Comedy Legends: Buck Henry, Harold Ramis, Judd Apatow, and Larry Wilmore

This week on On Story we pay tribute to legendary comedy writer Buck Henry, who co-created the series Get Smart with Mel Brooks and was twice nominated for an Academy Award®- first in 1968 for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Graduate and again in 1979 for Best Director for the film Heaven Can Wait. In this episode we’re featuring a panel recorded in 2005 featuring comedy luminaries Buck Henry, Judd Apatow and Harold Ramis. And later we’ll hear from Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore

Legendary writer – actor – director Buck Henry passed away at the age of 89. A frequent Austin Film Festival panelist and the recipient of AFF’s 1997 Distinguished Screenwriter Award, Buck was unparalleled in his humor and generosity giving back to the writing community. On Today’s episode we’re featuring a conversation on comedy writing with Henry, Judd Apatow, and Harold Ramis that was recorded at the 2005 Austin Film Festival. 

 

Buck Henry got his start in television in the early 1960’s. Buck Henry co-created the series Get Smart with Mel Brooks and was twice nominated for an Academy Award®- first in 1968 for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Graduate and again in 1979 for Best Director for the film Heaven Can Wait.

Producer, director, actor, comedian and screenwriter Judd Apatow is best known for the television shows Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and Girls. His extensive filmography includes the hit movies, Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bridesmaids and the 2015 film Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer, Tilda Swinton and Bill Hader. 

 

The late Harold Ramis wrote, directed and starred in some of the most beloved comedies of the past forty years including Caddyshack, Animal House, Ghostbusters, High Fidelity and Groundhog Day. He got his start as a joke editor for Playboy Magazine and went on to become a performer and head writer on the sketch comedy series SCTV.

Producer Barry Josephson spoke with these comedy luminaries at the 12th Austin Film Festival

Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He started his career as an actor and stand-up comedian before writing and producing on the early nineties classic television shows In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Jamie Foxx Show. He co-created The PJ’s with Eddie Murphy, The Bernie Mac Show with Bernie Mac, and was a consulting producer and guest star on the American version of The Office. This segment was recorded at the 14th annual Austin Film Festival and at a special event at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, TX in 2013. We begin with comedian and satirist Larry Wilmore discussing his comedic roots.