Carol Leifer Sees Progression of Women in Comedy

The state of women in comedy has markedly improved in the last three decades, but we still have a long way to go. That's the impression one gets talking to comedy writer-performer Carol Leifer, whose career spans three decades and more — with credits including "Seinfeld," "Saturday Night Live," "Modern Family" and her current gig, Lifetime's "Devious Maids."

In her entertaining and enlightening new book, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying," Leifer recalls comedy club managers placing her on a night's bill as if a female stand-up was a novelty act. She's seen in many photographs in the tome as the sole female surrounded by guy comics the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Jay Leno, Paul Reiser, David Letterman and Garry Shandling.

"I got used to that many years ago," she tells us with a laugh.

Nowadays, she works with other women. "On 'Devious Maids' we're split down the middle, 50-50, half women and half men," she says of the primetime serial from "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry. "I can tell you, that doesn't happen on most writing staffs. It's really nice."

The comedy trailblazer points out that one thing women don't have — and should — is an "old girls network." "I think as we infiltrate the comedy world, there will be more women out there and there will be more opportunities to create an 'old girls' network, because that's how those things kind of develop. When there are enough women in a particular line of business, the competition decreases and women are looking out for each other more."

Certainly, the positive, no-excuses approach she details in her book has worked for her. "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying" would make a very good graduation gift. It's loaded with great tips for getting a job, dealing with bosses, handling disappointments, avoiding career traps and more — utilizing case histories from Leifer's own professional life. For example, hired by "SNL" writers Al Franken and Tom Davis, Leifer made the mistake of never developing her relationship with the big boss, Lorne Michaels, and she talks about how that cost her. She reveals how she went from having a glass of wine to loosen up before a show to needing more than a glass before she felt she could get onstage — until she hit the proverbial wall one night when she and buddy Paul Reiser were out at a college gig.

"I never talked about that, or wrote about it before," she reveals. Writing about the incident "caused me to call Paul Reiser and say, 'Do you remember that gig we did? Do you remember when I told you to go on first?' And he was like, 'I totally don't.' He didn't even remember what it was," says the energetic funny lady with a laugh.

She notes, "I learned writing my first book ('When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win'), and now this one, too, once you write about an experience, you kind of understand it a little more clearly than before you did before you wrote it. You understand more deeply than you did before what the experiences meant to you. And you see the lessons that you've learned."

There are many takeaways for those in midcareer, too. "There are peaks and valleys in anyone's career journey," she points out. "It really shows the true test of someone — how you handle the valleys."

Leifer feels "what's nice about my career is, I'm not a household name, per se, but I've worked for so long and so steadily that that's what makes me proudest. I'm entering my 38th year in show business. It's like a little crazy, but I'm so happy the ride continues."