A&E Network Kicks Off the 15th Anniversary of BIOGRAPHY with LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S 15 GREATEST COMEDIANS Hosted and Narrated By Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett.

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2002

Who would you select as the greatest television comedian of all-time? Berle? Cosby? Gleason?

A&E Network kicks off the 15th anniversary of BIOGRAPHY(R)with LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S 15 GREATEST COMEDIANS, hosted and narrated by comedic actor Brad Garrett ("Everybody Loves Raymond"). Fifteen of the funniest TV Comedians, including Carol Burnett, Robin Williams and Lucille Ball, will be featured in this one-hour special, premiering Tuesday, January 22, at 8pm ET/ 7pm CT.

LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S 15 GREATEST COMEDIANS is the first of four countdown specials celebrating the 15th anniversary of BIOGRAPHY. To commemorate this milestone, Garrett will count down from No. 15 to number one -- the funniest comedians in the history of television. The program features hilarious classic comedy clips, as well as interviews with popular comedians like Bob Newhart, Janeane Garofalo, Jay Mohr, and Christopher Titus who talk about what made the people on our list so funny and their work so memorable.

To compile our list of the top television comedians, we polled more than 250 experts, including comedians, television critics, comedy club owners and university/college professors in the communications field. We asked them not only who they thought were the funniest TV comedians, but also who they thought had the greatest influence on television comedy today. Appearing on variety shows, late night gabfests and situation comedies, a lot of comedians have had their moment in the spotlight, but only a select few have changed the face of TV comedy.

      Following is a list of the top 15 TV Comedians featured in the
special (in alphabetical order):

Steve Allen                         Jackie Gleason
Lucille Ball                        Bob Hope
Jack Benny                          Ernie Kovacs
Milton Berle                        Steve Martin
Carol Burnett                       Groucho Marx
Sid Caesar                          Richard Pryor
Johnny Carson                       Robin Williams
Bill Cosby

Best known for his role as Robert Charles Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond", Brad Garrett spent only six weeks at UCLA before going into stand-up comedy full time. He performed his act at various Los Angeles comedy clubs, and in 1984, became the first grand champion winner in the comedy category of "Star Search." At age 23, he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." After his appearance, Barrett's career took off and he headlined gigs at several national venues, as well as opening spots for legends including Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli. Apart from his roles in sitcoms, he has done voice overs and appeared in films such as Sweet and Lowdown, A Bug's Life and Casper.

      Comedians and actors interviewed in the special are:

Edie Adams                          Robert Klein
Louis Anderson                      Harvey Korman
Tim Conway                          Ed McMahon
Pam Dawber                          Larry Miller
Janeane Garofalo                    Jay Mohr
Arsenio Hall                        Bob Newhart
Patricia Heaton                     Christopher Titus

LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S 15 GREATEST COMEDIANS is chock full of hilarious classic comedy clips that show our legendary comedians at their best. We will see Robin Williams-live and uncensored, Steve Martin as a wild and crazy guy in a white suit, Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable in "The Cosby Show", Carol Burnett and cronies cracking up on "The Carol Burnett Show", Lucy and Ethel hamming it up on "I Love Lucy", Uncle Miltie in drag, and Jackie Gleason getting ready to send Alice to the moon, and there is plenty more!

LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S 15 GREATEST COMEDIANS is produced by Kralyevich Productions, Inc. for A&E Television Networks. Produced and written by Scott Kerbey. James Eaton is the Editor. Thomas Rizzo is the Associate Producer. Vincent Kralyevich is the Executive Producer for KPI. Senior Producer for A&E is Deirdre O'Hearn. A&E Executive Producers are CarolAnne Dolan and Susan E. Leventhal.

In 2002, BIOGRAPHY, A&E's signature series, will celebrate its 15th anniversary. The series premiered on April 6, 1987. Since its inception, the series has profiled more than 900 individuals and features more than 100 premieres each year. An important milestone will be reached in 2002, when the 1000th episode airs. As part of the year-long celebration, A&E will present a number of BIOGRAPHY specials to air throughout 2002. These include Biography: 15 YEARS AND COUNTING, a retrospective to air in March, and four countdown specials, the first three being LAUGH OUT LOUD: TV'S GREATEST COMEDIANS, COMMANDERS IN CHIEF: THE 15 BEST AND WORST, and EUREKA!: THE 20TH CENTURY'S GREATEST INVENTORS.

Winner of the 2000 Governors Award from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for The Biography Project for Schools, A&E offers viewers a unique blend of original programming, including the highly acclaimed Biography(R) series, original movies, drama series, and engaging documentaries. A&E is available in more than 84 million Nielsen homes in the United States. A&E received 14 Emmy nominations in 2001, the most of any basic cable network, as well as the prestigious Peabody Award for "The Crossing." The A&E web site is located at www.AandE.com, the BIOGRAPHY web site is located at www.Biography.com. In 2002, the Biography series celebrates 15 years on A&E.