Tracy Newman (the Groundlings, "Cheers", "Ellen")

<p>Tracy Newman joins me to discuss the first time she picked up a guitar; folk music; her favorite childhood movie "Hans Christan Anderson"; Danny Kaye; George Carlin; Jeff Altman; going to college; going to New York; The Limelighters; Italy; performing at the Bitter End; performing at the Improv; becoming a teacher at the Groundlings; Rodney Dangerfield; dating Rodney Dangerfield;&nbsp;The Groundlings being the feeding ground for <em>SNL</em>; Heidi Gardner; being a founding member; teaching improv; Phil Hartman; non-show business Groundlings; teaching Tress MacNeille, Paul Reubens, and Conan O'Brien; thinking Conan was too raw for <em>Late Night</em> when he got it; <em>Promise of Love</em> TV movie; Valerie Bertinelli &amp; Eddie Van Halen; making an experimental short "True Bliss" with then husband James E. Dean; teaming up with Jonathan Stark; film looping; studying sitcoms to write a spec script; &nbsp;getting hired on <em>Cheers </em>for season 11; her episodes, including, Rebecca's Lover - Not! with Harvey Fierstein; people not knowing Ellen was gay; daytime TV; writing "The Puppy Episode" where Ellen comes out; writing an <em>Ellen</em> for Mary Tyler Moore; winning an Emmy, a Peabody, and a PETA Award;&nbsp;appearing on <em>The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson</em>; beating Peter Mehlman for an Emmy but not a Writer's Guild Award; paying for her Peabody; Hollywood Walk of Fame; meeting famous people in LA; Lowell Ganz; being asked to show-run <em>Hiller &amp; Diller</em> by him and Babaloo Mandel; writing various pilots; <em>Bob</em>'s bad timeslot but great cast; creating <em>According to Jim</em> and <em>Soul Man</em>; hiring Jim Belushi, her song "Carpool'</p> <p>A performance of Carpool follows the interview.</p> <p>To buy Tracy Newman's albums visit <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Just-See-Tracy-Newman-Reinforcements/dp/B009FB3VW4/ref=sr_1_11?crid=2I3O48EB3DQFF&amp;keywords=tracy+newman&amp;qid=1664589606&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjYyIiwicXNhIjoiMy4wOCIsInFzcCI6IjMuMDkifQ%3D%3D&amp;sprefix=tracy+newm