Catherine Simone Avnet Lazarus (April 26, 1976 – December 13, 2020) was an American writer, comedian, and talk show host. Lazarus was awarded "Best Comedy Writer" at the

ECNY Awards The ECNY Awards (formerly the Emerging Comics of New York Awards) were created by Derrick Gordon to honor rising stars in the New York Comedy world in various genres, including sketch, stand up, improv, musical comedy acts, and video. The awar ...

and named one of New York's "Top 100 New Yorkers". Theater Mania called her a "comedy darling" and

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

described her as "more brilliant than she'll ever know". Lazarus is best known as creator and host of the '' Employee of the Month'', a monthly comedy show and podcast filmed live at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

in New York City where she interviewed famous people about their jobs. The show was called "beloved" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and "hilarious" and "ambitious" by ''

BlackBook ''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine published bi-annually to print and online. Founded by Evanly Schindler in 1996 as a quarterly print publication, the now digital magazine covers topics ranging from art, music, and literature to poli ...

''.

Early life and education

Born in Washington D.C., Lazarus attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...

Career

Lazarus dropped out of her doctoral studies to write comedy after an impromptu

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention ** Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of i ...

lesson from

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

at an Empower Program conference in Washington, D.C. Three months later, Lazarus performed for the first time at Stand Up New York, where she won a contest. She then won another stand up contest at the

Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...

. She performed storytelling at

The Moth The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featurin ...

, '' The Rejection Show'' at The Bell House, on '' Risk!'', at Story Collider, and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater's Asscat. Her first article was a spoof of ''

'' wedding section. Vitamin W described her animated pilot MYC as offering "more than a few good laughs". Her most autobiographical work, according to

Tubefilter Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, pro ...

, is a puppet show. "We get a peek into the devilishly candid and inventive mind of the young performer with her first original series, The on Time Show with Petunia Van De Twirp." She was also a talk show host. Lazarus has interviewed, hosted shows and moderated panels for Women in Film, Brooklyn Jewish Film Festival, 92nd Y, Writers Guild of America (WGA-East), and the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2004, she created and hosted "Stand for Peace", a now annual comedy benefit for Seeds of Peace. She then produced and hosted the ECNY nominated comedy variety show "The Chosen One" at

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior to ...

for Heeb Magazine, when she edited the magazine's Kvetch section. In 2006, Comix opened in New York and the booker plucked Lazarus to host the first

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

showcase to feature younger talent and alternative comedy. Fresh Meat ran at Comix weekly for three years and then at Ars Nova. In 2007 she began hosting on the Couch for Tango Mag. In 2010, Lazarus started the talk show Employee of the Month, praised by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' for its "extremely notable" guests and Lazarus' "decidedly unorthodox" interview style. It became a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

in 2012. Lazarus hosted live tapings at

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, ...

in New York and Los Angeles, 92 Y, The Bell House, and

. Lazarus interviewed numerous comedians, musicians, journalists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and social activists, including

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a ...

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987) ...

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in ''Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in ''The Mosquito Co ...

Dick Cavett Richard Alva Cavett (; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States for five decades, from the 1960s through the 2000s. In ...

and

. After

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...

announced his departure from ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...

'', the first public comments he made about it were on Lazarus' Employee of the Month show on February 19, 2015. He follows many of his ''Daily Show'' collaborators, including

Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...

Dave Attell David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell'', which earned him a cult following. His work has drawn admiration from many comed ...

Wyatt Cenac Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. (; born April 19, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for ''The Daily Show'' from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series '' People of Earth'' and in Bar ...

Buck Henry Buck Henry (born Henry Zuckerman; December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020) was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's '' The Graduate'' (1967) for which he ...

, Mo Rocca, David Wain, and

, as guests on the show; Lazarus herself appeared in the ''Daily Show'' in a sketch about a prequel to

Hot Tub Time Machine ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' is a 2010 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Steve Pink and starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, and Chevy Chase. The film was released on March ...

Personal life

Lazarus wrote about her late godfather Lenny Ross' interview with

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

for ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''. She was a descendant of the Lazarus family, who built the first major department store chain and persuaded President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to change the date of

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

. Her paternal great-great-great-grandfather Simon Lazarus was President of F. & R. Lazarus, which featured the first

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horiz ...

, employee commissions, and price tags. Her maternal grandfather Lester Avnet was the CEO of Avnet Inc., and her uncle

Jon Avnet Jonathan Michael Avnet (born November 17, 1949), is an American director, writer and producer. Early life and education Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avne ...

is a movie producer. Her father, Simon Lazarus III, served as a policy adviser to President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

; her brother Ned Lazarus co-founded the Co-Existence Center for Seeds of Peace. Lazarus died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

at her apartment in Brooklyn on December 13, 2020, at age 44.

Works

*Lazarus, Catie "Buy Curious: Dave Attell Gets a Bang for His Twenty Bucks". ''Heeb''. *Lazarus, Catie (May 2005) "Eco-Dating, Anyone?". ''Plenty''. *Lazarus, Catie (March 2005) "A Fair and Balanced Look at Al Franken". ''World Jewish Digest''. *Lazarus, Catie (August 4–10, 2005) "Taking it to the streets". ''Time Out New York''. *Lazarus, Catie (May 2005) "Eco-Dating, Anyone?". ''Plenty''. *Lazarus, Catie (January - February 2006) "Funny Girls: A Comedy Series Puts Moms at Center Stage". ''Time Out New York Kids''. *Lazarus, Catie (February 20, 2006) "Survival of the Fittest". ''The Jerusalem Report''. *Lazarus, Catie (December 6, 2006) "The Joke's on Them (For a Price)". ''New York Post''. *Lazarus, Catie (March 4–10, 2010) "''The Brian Lehrer Show'' taping". ''Time Out New York''. *Lazarus, Catie (September 2010) "The Naughtiest Thing I've Ever Done". ''Cosmopolitan''. *Lazarus, Catie (April 4, 2014
"Remembering the Anita Hill Sexual Harassment Case"
''Out Magazine''. *Lazarus, Catie (April 14, 2012)
"Was Mike Wallace's Toughest Interview a 12-Year-Old Kid?"
''The Daily Beast''. *Lazarus, Catie (April 14, 2014
"Jill Abramson on Tattoos, Anita Hill & Nate Silver"
''Out Magazine''. * *Lazarus, Catie (May 16, 2014
"Catching Up With Barney Frank"
''Out Magazine''. *Lazarus, Catie (June 15, 2017
"Comedian Eddie Izzard Reflects on Love & Death in 'Believe Me'"
''Out Magazine''. *Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"Exit Interview: A series of conversations about being fired, retired, aged out, and laid off"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020. **Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"The 'Disenfranchised Grief' of Losing Your Job"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020. **Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Force of Ageism"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020. **Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"The Never-Ending Struggle to Sustain a Small Business"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020. **Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"When a Job Is Just Too Much"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020. **Lazarus, Catie (June 20, 2018)
"What Happens When a Nun Leaves the Church?"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved January 29, 2020.

References

External links

* *
Employee of the Month websiteEmployee of the Month podcasts in iTunesBlackbook Magazine review of Employee of the Month podcastTubefilter review of The On Time Show with Petunia Van De Twirp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarus, Catie 1976 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American women writers American comedy writers American podcasters American storytellers American women podcasters Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Jewish American writers Jewish women writers Wesleyan University alumni Women storytellers Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American Jews