Laraine Newman was a founding member of the pioneering comedy improvisational group The Groundlings in Los Angeles. In 1974, Lorne Michaels saw her perform with the group and hired her for a Lily Tomlin TV special. One year later Michaels tapped her for his new late night comedy show and she became part of the legendary original cast of "Saturday Night Live." Newman will be in Pensacola for Pensacon 2023.
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Bob Barrett: I was so happy last week when I turned on my TV Thursday night, and there you were on "Ghosts."
Laraine Newman:
Yes. Oh, my gosh, was that fun.
Barrett:
You're not doing all that much work in front of the camera anymore. How did that come about?
Newman:
Well, you know, I kind of developed a bit of a phobia about the camera, and auditioning was just like hellish for me. And even when I got the job, I would just kind of clam up when they yelled 'Action.' And at the same time, well, 30 years ago now, I started getting into voiceover, and that just was it for me. It was like, this is the perfect job for my skill set and I just love it.
Barrett:
Taking a look at your resume, you have so much voice work you've done over the years. It's incredible.
Newman:
Yeah, it's just great. It's the best job in the world.
Barrett:
A couple of questions I have about that, too. What is the difference between doing a voice for just a regular animated short or movie, and doing a voice for something like video games?
Newman:
Well, video games, first of all, it's just usually one session or two at the most. And where they may book you for a regular cartoon for four hours, they'll use you for maximum two. For a game, they use you all four hours. And you get a script that's, like, two inches thick, and it's like: scream like you're stabbed. Scream like you're burned. Scream like a shot. Scream like you're mad that you're shot. It's a lot of screaming and a lot of different variations of a situation.
Barrett:
And I saw on a few of your programs, you were just listed as doing additional voices. What does that entail?
Newman:
Well, that's usually when they have some extra characters that they need a voice for, and they do it at the very end. So you're in a kind of 'abbreviated loop group,' is what they're called. And it's post production sound. Usually it's a group of twelve, but when I do it, it's like a group of four, or just maybe me, one person. I don't even know at the time how I'll be billed. I worked on 'Secret Life of Pets 3,' I think, and I did a bunch of characters, but I don't know what will end up being in the actual show and whether, even though the character has lines, it might not necessarily have a name.
Barrett:
Well, I suppose we have to talk about this little show you did back in the 70s. Was there any thought that that show 'Saturday Night Live' was going to become what it was, what it turned out to be?
Newman:
Oh, my god, no! Absolutely not. When Lorne Michaels told me about the show, when he wanted to hire me, he said it'll only be for 13 weeks with a five year option. And I remember thinking, like that will ever happen. And almost 50 years later, here we are.
Barrett:
The odd thing was, at the time, there was already a show called 'Saturday Night Live' with Howard Cosell.
Newman:
That's right. So we were just 'NBC Saturday Night,' and when Howard Cosell’s show went off the air, then we were able to call ourselves 'Saturday Night Live.'
Barrett:
How satisfying is it to get the instant feedback of a live audience from something you've been rehearsing for the better part of a week?
Newman:
Oh, there's nothing like it. It's essentially stage work, and I still do stage performances. And there's nothing like a live audience, that instant laugh that you can hear, because when you do movies and TV, you have no idea if your stuff is landing unless production tells you, which they do. And that's very encouraging. But, yeah, there's nothing like a live audience.
Barrett:
During the week before the show, how much input did you and the rest of the cast have with the writing? With the writers?
Newman:
Now, the system is pretty much a well-oiled machine. But in the first five years the only actor who really wrote for himself was Dan Aykroyd. He was very prolific. And then, Gilda collaborated with Alan Zweibel and would add stuff. And if I had a character that I brought from the Groundlings, for instance, or an idea, then I would contribute to something that might have already been created, like in'The Godfather' group therapysketch. The introduction of that Valley Girl character that was a character and the monologue was all brought from the Groundlings, and it was just kind of injected into the scene.
Barrett:
After the fifth season, was there any doubt that anybody would stay after that?
Newman:
No. We kind of did what they would now call a group conscience. And none of us wanted to stay without Lorne.
Barrett:
But Lorne did eventually come back. Have you been back on the show since you left?
Newman:
Just for the 40th anniversary.
Barrett:
And are you still involved at all with The Groundlings?
Newman:
Yeah sometimes they'll do benefit shows, or sometime I do a show called 'Celebrity Autobiography.' And The Groundlings let us use that theater for it. I wrote a show a couple of years ago that they let me mount there, and I see a lot of their shows. I feel like the grandma. The grandma Groundling.
Barrett:
All of us who watch that show like to think, oh, all these guys still hang out with each other all the time. When was the last time you saw any of the original cast of SNL?
Newman:
Well, I see Garrett every once in a while, and I see Bill Murray every once in a while, but I mostly see Alan Zweibel who was a writer, and Al Franken. I saw Al last Friday, but I really mainly see a lot of Alan Zweibel.
Barrett:
I have this one question written here. Did you really think that Al Franken would become a senator?
Newman:
It never occurred to me, but once I knew it was happening, I thought he would be a great senator, and he was. And he was one of those few politicians who was really sincere about wanting to help people.
Barrett:
I always try to take a look at something on your Wikipedia page that seems a little weird, and I'm going to ask you if this is true. Did you study mime with Marcel Marceau?
Newman:
Yes, I did. Yeah. It's something that I get teased about all the time. But I got to tell you, when I was 16, I saw him at Royce Hall at UCLA, and I was absolutely fascinated by this art form where you would get laughs without words with just your body. And so he recommended a teacher in Los Angeles who I studied with, and that's when I first was taught improv as well. And then when I graduated high school, I went and studied with him.
Barrett:
Is there one project that nobody ever asks you about that you want to say, 'Look, I did this too'?
Newman:
Ummm, I wish you'd given me time to think about that answer. I did do an episode of 'Los Espookys' which was written by Julio Torres, who was an SNL writer. It was done with Fred Armisen, and we shot it in Chile. It had two seasons, and my oldest child was on it as well. That was a great experience. And I don't think anybody saw it, though.
Barrett:
Well, you're going to be coming to town for Pensacon, when you go and meet the fans, what do they want from you?
Newman:
They usually just want an autograph and a photo. And a lot of the animation that I do, I have photos of a lot of those shows. I have a Conehead picture and I have a Blues Brothers picture with me and a Blues Brothers t-shirt. I think I have a Valley Girl picture. But a lot of it is just the animation stuff I've done. And every once in a while, they will ask specific questions about SNL, but a lot of them will ask about 'Problem Child 2,' or the cartoon shows that I do or the Woody Allen movie I did. It's just all different kinds of people, and it's so fun to get a sense of what people are excited by.
Laraine Newman will be a celebrity guest at Pensacon 2023, February 24-26 in downtown Pensacola.
