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Special Guests Paula Poundstone grew up in Sudbury, Mass., and began performing at open-mike nights in 1979. In 1989, her razor-sharp wit and impeccable timing earned her an American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand-Up. She's also received two ACE awards-cable television's highest honor-one for her HBO special, Cats, Cops and Stuff, and the other for her HBO limited-run talk show, The Paula Poundstone Show. Another comedy special for HBO, Paula Poundstone Goes to Harvard, debuted in February '96. During the 1992 presidential election, Poundstone provided live coverage of the party conventions and the inaguration for The Tonight Show. That same year, she became the first woman to headline the prestigious White House Correspondents Dinner. She has made numerous appearances on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The Tonight Show, as well as on PBS favorites Sesame Street and Storytime. She takes part in the annual Comic Relief benefits, and was one of the comedians featured in the recent Comic Relief book. In addition to her stand-up dates, Poundstone continues to pursue acting. She can be heard as the voice of "Judge Stone" on ABC's Saturday morning show Squigglevision, and also stars as divorced single mom "Paula Small" in UPN's animated series Home Movies, which premieres on April 26. Her portrayal of the president and sole member of the "Cybill Sheridan" fan club on Cybill won her a recurring role during the series' final season. A contributing editor for Mother Jones magazine for three years, Poundstone has also written articles for the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Buzz magazine, among others. She served as both producer and voice on an award-winning children's audio book project titled Completely Yours, which features a story about foster parenting called A Mother For Choco. Poundstone currently lives in L.A. with her foster and adopted children, nine cats, and three rabbits. Robin and Linda Williams have been frequent guests on A Prairie Home Companion since 1976. They performed on the second and third Prairie Home Companion Reunion Tours and on broadcasts from Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and the Universal Amphitheater. The Williamses have made numerous television appearances on the Nashville Network's Fire on the Mountain, Nashville Now, and Music City Tonight. The duo has also been heard on other nationwide radio programs, including the Grand Ole Opry, Mountain Stage and NPR's All Things Considered. With more than a dozen recordings and three musicals to their credit, they are considered to be among the finest songwriters in the folk-country tradition. Recent albums include Devil of a Dream and Sugar for Sugar (both on the Sugar Hill label), and Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group-Live, Sugar Hill's re-release of Strictly Country Records' Live in Holland. Robin and Linda can also be heard on Mary Chapin Carpenter's album, Stones in the Road, and on Iris DeMent's recording, My Life. As part of the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the duo recorded a live album from Carnegie Hall (produced by Chet Atkins, on Sony Records), toured across the United States and Europe, and was featured on PBS' Austin City Limits. |
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An Interview with Heather Masse
In a 2009 interview, Heather Masse tells us about her earliest influences, auditioning in a women's bathroom, and a few memorable moments from A Prairie Home Companion.
Old Sweet Songs: A Prairie Home Companion 1974-1976
Lovingly selected from the earliest archives of A Prairie Home Companion, this heirloom collection represents the music from earliest years of the now legendary show: 1974–1976. With songs and tunes from jazz pianist Butch Thompson, mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko, Dakota Dave Hull and the first house band, The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Adam Granger, Bob Douglas and Mary DuShane).
