Contact: Name: Virginia Anagnos, Goodman Media for Thirteen/WNET Phone: 212-576-2700 ext. 222 E-Mail: virginia@goodmanmedia.com Name: Lisa Batchelder Phone: 212.560.2074 E-Mail: batcheld@wnet.org Copy the release to the right. Paste it into a new document (Microsoft Word) in order to Save it locally. Keyword(s): MAKE 'EM LAUGH TCA Press Tour Biographies MAKE 'EM LAUGH: THE FUNNY BUSINESS OF AMERICA AMY SEDARIS Narrator This 5'0" Grecian spitfire hails from North Carolina and studied and performed with Chicago's Second City. She was a regular on Exit 57 and Strangers with Candy (both Comedy Central) and has had recurring roles on Just Shoot Me, Sex & the City, Monk, and most recently, Cracking Up. Her film projects include Gym Teacher, Snowflake, Tanner Hall, Dedication, Shrek 3, SemiPro, Snow Angels, Bewitched, Strangers With Candy - The Movie, Chicken Little, Full Grown Men, Romance & Cigarettes directed by John Turturro, Maid in Manhattan, School of Rock and Elf. Her New York theater credits include Wonder of the World (Lucille Lortel Award Nomination), The Country Club (Drama Dept), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Talent Family Plays (written by David and Amy Sedaris): Jamboree, Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe (Obie Award), The Little Frieda Mysteries (Encore Award), Incident at Cobble Knob (Lincoln Center), and most recently The Book of Liz (Drama Dept). Regional credits include The Country Club (Long Wharf). October 2006 saw the publication of Amy's best-selling book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. Amy works to support her cupcake and cheeseball business. MICHAEL KANTOR Director, Producer, Writer Michael Kantor has established himself as one of the leading documentary filmmakers in the country whose work brings America's arts to television. His landmark and Emmy award-winning six-part series, Broadway: The American Musical, was hosted by Julie Andrews and seen by over 15 million viewers on PBS in its initial airing. The Wall Street Journal called Broadway "a vivid history of America itself in the last century" and People Magazine cited it as one of the "Top Ten TV Triumphs of 2004." Kantor's other recent films include Quincy Jones: In the Pocket, which aired as part of Thirteen's award-winning PBS series American Masters in 2005, and segments on Arthur Miller and David Mamet for Egg: The Arts Show. Kantor's other credits include Cornerstone: An Interstate Adventure (which he co-directed with Stephen Ives) for HBO, producing The West (executive producer Ken Burns) for PBS, and projects as varied as Lindbergh, Coney Island, The Donner Party, Margaret Sanger, Out of the Past, The Impressionists, and Ric Burns' New York series. Kantor also teamed with Julie Andrews to create DVD extra material to accompany the 40th anniversary release of The Sound of Music, including a reminiscence with Christopher Plummer, and a tour of the shooting locations in Salzburg, Austria. Kantor is President of Ghost Light Films, as well as Almo, Inc., which distributes plays on film such as A Delicate Balance starring Katharine Hepburn and Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh with Lee Marvin. He holds a B.A. in Theater Studies from Cornell University, and a M.F.A. in directing from the University of California, San Diego. DAVID HORN Executive Producer David Horn is responsible for the development, production and programming of Thirteen's national performing arts presentations on PBS. He has been with the Emmy award-winning series GREAT PERFORMANCES for 29 years, serving as Series Producer for Music since 1986. In 1992, Mr. Horn created IN THE SPOTLIGHT, a series of prime-time popular music specials, and was Executive Producer of SESSIONS AT WEST 54TH. For both series he received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award which recognizes excellence in music broadcast programming. Mr. Horn has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy over 20 times and was most recently honored with the award as executive producer for the six-part documentary series Broadway: The American Musical in 2005. He is serving the same role for the mini-series Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, premiering in January 2009. Mr. Horn is also a multi-camera event director with credits including Chess in Concert; David Foster & Friends; Martina McBride: Live in Concert; Vivere: Andrea Bocelli Live in Tuscany; We Love Ella!: A Tribute to the First Lady of Song; South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall; Michael BublŽ: Caught in the Act; Josh Groban Live at the Greek; The Verdi Requiem; Hayley Westenra: Live from New Zealand; Copland's America; The Rodgers & Hart Story; The Music of Kander & Ebb; Billy Joel: Shades of Grey; Vienna Philharmonic 9/11 Memorial Concert; and the live telecast of American Dream: Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert. Mr. Horn has produced multiple classical music concerts from Carnegie Hall as well as internationally in cities including Vienna, Salzburg, Rome, and Paris. In 2000, he collaborated with Paul Kellogg to commission three contemporary operas under the title Central Park. He has also produced numerous regional operas, many of them world premieres, from San Francisco, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, where he won an Emmy for John Adams' Nixon in China. Other producing credit highlights from previous seasons include Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival (Emmy Award); La Traviata from Paris (Emmy Award); Peter, Paul, & Mary: Lifelines; Andrea Bocelli: Sacred Arias; Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing; Julie Andrews: Back on Broadway; Pavarotti: My World; Natalie Cole: Unforgettable, With Love (Emmy Award); The Gershwins' Crazy for You; Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II; Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall; Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters; Spike & Co.: Do It A Cappella; Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis; Black and Blue (directed by Robert Altman); Swinging Out With Harry Connick, Jr.; Linda Ronstadt's Canciones de mi Padre (Emmy award); James Levine: A Life in Music and many others. From 1981 to 1983 Mr. Horn produced the series IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE.