Carol Leifer
Encyclopedia
Carol Leifer is an American comedian, writer, producer
and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. David Letterman
discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman
over twenty-five times as well as numerous other shows and venues. She has written many television scripts including for The Larry Sanders Show
, Saturday Night Live
, and most notably, Seinfeld
.
Leifer's "inner monologue" observational style is often autobiographical encompassing subjects about her Jewish ancestry and upbringing, coming out
, same-sex marriage
, relationships (having been married previously to a man and now partnered with a woman) and parenting.
Leifer recently became vegan, saying "I recently became vegan because I felt that as a Jewish lesbian, I wasn’t part of a small enough minority. So now I’m a Jewish lesbian vegan."
, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family, the daughter of Anna, a psychologist, and Seymour Leifer, an optometrist.
While studying for a theater degree at Binghamton University
, Leifer accompanied her then boyfriend Paul Reiser
to a comedy club
to see him perform at the open mic night at Catch A Rising Star
. Later she tried performing at New York's Comic Strip
and was introduced by emcee Jerry Seinfeld
. All three have had successful television and comedy careers.
and actor and has been involved in such television shows as Seinfeld, It's Like, You Know...
, Alright Already, and The Larry Sanders Show
. With Mitchell Hurwitz
, she is the creator of the short-lived The Ellen Show
(2001). In 1988, she had her own special on Cinemax
titled Carol Doesn't Leifer Anymore, which was produced by David Letterman
. This was shortly followed several more specials, tiled Carol Leifer Comedy Cruise (1989), Really Big Show (1990), and Gaudy, Baudy, and Blue (1992). She was a writer on Saturday Night Live
during the 1985/1986 season.
She has performed on Late Night With David Letterman
25 times, but has only been on Dave's show once since 1992. Leifer has also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, Dr. Katz, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Hollywood Squares
, Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Her hosting duties have included four seasons of A&E
's Caroline's Comedy Hour, as well as guest stints on Talk Soup
and Later
. She has written for the Academy Awards
for most of the 21st century.
Leifer starred in, created and executive-produced the WB sitcom Alright Already. called one of the "10 Best New Shows of the New Season" by the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Despite good reviews, the show only ran one season.
Her stand-up experience includes opening for Jerry Seinfeld
and Frank Sinatra
. Sinatra praised Leifer as "one funny broad!" and "I wish my mother had been that funny – I wouldn't have had to work so hard." She continues working the stand-up circuit and is reportedly writing an original picture for Dreamworks
. Additionally, Leifer is a writer and co-executive producer on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement
.
In September 2007, Leifer won an auction for the handwritten notes used by Michael Vick
during his apology for his role in dogfighting.
Leifer began filming as a contestant for the 3rd season of Celebrity Apprentice
in October 2009. Shalom Life reported that she had been the first to be eliminated on the premiere episode which aired on March 14, 2010.
writing staff during its fifth season (1993–94), and wrote six episodes for the show between then and its seventh season (1995–96). She has been dubbed "the real Elaine
," the character having been partially based on her. Her episodes, listed chronologically, are:
Season five
Season six
Season seven
Her first book of humorous essays, entitled When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win was released on March 10, 2009. In it, she discusses the moment she discovered she might be gay and how her life has changed for the better.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
over twenty-five times as well as numerous other shows and venues. She has written many television scripts including for The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, and most notably, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
.
Leifer's "inner monologue" observational style is often autobiographical encompassing subjects about her Jewish ancestry and upbringing, coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
, same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, relationships (having been married previously to a man and now partnered with a woman) and parenting.
Leifer recently became vegan, saying "I recently became vegan because I felt that as a Jewish lesbian, I wasn’t part of a small enough minority. So now I’m a Jewish lesbian vegan."
Early life and education
Leifer was born in East Williston, New YorkEast Williston, New York
East Williston is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 2,556 at the 2010 census.The Village of East Williston is in the Town of North Hempstead.- History :...
, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family, the daughter of Anna, a psychologist, and Seymour Leifer, an optometrist.
While studying for a theater degree at Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
, Leifer accompanied her then boyfriend Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, television personality, author, screenwriter and musician. He is most widely known for his role on the long-running television sitcom Mad About You.-Early life:...
to a comedy club
Comedy club
A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, bar, or restaurant where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts...
to see him perform at the open mic night at Catch A Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star is a chain of comedy clubs, founded in New York City in December 1972 and owned by Rick Newman. It has since spread to other areas, such as Las Vegas and New Jersey....
. Later she tried performing at New York's Comic Strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
and was introduced by emcee Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
. All three have had successful television and comedy careers.
Career
Leifer is a stand-up comedian, writer, producerTelevision producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and actor and has been involved in such television shows as Seinfeld, It's Like, You Know...
It's Like, You Know...
It's Like, You Know... was a short-lived American situation comedy television series broadcast by ABC, starring Jennifer Grey, Evan Handler, Steven Eckholdt, A.J. Langer and Chris Eigeman, about life in Los Angeles viewed through the eyes of a diehard New Yorker, Arthur Garment...
