Mark Schiff (stand-up comedian, opener for Jerry Seinfeld)

Mark Schiff has been slaying audiences with his stand-up comedy since the late ‘70s, getting his start at such legendary New York City clubs as Catch a Rising Star, The Improv, and The Comic Strip.  He paid his dues just to get a few minutes of recurring stage time, and in the process met such up-and-coming comics as Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, Gilbert Gottfried, George Wallace, Larry Miller and Joe Piscopo.  Mark now tours the U.S.A. with Seinfeld, in addition to being a columnist for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.  In this interview, Mark recalls being inspired as a teenager by seeing Rodney Dangerfield perform stand-up in person, selling candy in Broadway theaters with Gilbert Gottfried, getting acquainted with Katherine Hepburn, overcoming stage fright, and thriving in an often unforgiving profession.