ENTERTAINMENT

York City and Los Angeles, Catch A
Rising Star, The Comedy Store,
Dangerfield's and Caroline's. And she
has performed opening acts for friend
and mentor Jay Leno, Harry Ander-
son, Peter Allen and The Beach Boys.
She is Jewish, but says she is not
too traditional. Still, she left her tour
in Detroit for a few hours to fly to New
York for a nephew's brit.
Leifer is a regular on "Late Night
With David Letterman" and is writer
and star of her own Cinemax 30-min-
ute comedy special, "Carol Doesn't
Leifer Anymore."
Off stage, she likes to watch TV
and work crossword puzzles. She

"I'm making a living
and I'm on television
pretty regularly. We'll see
where that fits into the
picture."

Carol Leifer has performed at the country's top comedy clubs.

Carol Doesn't
`Leifer' Anymore

Everyone and everything is fair
game to comedienne Carol Leifer

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

0 n stage, Carol Leifer
loves to talk about her
ill-fated marriage.
"I had a mixed mar-
riage," she told an au-
dience recently during a show at
Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle and
Northwood Inn in Berkley. "I'm
human and he was a Klingon."
She continued with a string of
one-liners about day-to-day life which
ranged in subject matter from travel-
ing tips and shopping trips to sex in
the 1980s.

Leifer paused, looked carefully at
a woman in the audience and asked
her if she was a New Yorker. The
woman, looking a bit confused, said
no and asked why.
"Oh, you have your purse in your
lap;' Leifer said.
She kept the audience laughing
for well over an hour with her quick
wit and singing imitations. It's a show
she has taken on the road from coast
to coast — combined with materials
collected from 10 years on the comedy
circuit.
At 31, Leifer has performed at the
country's most well known comedy
clubs, including The Improv in New

works nights and enjoys going to the
movies in the day.
"I don't do much;' she says. "I
work nights, am on the road a lot and
like to relax in the day."
Leifer is an accomplished comedy
writer, who for a year wrote scripts for
"Saturday Night Live."
Sounds almost too easy. Not so,
she admits.
Success didn't come overnight for
Leifer, who always wanted to become
an actress and graduated college with
a bachelor's degree in theater.
In fact; her success was rather
gradual. As a student at the State
University in New York in 1977, she
headed to Manhattan with friend and
fellow comedian Paul Reiser for her
comedy debut. She then transferred
to Queens College to complete her
education and at the same time, re-
main close to the club scene.
She landed her first full-time club
job as a waitress in Manhattan's Com-
ic Strip after college graduation. It
was hard to get regular performing
work, and the pay wasn't so great. But
waitressing wasn't her niche. Leifer
lasted one month before taking a day
job as a secretary for a private
investigator.
The next two years brought more
comedy work and better pay. And
eventually, she pooled all efforts into
the entertainment scene.
In 1980, Leifer got her first big
break. She placed fourth in
Showtime's "New York Laff-Off,"
ahead of Eddie Murphy, who placed
fifth. That earned her a spot on the
syndicated television show An Even-
ing at The Improv. She then moved to
Los Angeles, where she appeared on
the HBO "Eighth Annual Young
Comedians Special" and "The Mery
Griffin Show."
Leifer moved home to New York
when producer Lorne Michaels of-
fered her a writer's spot on then an

GOING PLACES

WEEK OF
MAY 27-JUNE 2

SPECIAL EVENTS

ART AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
Southfield-Lathrup High School,
19301 W. 12 Mile, Lathrup
Village, Wednesday, admission.
423-8643 or 423-8601.

COMEDY

COMEDY CASTLE
2593 Woodward, Berkley, Robert
Wuhl today and Saturday, Bob
Saget, Tuesday and June 4,
admission. 542-9900.
COMEDY CASTLE AT
PUZZLES
29900 Van Dyke, Warren, Harry
Basil, today and Saturday, Alan
Havey, Tuesday and June 4,
admission.

THEATER

BIRMINGHAM THEATER
211 S. Woodward, Birmingham,
"Girl Crazy?' now through June
19, admission, 644-3533.
SHAW FESTIVAL
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario,
"You Never Can Th11," and
"Dangerous Corner," now
through Oct. 15, "Hit the Deck;'
now through Oct. 16, "War and
Peace," now through July 31,
"Peter Pan;' now through Oct.
16, admission. 416-468-2172.
AVON PLAYERS
Avon Playhouse, 1185
Washington, Rochester Hills,
"Guys and Dolls;' today and
Saturday, admission. 656-1130.
MICHIGAN OPERA
THEATER
Masonic rIbmple Auditorium, "La
Boheme," Saturday, Wednesday
and June 4, admission.
874-SING.
VILLAGE PLAYERS
Hunter and Chestnut,
Birmingham, "The Girls in 509,"
today and Saturday, 644-2075.
BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY
HOUSE
380 S. Bates, Birmingham,
dinner and trip to opera, "La
Boheme," Wednesday, admission.
644-5832.

MUSIC

DETROIT SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
Ford Auditorium, Detroit, New
Christy Minstrels, Friday
through Sunday, admission.
567-1400.
BRUNCH WITH BACH

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS _5