Laraine Newman

Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Newman was part of the original cast of NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from its inception in 1975 until her departure in 1980.

Newman took an interest in improv at Beverly Hills High School. After graduating in 1970, she studied mime with Marcel Marceau for a year in Paris. She then moved to Los Angeles and became a founding member of comedy improvisational group The Groundlings. She was first hired by Lorne Michaels for a Lily Tomlin TV special in 1974. The next year Newman became one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, working there from 1975 to 1980 and creating characters Connie Conehead, proto-Valley girl Sherry, and Christie Christina. In 2017, she and the rest of the original cast members of SNL were among the honorees of the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

She appeared in Stardust Memories, Problem Child 2, Coneheads, and The Flintstones. She is also a voice actor in both TV and movies, including Pixar films Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Up, and Inside Out. In 2021 her memoir May You Live in Interesting Times was released on Audible.

She is the younger sister of writer and musician Tracy Newman, and the mother of actress and comedian Hannah Einbinder and actor Spike Einbinder.

Early life and career

Newman was born on March 2, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, the granddaughter of a cattle rancher from Arizona. Her family is Jewish. She is the youngest of four children and has a twin brother Paul. Her sister, Tracy Newman, is an Emmy Award–winning television writer. Newman attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California, and graduated from there in 1970. Newman took her first improvisational theatre classes when she was 15. After finishing high school she auditioned for four acting schools in England including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and Bristol Old Vic. She was not accepted to any of them, so she went to Paris to study mime with Marcel Marceau for a year.

By the age of 19, Newman returned to the United States, and moved back to Los Angeles, where she did a brief stint at a secretarial school. Committed to continue performing, she was a founding member of the pioneering comedy improvisational group The Groundlings. At the same time, Newman was working for a booking agent who worked with rock bands, typing up contracts.

Newman cites Eve Arden, Madeline Kahn and Richard Pryor as her first major influences, saying "They led me into my life of comedy, they led me into understanding 'The Art of Play'."

During her five years on SNL she became a close friend of co-star Gilda Radner, although there was also a degree of rivalry between them. The instant success of SNL propelled her to stardom very quickly. Newman recalled being stopped in the street in New York City by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who introduced themselves to her.

Newman admits that she was "never a good improviser," but when in character, whether as an angry Jewish poet, a flight attendant, an eccentric chef, or a British groupie, she was "free". Commenting on her early experiences during Saturday Night Live she said: "When I first performed (my characters) and the audience responded, I felt like crying, I mean the idea that what I saw—what other people saw—(meant) I wasn't so alone in my perspective. I hope this doesn't sound too overblown, but it really did feel like a Communion."

However, by her own account, Newman was unhappy for much of her time with the show. She disliked living in New York, and during her years on SNL, Newman had developed serious eating disorders, as well as a heroin addiction. She spent so much time in her dressing room playing solitaire that for Christmas 1979, castmate Radner gave her a deck of playing cards with a picture of Newman on the face of each card.

Newman was photographed as a vampire by Francesco Scavullo for the July 1978 issue of High Times. The accompanying interview introduced Newman as the "Skinny spaced-out sex symbol of Saturday Night Live."

Recurring characters

Newman is best known for her roles as Connie Conehead, proto-Valley girl Sherry, and Christie Christina, the ditzy co-host of E. Buzz Miller (Dan Aykroyd)'s public-access television cable TV show. Using her own name, Newman also played a TV news reporter for Weekend Update when the segment was hosted by Chevy Chase (1975–1976) and Jane Curtin (1976–1980). Newman generally decided not to repeat her characters, and so has far fewer signature characters than some of her fellow cast members.

Newman states when asked about her favorite Saturday Night Live character: "My favorite character ... which, I think, only pleased me and no one else, was Lina Wertmüller (based on the actual Lina Wertmüller)."

Later life and career

Newman's post-SNL film career has been in both leading and supporting roles, as well as a voice artist in television and features.

In her memoirs, Newman recounted dating Dan Aykroyd, Warren Zevon, Peter Cook, Phil Hartman, and P.J. O'Rourke. She was also in a relationship with Mark Mothersbaugh of the new wave band Devo years after the band did a guest spot in the fourth season of SNL. Newman and Mothersbaugh were together for a couple of years, during which time Newman played Donut Rooter in the band's We're All Devo VHS release (1984). In her memoirs, Newman claimed she was celibate for four years after the end of her relationship with Mothersbaugh.

1970s

Prior to leaving SNL, Newman appeared in American Hot Wax (1978) and did a cameo in Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979).

1980s

Newman continued to appear in film and television productions during the 1980s. Among these were Wholly Moses, Voltar The Invincible, Perfect, and Invaders from Mars. She also had a small role in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980). In 1986 she starred in the syndicated B-movie comedy series, The Canned Film Festival, playing the lead role as Laraine the usherette. Additionally, she made appearances on Laverne & Shirley, E.T. and Friends (1983) (in which she reprised her role as Connie Conehead), Steve Martin's Best Show Ever (1981), St. Elsewhere, and Amazing Stories. Newman auditioned for the role of Masha in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1983); the role was played in the film by Sandra Bernhard. By her own admission, Newman's career during this period languished as she struggled with depression and chemical dependency issues. She became sober in 1987, after 21 years of drug use.

Newman celebrated her 36th birthday in March 1988 with a party in Los Angeles, which was the last time Gilda Radner was with her original SNL co-stars. According to Bill Murray, when he heard Radner was about to leave the party, he and Dan Aykroyd carried her around the Los Angeles house where the party was held so that she could say goodbye to everyone. Radner died on May 20, 1989.

1990s

Newman played the antagonist in Problem Child 2 (1991) and also appeared in 1993's Coneheads (in which Michelle Burke played Connie Conehead, the character Newman originated on SNL, while Newman appeared in a minor role as Connie's aunt Laarta). She appeared in episodes of Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, 7th Heaven, and in the 1994 film The Flintstones. She also started to focus on voice acting, on The Tick, Histeria!, CatDog, and Rugrats (in "All Growed Up", an episode which would form the basis of the spinoff All Grown Up!, for which she also provided voice work).

2000s

In the 2000s, Newman lent her voice to animated movie and TV characters in Danny Phantom, As Told By Ginger, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Metalocalypse and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. She provided voice work for WALL-E, Battle for Terra, Ponyo, Jungle Junction, Cars, Up!, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Barnyard, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Happily N'Ever After, and Horton Hears a Who!.

Newman also appeared in episodes of Entourage, Brothers & Sisters, According to Jim, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

2010s

Newman provided her voice in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and Wreck-It Ralph, and made guest voice appearances in SpongeBob SquarePants (as Plankton's grandmother), Doc McStuffins, and Harvey Street Kids. She voiced Queen Jipjorrulac, the mother of Mark Chang, in The Fairly OddParents, and the Wicked Witch of the West in Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz, an animated direct-to-DVD film set during the events of the original 1939 film.

On July 9, 2014, she appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor podcast.

In 2017, the original cast of Saturday Night Live (including Newman) was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

2020s

In 2025, she made a guest appearance during the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special in which she reminiscences about her memories in Studio 8H and tries to share them with a stagehand named Chad (Pete Davidson).

Writing

Newman also works as a writer and editor. She is a contributing editor for the online magazine One For The Table, and she is an occasional contributor to the Huffington Post. She has contributed articles for the Los Angeles Times, The Believer, and McSweeney's. She wrote the foreword to the book version of the UCB Production Worst Laid Plans. In March 2021, she published her audio memoir May You Live in Interesting Times on Audible. and Hannah, who are both actors and comedians.

Filmography

Live-action

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! width=250|Title

! width=120|Role

! width=120|Notes

| 1976 || TunnelVision || Sonja ||

| 1978 || American Hot Wax || Teenage Louise ||

| 1979 || Mr. Mike's Mondo Video || Herself || Cameo appearance

|rowspan="2"| 1980 || Stardust Memories || Film Executive || Uncredited

| Wholly Moses! || Zoey, Zerelda ||

| 1983 || We're All Devo ||Donut Rooter

| Video

| 1985 || Perfect || Linda Slater ||

| 1986 || Invaders from Mars || Ellen Gardner ||

| 1991 || Problem Child 2 || Lawanda Dumore ||

|rowspan="2"| 1993 || Coneheads || Laarta ||

| Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway || Elaine ||

|rowspan="2"| 1994 || Revenge of the Red Baron || Carol Spencer ||

| The Flintstones || Susan Rock ||

| 1996 || Jingle All the Way || First Lady ||

| 1997 || Demolition University || Professor Harris || Video

|rowspan="3"| 1998 || Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas || Frog-Eyed Woman ||

| I'm Losing You || Casting Director

| Rusty: A Dog's Tale ||Bertha Bimini

| 1999 || Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure || Minnie || Video

| 2002 || The Sum of All Fears ||Russian Translator on TV

|Uncredited

| 2014 || Ready or Knot || Joanne ||

| 2016 || The Late Bloomer || Noema Willcoxen ||

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! width=50|Year

! width=180|Title

! Role

! width=240|Notes

| 1975–80 || Saturday Night Live || Herself || Cast member, 106 episodes

|rowspan="2"| 1982 || Laverne & Shirley || Sheba || 2 episodes

| St. Elsewhere || Jane Zontell || 3 episodes

| 1984 || Her Life as a Man || Barbara ||TV movie

| 1985 || George Burns Comedy Week || ||Episode: "The Honeybunnies"

|rowspan="3"| 1986 || Alfred Hitchcock Presents || Periwinkle || Episode: "The Jar"

| The Magical World of Disney || Cynthia Fisher

|Episode: "My Town"

| The Canned Film Festival || Laraine the Usherette || 13 episodes

|rowspan="2"| 1987 || Faerie Tale Theatre ||Coral

|Episode: "The Little Mermaid"

| Amazing Stories ||Miss Schroedinger

| Episode: "Miss Stardust"

| 1988 || Monsters ||Linda McGuire

| Episode: "Rouse Him Not"

| 1989 || Duet ||Madame Marissa, Judge

|Episode: "The New and Improved Linda"

| 1992 || Dream On ||Lenora Hemple

|2 episodes

| 1993 || Dudley ||Dr. Singer

|Episode: "Whose Therapy Is It, Anyway?"

