Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion, which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
A Prairie Home Companion is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed Live from Here and ran until 2020. A Prairie Home Companion aired on Saturdays from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota; it was also frequently heard on tours to New York City and other U.S. cities. The show is known for its musical guests, especially folk and traditional musicians, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Keillor's wry storytelling segment, "News from Lake Wobegon," was the show's best-known feature during his long tenure.
Paula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary during the 1992 presidential election on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She is the host of the podcast Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, which is the successor to the National Public Radio program Live from the Poundstone Institute. She is a frequent panelist on NPR's weekly news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, and was a recurring guest on the network's A Prairie Home Companion variety program during Garrison Keillor's years as host.
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series 24 and Gail the Snail in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Rajskub was a regular cast member on HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David, appeared in The Larry Sanders Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Veronica's Closet, and such films as Dude, Where's My Car?, Firewall, Sweet Home Alabama, Punch-Drunk Love, Mysterious Skin, Little Miss Sunshine, Sunshine Cleaning, Safety Not Guaranteed, and The Kings of Summer, among others.
Sue Scott is an American actress and character voice actor (AFTRA/SAG/AEA) in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. She is best known for her work as a radio comedy actor on Garrison Keillor's public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, and for her work as a voice-over talent in radio and television commercials. She has also appeared in films and television.
Frederick R. Newman is an American actor, comedian, composer, sound effects artist both in person and for film, singer and former talk show host. Newman is known for his ability to make ‘mouthsounds’ and is not a traditional Foley artist.
A Prairie Home Companion is a 2006 American musical comedy film directed by Robert Altman in his final film. It is a fictional representation of behind-the-scenes activities at the long-running public radio show of the same name. The film received mostly positive reviews and was a moderate box-office success on a small budget. The film features an ensemble cast including Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, and Lily Tomlin.
Sara Ullrika Watkins is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass group she formed with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. In addition to singing and fiddling, Watkins also plays the ukulele and the guitar, and also played percussion while touring with the Decemberists. In 2012, she and her brother played with Jackson Browne during his "I'll Do Anything" acoustic tour.
Natasha Leggero is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She rose to fame after appearing as the host of the MTV reality television series The 70s House in 2005, and as a regular roundtable panelist on Chelsea Handler's late-night talk show Chelsea Lately from 2008 to 2014.
Janet Varney is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is known for voicing the character of Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra, co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television series Stan Against Evil, and a recurring role as Becca Barbara in You're the Worst.
Thomas Papa Jr. is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He hosts the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show Come to Papa and, in July 2019, he and Fortune Feimster started hosting the Sirius XM show What a Joke with Papa and Fortune. Papa hosted the show Baked on the Food Network and was the head writer and a performer on the radio variety show Live from Here, hosted by Chris Thile, where he delivered the "Out In America" segment.
Ivy Austin is an American actress and singer known for her performances on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and her Sesame Street voices. She also starred on Broadway as Raggedy Ann.
Mikelle Budge, known professionally as Mary Mack, is an American comedian, musician, and writer. Mack currently stars as Jessica Wearsprada "Jesse" Opposites in the animated sitcom Solar Opposites, which debuted May 8, 2020 on Hulu/Disney+. She has released seven albums of her stand-up.
Nikki Glaser is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, radio host, and television host. She hosted the television series Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, which premiered on Comedy Central and Much on February 9, 2016. She is the star of the 2022 reality show Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? on E!. She hosted the Reality TV dating shows Blind Date (2019) on Bravo and FBoy Island (2021–) on HBO Max & The CW and its spinoff Lovers and Liars on The CW. She was announced as the host of the 2025 Golden Globes on August 28, 2024.
Kelly Marie Carlin is an American radio host, actress, screenwriter, and producer.
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus is an American actress and comedian, known for portraying Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing (2017–2019). She has also appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea? (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2012), Clipped (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2018–2019), and Good Girls (2020–2021) and in the films Jurassic World (2015), The Unicorn (2018), and The Wrong Missy (2020). She played the voice role of Lotta in the animated comedy series Harvey Girls Forever! (2018–2020).
Alia Janine is an American comedian and former pornographic film actress.
Kristin Rudrüd is an American film, theater, and television actress.
Live from Here, formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile, is an American variety radio show known for its musical guests, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Hosted by Chris Thile, it aired live on Saturday evenings from 2016 to 2020. The show's initial home was the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, moving later to The Town Hall in New York City, where it remained until its cancellation the next year.
Melinda Hill is an American comedian and actress best known for her stand-up comedy and appearances in Lady Dynamite, Adventure Time, The Late Late Show, The Bonnie Hunt Show, Comics Unleashed, Who Wants to Date a Comedian?, and as the host of Comedy.TV.
