Alan Zweibel is an original Saturday Night Live writer, who has won multiple Emmy and Writers Guild Awards for his work in television, which also includes It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (which he co-created and produced), The Late Show With David Letterman and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

 A frequent guest on all of the late night talk shows, Alan’s theatrical contributions include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award winning play 700 Sundays, Martin Short’s Broadway hit Fame Becomes Me and six off-Broadway plays including Bunny Bunny – Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy, which he adapted from his bestselling book.

Alan has written eleven books including the 2006 Thurber Prize winning novel The Other Shulman, the popular children’s book Our Tree Named Steve, the novel Lunatics that he co-wrote with Dave Barry and a parody of the Haggadah titled For This We Left Egypt? that he wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach. 

Alan’s humor has also appeared in such diverse publications as The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Op-Ed page, The Huffington Post and MAD Magazine. In 2010, Alan was given an honorary PhD from the State University of New York, and n 2013 the Writers Guild of America presented him with a lifetime achievement award.  

Alan is currently preparing Bunny Bunny for a return to the New York stage and a movie he co-wrote with Billy Crystal titled Here Today that stars Billy and Tiffany Haddish will be seen in theaters next fall. Alan interviewed Dave Barry on our stage in April, 2019. Watch the video. Visit Alan’s website for more.

“I love this book! And it’s not just because Alan says nice things about me. Well, maybe it is.” —Larry David

 “Any comedy fan will thrill to see the contemporary art’s invention through the eyes of consummate funny man Alan Zweibel. He takes you behind the velvet rope and makes you weep for all those artists who made us laugh. Screamingly funny—also very moving. A classic.” —Mary Karr

Alan Zweibel started his comedy career selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players. From SNL, he went on to have a hand in a series of landmark shows—from It’s Garry Shandling’s Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Throughout the pages of Laugh Lines Zweibel weaves together his own stories and interviews with his friends and contemporaries, including Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Bob Saget, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Dave Barry, Carl Reiner, and more. The book also features a charming foreword from his friend of forty-five years Billy Crystal, with whom he co-wrote and co-produced the upcoming film Here Today. Laugh Lines is a warmhearted cultural memoir of American comedy.

Larry David co-created “Seinfeld,” which debuted in 1989 and ran for nine seasons. As head writer and executive producer, the pressure of delivering a weekly show led to his abuse of anabolic steroids, which contributed to his ill-temper and shrunken testicles. In 1999, HBO aired his one-hour special, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, which spawned the series. In it, he plays an incredibly gifted, loveable writer who spreads bonhomie and good cheer to everyone fortunate enough to encounter him.
During one of “Curb’s” many long hiatuses, David created two new shows, “Girls” and “Orange is the New Black”. To better understand the motivation of his characters, he began cross-dressing and moved into the Barbizon Hotel for Women. He was evicted after his true identity was uncovered when he evacuated naked from a fire started by his roommate who forgot to unplug her curling iron. After a spiritual sabbatical in Poland, he returned to the US in 2009 to star in Woody Allen’s comedy, “Whatever Works”. The movie garnered David the prestigious Gottlieb Award for “Best Actor with No Training and No Idea What He Was Doing”. Then in 2013, he co-wrote and starred in the HBO Films’ comedy, “Clear History”, elevating him to cult hero status amongst illiterates and diabetics. In 2015, he made his Broadway debut at the Cort Theater as an actor and playwright in “Fish in the Dark”, which he penned over a three-day span while sitting on the toilet. The play broke all Broadway records for most coughing by an audience during a performance. David’s tenth season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will air in January, 2020, but what he’s most excited about is his new role of national spokesman for Omaha Steaks. He’s also pursuing his real estate license and can be contacted through the Inland Empire branch of Century 21. (by Larry David)