|rowspan="3"| 1996 || Friends || Mrs. Buffay || Episode: "The One With the Bullies"

| Chicago Hope ||Dawn - Sutton's Ex #2

|Episode: "Ex Marks the Spot"

| 3rd Rock from the Sun ||Candace

| Episode: "World's Greatest Dick"

|rowspan="3"| 1997 || Ellen ||The Over-Supportive Parent

|Episode: "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah"

| Perversions of Science || Becky||Episode: "Panic"

| Jenny ||Joella

|Episode: "A Girl's Gotta Deck the Halls"

| 2000 || Curb Your Enthusiasm || The Director || Episode: "The Group"

| 2002–04 || 7th Heaven || Rosina Glass ||8 episodes

| 2003–04 || According to Jim ||Officer Laraine Elkin

|3 episodes

| 2006 || Brothers & Sisters || Lyla ||Episode: "Affairs of State"

| 2007 || Entourage || Jane||Episode: "Manic Monday"

| 2012 || Easy to Assemble || The Neighbor || 2 episodes

|rowspan="2"| 2013 || How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) || Deidre||Episode: "How to Help the Needy"

| The Birthday Boys || President of the Network ||Episode: "Goofy Roofers"

| 2013–16 || Comedy Bang! Bang! ||Melrose Ballrod, Mandy

|2 episodes

| 2014 || Trophy Wife || Juniper ||Episode: "The Big 5-0"

| 2016 || Hidden America with Jonah Ray ||Jacqueline Waters

|Episode: "Los Angeles: All That Glitters Is Not Gold"

| 2017 || Dice ||Darcy

|Episode: "No Bullsh*t"

| 2019 || Los Espookys ||Jacqueline Webster, Anne Hathaway

|Episode: "El sueño falso (The Fake Dream)"

| 2023 || Ghosts || Esther Lefkowitz || Episode: "Trevor's Body"

Voice roles

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! width=290|Title

! width=290|Role

! Notes

|rowspan="2"| 1985 || Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird ||Mommy Dodo||

| Voltar The Invincible || Wondra / Mrs. Lawrence || rowspan="3" | Uncredited

| 1997 || Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas || rowspan="2" | Various

| 2000 || Fantasia 2000

|rowspan="2"| 2001 || Monsters, Inc. || Mother / School Teacher ||

| Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius || Hostess ||

|rowspan="3"| 2007 || Bee Movie Game ||

| Spider-Man 3 ||

| Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer || Sheva Whitefeather, NPC (Wise Woman) ||

| 2008 || The Rise of the Argonauts ||rowspan="3"| Additional Voices ||

| 2011 || Star Wars: The Old Republic ||

| 2013 || Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ||

| 2016 || Let It Die || Mother Barb ||

|2019 || Dota 2 || Snapfire ||

|2020 || SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit || Rowspan="2"|Granny Plankton ||

|2025 || SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit 2

Web series

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! width=280|Title

! width=280|Role

! Notes

| 2011 || It's Fred || Mrs. DeWinter (voice) || Episode: "Fred Gets Adopted"

Accolades

Newman has been nominated for awards numerous times, most notably for an Emmy in 1979 as a cast member of Saturday Night Live.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Awards and nominations

! scope="col"| Year

! scope="col"| Association

! scope="col"| Category

! scope="col"| Work

! scope="col"| Result

|1979

|rowspan=1| Primetime Emmy Awards

|rowspan=1| Outstanding Writing in a Comedy – Variety or Music Series (shared with the other writers)

| Saturday Night Live

|2016

|Annie Award

|Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production (Voice of "Amber" for the episode "The First Picture Show")

| Dawn of the Croods

|2012

|rowspan=3| Behind the Voice Actors Awards

|rowspan=1| Best Vocal Ensemble in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Short (shared with the other cast)

| Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz

|rowspan=2| 2017

|rowspan=1| Best Vocal Ensemble in a New Television Series (shared with the other cast)

| Milo Murphy's Law

|rowspan=1| Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role (Voice of "Miss Janeth")

| Trollhunters

|2017

|Television Academy's Hall of Fame

|Honoree (as original cast member of Saturday Night Live)

|Saturday Night Live

References

</references>

External links

Writings at One for the Table