“I did a few days on Franco’s As I Lay Dying, and the vibe on the set was very heavy and serious. The only thing I can equate it to is tripping with a bunch of your friends.”

The bumpy rise of Saturday Night Live’s first star.

On Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, the duo behind Broad City.

On the comedian’s relationship with his son and how it changed the course of The Cosby Show.

A profile of “America’s most vulnerable comedian.”

An inventive spoof on childhood mystery novels.

"Almanac's father fell face forward onto the concrete garage floor, dead, blood pooling beneath him, and ending Almanac's childhood right then and there."

“In the recent history of American music, there’s no figure parallel to Lehrer in his effortless ascent to fame, his trajectory into the heart of the culture — and then his quiet, amiable, inexplicable departure.”

The roast where Chevy Chase learned that everyone hates him.

“Does a talent for comedy necessitate a tragic life?”

A comic who had previously refused to discuss his private life opens up for the first time, riding high on the surprise success of Blazing Saddles more than thirty years into his career.

How a comedy writer making $300,000 a year ended up homeless.

A profile of the comedian.

An interview with Murphy at the apex of his power, just before the release of Harlem Nights.

A profile of the writer behind “Deep Thoughts” on Saturday Night Live.

The thin, resentful line between comic and audience.

On film comedy’s silent beginnings.

In 1980, Richard Pryor doused himself in rum, lit himself, and streaked though the streets or Northridge in a ball of flames. He would go on to live another 25 years.

Their partnership lasted a mere four years, but transformed comedy forever. Mike Nichols and Elaine may give their first joint interview since breaking up 51 years ago.

“I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information. As soon as you stop practicing, the pathway begins shrinking back down. Reading that changed my life. I used to wonder, Why am I doing these sets, getting on a stage? Don’t I know how to do this already? The answer is no. You must keep doing it. The broadband starts to narrow the moment you stop.”

A profile of Mindy Kaling.

Creators, gatekeepers, and the future of the comedy business.

A transcript of Oswalt’s keynote at last week’s Just For Laughs conference.

An interview with Marc Maron.

Remembering Patrice O’Neal.

BARR: What makes you laugh? BERNHARD: Well, it's really a myriad of things, but usually it's something that's very organic. It's something that happens on the street. BARR: Like fat people falling down? BERNHARD: No, no . . . [laughs] BARR: That really cracks me up. It's terrible.

An oral history of Saturday Night Live.

Part of our guide to SNL for Slate.