When funny people want to be funnier, they call Alan Zweibel.
A seasoned writer and comedian whose decades-long career has taken him from Long Island to Studio 8H in Rockefeller Plaza to Hollywood and beyond, Zweibel will be visiting the Madison Theatre at Molloy College in Rockville Centre on Feb. 14, along with some friends, to entertain audiences as he has for years.
Zweibel grew up in the Wantagh and Woodmere areas, and graduated from Hewlett High School in 1968. Shortly after graduating from the University of Buffalo in 1972, he began writing jokes for stand-up comedians, and in 1975 was enlisted by producer Lorne Michaels to join the staff of “NBC’s Saturday Night,” later renamed “Saturday Night Live.”
Among Zweibel’s sketch comedy creations were John Belushi’s zealous samurai warrior and Gilda Radner’s Weekend Update favorites Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. The actress remained a close friend, and Zweibel served as part of a team of writers on her Broadway show “Gilda Live” and its 1980 film, directed by Mike Nichols.
After Radner’s death from ovarian cancer in 1989, Zweibel enshrined their friendship in a 1994 book, “Bunny, Bunny: Gilda Radner – A Sort of Love Story.” A stage adaptation, also written by Zweibel, premiered in Philadelphia in 1996, and the writer says he is interested in taking it Off-Broadway in the near future.
“From what I can see, she’s really reached this iconic status,” Zweibel said. “It’s something she deserves.”
Radner, he says, was Aunt Gilda to his children, and longtime friend Billy Crystal, with whom Zweibel co-wrote the Tony Award-winning stage show “700 Sundays,” is Uncle Billy. Foulmouthed stand-up Gilbert Gottfried is “the sweetest man ever,” as is actor-dancer-singer-comedian Martin Short.
As of late, Zweibel has become a frequent face in documentaries, discussing his friendships with Radner in 2018’s “Love, Gilda,” with Gottfried in 2017’s “Gilbert,” and with comedian-actor Garry Shandling in 2018’s “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling,” directed by Judd Apatow.
Also among Zweibel’s writing credits are episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” created by friend Larry David, “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” and the film “Dragnet,” co-written with Dan Aykroyd, as well as television specials for Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Jon Lovitz. For his work on “SNL” and the specials, Zweibel won five Emmy Awards for writing.
Not all of his projects resulted in raves, though. The 1994 film “North,” adapted for the screen by Zweibel from one of his own books, infamously drew the ire of the late film critic Roger Ebert, who wrote of the Rob Reiner-directed movie: “I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it.”
While the review stung at first, Zweibel says, he now carries a clipping of the zero-star Chicago Sun-Times review in his wallet, and has taken to reading it at his public appearances.
In recent years, Zweibel has focused on publishing, writing humor pieces for the New Yorker and Huffington Post. He’s also teamed up with humorist Dave Barry for the novel “Lunatics,” and with author Adam Mansbach for the children’s comedy book “Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My…” Mansback, Barry and Zweibel also collaborated on the parody book “For This We Left Egypt? A Passover Haggadah for Jews and Those Who Love Them,” published last year.
On Valentine’s Day, Zweibel will appear with comedians Lewis Black (“The Daily Show,” “Inside Out”) and John Fugelsang (“Politically Incorrect”). He met Black, he says, a few years ago at the National Comedy Center in upstate Jamestown, where they became “fast friends.” At a later Jamestown appearance, Fugelsang moderated a Q&A with Zweibel and Black, and they clicked.
“We actually like being on stage with each other,” Zweibel said.
Zweifel also says that no topics are off limits when they’re onstage.
“The audience can expect us to talk about our careers, politics, what’s going on in the world,” Zweibel said. “Hopefully they’ll laugh, but we have no agenda laid out.”
The months following February will see the release of Zweibel’s latest film project “Here Today,” due for release in the fall. Zweibel co-wrote the screenplay with director Crystal, who will co-star alongside comedienne Tiffany Haddish.
Also in 2020, Zweibel will be publishing a “cultural memoir” entitled “Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier,” and will appear in Los Angeles with Larry David and at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan with Black to discuss the book.
The author, who lives in Short Hills, New Jersey, with his wife, says he intends to return to Long Island to promote the book.
“I consider it home,” Zweibel said.
Zweibel, Black and Fugelsang will appear at the Madison Theatre at Molloy College in Rockville Centre on Friday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at https://madisontheatreny.org.