, Alright Already, and The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
. With Mitchell Hurwitz
Mitchell Hurwitz
Mitchell D. Hurwitz is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls.-Birth and early life:Hurwitz was born...
, she is the creator of the short-lived The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show is a television sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres that aired during the 2001–2002 season on CBS. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, after Ellen on ABC , but it was unable to garner strong ratings and was quickly cancelled.After coming out of the closet as a lesbian on her...
(2001). In 1988, she had her own special on Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
titled Carol Doesn't Leifer Anymore, which was produced by David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
. This was shortly followed several more specials, tiled Carol Leifer Comedy Cruise (1989), Really Big Show (1990), and Gaudy, Baudy, and Blue (1992). She was a writer on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
during the 1985/1986 season.
She has performed on Late Night With David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
25 times, but has only been on Dave's show once since 1992. Leifer has also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, Dr. Katz, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Her hosting duties have included four seasons of A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
's Caroline's Comedy Hour, as well as guest stints on Talk Soup
Talk Soup
Talk Soup was a television show produced for cable network E! that debuted on January 7, 1991, and aired until August 2002. Talk Soup aired selected clips of the previous day's daily talk shows—ranging from daytime entries like The Jerry Springer Show and to celebrity interview shows like The...
and Later
Later (talk show)
Later was a nightly half hour-long talk show that ran on NBC from 1988 until 2001. Later typically aired for half an hour at 1:30 a.m. following Late Night with David Letterman from 1988 to 1993, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2001...
. She has written for the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for most of the 21st century.
Leifer starred in, created and executive-produced the WB sitcom Alright Already. called one of the "10 Best New Shows of the New Season" by the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Despite good reviews, the show only ran one season.
Her stand-up experience includes opening for Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. Sinatra praised Leifer as "one funny broad!" and "I wish my mother had been that funny – I wouldn't have had to work so hard." She continues working the stand-up circuit and is reportedly writing an original picture for Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
. Additionally, Leifer is a writer and co-executive producer on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement (TV series)
Rules of Engagement is a sitcom that debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, as a midseason replacement, immediately following Two and a Half Men, in the time slot that was occupied by now-cancelled The New Adventures of Old Christine...
.
In September 2007, Leifer won an auction for the handwritten notes used by Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
during his apology for his role in dogfighting.
Leifer began filming as a contestant for the 3rd season of Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. season 9)
The Celebrity Apprentice 3 is the ninth installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. On April 29, 2009, NBC officially announced the renewal of Celebrity Apprentice for Spring 2010. The show premiered on Sunday, March 14, 2010...
in October 2009. Shalom Life reported that she had been the first to be eliminated on the premiere episode which aired on March 14, 2010.
Seinfeld
Leifer joined the SeinfeldSeinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
writing staff during its fifth season (1993–94), and wrote six episodes for the show between then and its seventh season (1995–96). She has been dubbed "the real Elaine
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
," the character having been partially based on her. Her episodes, listed chronologically, are:
Season five
- "The Lip ReaderThe Lip Reader"The Lip Reader" is the seventieth episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the sixth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on October 28, 1993. The episode brought in a 20.4 rating and 31 share.-Plot:...
" - "The HamptonsThe Hamptons (Seinfeld episode)"The Hamptons" is the eighty-fifth episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode for the 5th season. It aired on May 12, 1994. This was the final produced episode of the fifth season, although it aired as the penultimate episode of the season.-Plot:The four principal characters...
" (co-written with Peter MehlmanPeter MehlmanPeter Mehlman is an American television writer and producer, best known for serving as a writer and producer on the TV series Seinfeld through nearly all of the show's nine-year run from 1989 to 1998. He also created the 1999 series It's Like, You Know... and produced the 2004 animated series...
)
Season six
- "The SecretaryThe Secretary"The Secretary" is the 95th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 9th episode for the sixth season, and was the first to use Castle Rock Entertainment's new logo after its acquisition from Turner...
" (co-written with Marjorie GrossMarjorie GrossMarjorie Gross was a television writer and producer. She wrote for such shows as Newhart, The Larry Sanders Show, Square Pegs and Seinfeld.-Biography:...
) - "The BeardThe Beard"The Beard" is the 102nd episode of the NBC situation comedy Seinfeld. This was the 16th episode for the 6th season. It aired on February 9, 1995.-Plot:...
" - "The Understudy" (co-written with Marjorie Gross)
Season seven
- "The RyeThe Rye"The Rye" is the 121st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 11th episode for the seventh season. It aired on January 4, 1996.-Plot:...
"
Personal life and other works
Leifer is currently in a committed relationship with Lori Wolf, who works in commercial real estate. They share a $3.2-million, 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) home in the Santa Monica Hills. They have one adopted son, named Bruno, who was born in 2007.Her first book of humorous essays, entitled When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win was released on March 10, 2009. In it, she discusses the moment she discovered she might be gay and how her life has changed for the better.