know.
Yeah.
It's the fact that I'm here today.
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Chapter 6: What insights does Carol share about casting and production on Seinfeld?
But he said some cryptic things sometimes. Like one time he said, that was Carol Leifer. I wish my mother had been that funny. I wouldn't have had to work so hard. The summer breeze came rushing in from across the city. Yeah. And then another time he brought me out. He says, that was Carol Leifer. She's big. She'll knock you over for the phone.
What?
Well, to be honest, I talk like that now. And the podcast just seems to still be doing well. So, and people just think I'm, oh, that's Conan with another one of his funny gags. I'm going downhill fast. Um... I mean, that's real show business.
Yes.
That's old-time classic show business. Opening for Frank, getting called out for a bow.
Yes, but what a gentleman. I mean, I have friends from that time who opened for people in Vegas who would not even bring them back out, you know. I would tell you the names of the acts, but I really shouldn't. But some of them are very supreme. Oh.
Nice. The clothing brand supreme. Wow. The pizza, the burrito supreme. Burrito supreme, yeah. Okay. I was going to pay you a compliment, and I've said this to the producers of Hacks, and I've said this to the stars of Hacks, that I have found it to be one of the more accurate representations of the comedy process. We all know that there have been many times where people have tried to
capture what it's like to be sitting around thinking of funny ideas. And it's never right. It's never right. Hacks is the closest I've seen when they're riffing off of each other, when Hannah and Jean Smart are riffing off of each other or going at each other. It feels to me like, oh, people that write comedy are accurately portraying what it's like to try and come up with stuff.
Mm hmm. I mean, do you remember that movie Punchline?
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Chapter 7: How did Carol Leifer get the opportunity to open for Frank Sinatra?
Just something as simple as that.
Gives you a connection.
Yeah.
I always get up if I'm giving a speech and say, I was this person's lover. It's often not true, but it just gets you right away.
That is a great opening line.
Yeah. We were lovers. It was a very sexual and sensual relationship. Yeah. But I mean, I've noticed something that a lot of people, it's a whole generational thing, they read off their phone.
Yeah.
Which I find a little off-putting. I don't like it either. I don't like it either. And I've seen people do it at, I mean, serious, big, like there's a casket there. Yeah. And someone's like, well, my father, and they're like, wait a minute, I'm getting a text. It's weird.
It is weird. You know, part of the advice we give in the book, you can't you don't have to memorize it. You know, just if you have a card, have some bullet points. Yes. But also, you know, practice it in front of someone who's going to be at the event that knows the person. That's a good idea, too. But reading is. Yeah, that's a big turnoff.
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