The Reach Out: Wendy Liebman
The 'Taller on TV' comic can be found riding her Schwinn bike ten miles every day, but may also be "flapping" around in the pool.
Since taking a class called "How To Be A Stand-up Comedian" in 1985, Wendy Liebman has starred in specials for HBO, Comedy Central, and Showtime, and performed throughout North America.
Liebman’s unique stand-up style, which has been described as gently paced, subtle wordplay, includes delivering more punchlines quickly after her one-liners.
Her popular comedy special, Taller on TV, can be found on Amazon Prime.
Liebman has appeared on Letterman, Leno, Carson, Fallon, Kimmel and Ferguson.
She was a semi-finalist on America's Got Talent, Season 9, and has performed three times at Just For Laughs.
Since 2015, Liebman has produced and hosted Locally Grown Comedy, a monthly show featuring some of the best comics in L.A. (including Arsenio Hall, Tig Notaro, Jo Koy, and Carol Leifer). The show is resuming in May after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
Wendy Liebman began our conversation by making me laugh: “I didn't work out today, but I did wrestle with a fitted sheet.”
We moved on to discuss her five-year bike riding streak, her steep hill dog walks, and why she credits her mom for improving her posture.
Is keeping active and fit a priority for you?
Well, I'm actually on my exercise bike right now. Not really, but my husband suggested it.
For the past five years I’ve been riding my exercise bike 10 miles religiously every day. It’s recumbent, not that strenuous and I don't sweat that much, but I never miss a day. If I’m going away and know I won’t have a place to work out I’ll do it in advance. It's a Schwinn, but I listen to the Peloton commercials while I ride.
The other exercise I do daily is I take my dogs for a walk. It's only 12 minutes, but it's such a steep hill that it really is demanding. It’s my dogs’ favorite 12 minutes of the day and my least favorite because it is so hard.
I want to invent an exercise machine that simulates being pulled up a hill — because I literally can't walk this hill without my dogs. Even though they run around in the backyard all day, their favorite thing to do is take that 12 minute walk.
Do you wear a fitness monitor to track your exercise?
I did have a Fitbit for a while and then I lost it. I was actually relieved at first, but then a little freaked out because it was still racking up steps, like 800,000 a day, until I found it in the dryer.
Seriously, I have an Oura Ring, which tracks your sleep but also your activity, so I feel accountable.
Do you exercise at the same time every day?
It completely varies. My husband watches a lot of news, and after a while, I can't stand it anymore, so I'll go ride my bike for an hour and watch a British crime show or a British baking show.
Every once in a while, I’ll ride in the morning and then think, “Oh, now I have the whole day free!”
Do you think regular exercise helps you with your creativity?
It just makes me feel better overall and like I’m doing something good for my heart. Before I started riding the bike every day I felt somewhat self-loathing and sedentary. (A guy once called me sedentary and I was going to hit him but I didn’t want to get up.) It's also a really good procrastinating technique. I procrastinate by exercising. Hahaha.
When you travel, do you try to keep up your workout routine?
Actually, I have sought out Bikram yoga studios on the road when I was into that. And there were times when I was doing a lot of ballet barre exercises, so I would substitute with the desk in my hotel room.
I always try to do something active when traveling, but sometimes I tell myself, “Well, I walked through airports all day and lugged my luggage and that’s enough.”
Other than your daily ten mile bike ride and uphill dog walks, is there any other fitness program that you enjoy?
When it's hot enough, I’ll swim in our pool, although I wouldn't say that's exercise. It's more like flapping.
But I've discovered online workouts called Hasfit. Coach Kozak and his wife Claudia offer free videos of varying lengths for every body part and I do the arm workouts with light weights.
My mother is 86 and does Pilates every day. She wants me to start, so I’ve taken baby steps. She is such a great role model, instilling the importance of exercise.
When I was in my 30’s (I’m 61 now), my mother said that when I was on stage, I was hunched over. So she turned me on to something called the Alexander Technique, which focuses on maximizing your body so that everything else you do improves. They teach it to students at Julliard and the Israeli armed forces.
So doing Alexander literally helped me stand up. Now when I’m on stage I feel my feet on the ground, and my spine feels like it’s being pulled up. This elongated posture gives me a sense of openness and confidence that I think comes across to my audience.
To give you an example of a good Alexander, Fred Astaire looks like he’s floating when he dances.
Speaking of proper posture (and trying not to slouch), did you perform in any Zoom comedy shows during the pandemic?
During lockdown I did about 100 Zoom comedy shows. I met comedians I never would have gotten to perform with, because they were all over the country. The last Zoom show I did I suggested that we call it a comedy conversation, because I had done a show for this group earlier on in the pandemic, and I remembered chatting with them after my set. So this time I asked them to chime in throughout the hour. It was so much fun. People are so funny.
I also did daily Instagram videos for the first 150 days of lockdown, which helped me feel connected and part of a community which is something I realized I need.
When you aren’t riding your bike or climbing steep hills with your dog, what comedic pursuits are you up to now?
I just started performing live, local shows again, post-pandemic. And I taped a special for Showtime called Even More Funny Women of a Certain Age.
I'm also writing a book of my jokes and thoughts, to be illustrated by the wonderful Teresa Roberts Logan, who also does stand-up. This is my dream — to have my jokes and thoughts in a book — and she is my dream illustrator!
I’m also pitching a cooking/dating show that I’m really excited about even though I know nothing about cooking — I once served a salad with a paper towel in it.
Any final thoughts about exercise and health?
They say breakfast is the most important meal, so I eat it three times a day.
Wendy Liebman has a way of making everything funny, including exercise and fitness. She made me laugh throughout our conversation, and I know that I’ll never look at a fitted sheet quite the same way again.😀
Thank you, @WendyLiebman
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I like how she weaves comedy (and humility) into her responses… it’s refreshing.