By: Molly Mitchell
Any day of the week is good for some comedy, but Friday is an especially good day for some comedy.
Good thing we had “Daily Show” co-founder, comedian and author (and person who frequently tweets at us) , Lizz Winstead, drop by our 30 Rock studios.
Winstead, stopped by to chat with the MJ panel about her new book “Lizz Free or Die,” a book of autobiographical essays that span from her childhood in Minnesota to developing the Daily Show.
In addition to her wit, Winstead came to Studio 3A bearing gifts of tattoos for Mika, Willie and MJ regular, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann. Willie asked Winstead places she recommended for tat placement. Winstead encouraged Willie to do a tramp stamp and, “then take a photo for me!”
Morning Joe is somewhat familiar with the tramp stamp, by the way. Winstead explained that she had been approached about writing a book, but she never thought much about it until the death of her father in 2006. For the essays, Lizz drew upon two strong themes from her childhood: Being raised Catholic and growing up as one of five kids in Minnesota. Winstead shared that from writing this novel she learned that, “If you can stay on the path creatively and make a living, then you’ve made the goal, anything else is gravy.” In addition to talking about co-creating “The Daily Show” — which began, you may remember, in 1996 with Craig Kilborn — and her book, Winstead shared that Morning Joe reminds her of her family. “My dad and mom have sort of your relationship,” Winstead said to Mika. “My dad is very much like Joe where I am diametrically opposed to everything he said. Early on he said, ‘I raised you kids to have an opinion, I forgot to tell you it was supposed to be mine.’ So when I watch your show it’s like Thanksgiving every morning and I see which relatives my mom has invited and whether or not I like those relatives.”
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