Terry Gross

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide ("WHY-dee"). He's made his reputation making films about comedy and comediennes. His films include: "The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell" (PBS), "The Great Standups" (HBO), and the Emmy Award winning "W.C. Fields Straight Up." His latest project is the HBO documentary "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth" (on HBO). It premiered on HBO August 9th.

We hear an excerpt of an interview with Lenny Bruce's mother, Sally Marr. The interview was conducted in 1989 by radio producer Larry Josephson for his program "Modern Times." (Josephson's radio documentary "Lenny Bruce Remembered" can be ordered by calling, 1-800-528-4424, or writing Radioart, Box 2000 GPO, New York, N.Y. 10116. The cost is $30 for 2 tapes. The documentary is 4 hours long).

Actor Dan Hedaya. He's currently starring as President Nixon in the new comedy about Watergate, "Dick." His performance has been called "hilarious and sly." Though Hedaya stars in this film, he's best known for his supporting role in many other films and TV shows.

Adventure writer Randy Wayne White. He wrote the "Out There" column for "Outside" magazine for many years. He's now a monthly columnist for "Men's Health" and is the author of the new book, "The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua: True tales of adventure, travel, and fishing." (The Lyons Press).

Farmer and psychologist Michael Rosmann ("ROSE-man"). He's a fourth generation farmer who also listens to the problems of other farmers. With the price of crops and livestock going down, many farmers are struggling and often losing their farms, some of which have been in their families for generations. Rosmann lives and works in Harlan, Iowa. He helped found the Sharing Help Awareness United Network (SHAUN), a nonprofit group that finds counseling for farmers even if they can't afford it.

Journalist Paul Solotaroff is a former editor at The Village Voice. He's written a new book that follows the progress of a group in therapy in New York City. It's called, "Group: Six People In Search of a Life." (Riverhead Books)

Actor Pierce Brosnan. The actor who is the latest incarnation of James Bond has two new films: 1) "The Thomas Crown Affair" which is a remake of the original Steve McQueen film. It's also produced by Brosnan's production company, Irish Dream Time, and stars Brosnan and actress Rene Russo. 2) "The World is Not Enough" the latest 007 film, to be released in September. Brosnan is a native of Ireland. He was first noticed in the U.S. for his role on "Remington Steele."

Emily Colas' memoir, "Just Checking: Scenes from the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive." has just been published in paperback by Washington Square Press. In it, she writes about her many worries and fears about germs, and food poisoning, and her compulsion to trace the design of a star in her head, while having conversations with people. Colas eventually was treated for the disorder. This originally aired 8/4/98.

Peter M. Leschak battles forest fires in the Midwest and the West...He’s not a smoke jumper he says, he’s a grunt--hiking to remote locations, putting out fires sometimes on his hands and knees-spark by spark. His newest book is "Rogues and Toads" which is a collection of his poetry from North Star Press. He has written about his experiences fighting fires in numerous books including " Hellroaring. . He lives in Sidelake, Minnesota. This originally aired 3/9/95.

Terry Gross's interview with French screenwriter and director Francis Veber. He's best known for his farcical french comedies "La Cage Aux Folles" and "The Tall Blonde with One Black Shoe" (which he collaborated on with the director). His latest comedy, "The Dinner Game," was a hit last year in France and is now in the U.S. This year VEBER was honored with a career tribute at the Cannes Film Festival.