WEBVTT

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- You should do standup, and
I can help you.

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- What're you talking about?
- Talkin' about your act.

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- I don't have an act.

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- You will when we're done.

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This is Alex Borstein, a comic actress
who has won two Emmys:

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one for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
in which she plays Susie Myerson,

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the tough, brazen manager
of Midge Maisel,

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and I think I've heard her 
voice somewhere else before...

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what is this?
- This vooooice.

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Oh yeah, she voices Lois Griffin
in one of the biggest

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animated shows of all time, "Family Guy."

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(singing)
- La la la!

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Borstein's roots are in comedy
going way back to the early 90s

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when she trained in improv
at the ACME Comedy Theatre.

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From there she started writing for
various series like "Casper"

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and "Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain,"
eventually writing print ads for Barbie.

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On the side her first official
acting credits involved dubbing

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the voice of several monsters in
"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."

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You've got Madame Woe,
Bloom of Doom,

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and Lipsyncher.

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- Oh my! Where are those
gorgeous Power Rangers?

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- I just wanna KISS THEM
ALL TO PIECES!

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Her legacy in the "Power Rangers"
canon didn't end there

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as she dubbed the recurring villain
Queen Machina in "Power Rangers Zeo."

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- Absolutely brilliant.

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Then, Alex got two big breaks
back to back, the first of which

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was becoming a regular cast
member and writer on "MADtv."

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And not long after that, she was asked by
a then unknown animator, Seth MacFarlane,

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to voice the mother, Lois Griffin,
in a new animated series called...

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- "Family Guy!"

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She would go on to become 
a co-producer of the series as well.

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Besides Alex's regular gigs on these
two shows, she began to pop up

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in TV with comedic one-off characters
in episodes of "Frasier"

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and "Friends."
- How could he leave me!?

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And she had two recurring characters
in "Gilmore Girls," like Drella the Harpist.
- Tell it to the tip jar.

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Fun fact: Alex was originally cast to 
play Melissa McCarthy's character

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of Sookie in an unaired pilot
of the show,

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but unfortunately, couldn't continue
due to scheduling conflicts with "MADtv."

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As far as movies go, it wasn't
unusual for Alex to play

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characters who, instead of having
names, had very specific descriptions:

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"Milwaukee Mom with Photo..."

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- Gee, you know what? This one,
I think it's more than enough.

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"Obnoxious Hummer Lady..."

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- I do! Look at the size
of this bad boy, huh?

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...and "Red Hair Woman."

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- It's Martha.

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She had a name. He just said it. 
Her name was Martha. Just call her Martha!

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But some of Alex's more prominent
supporting roles usually involved her

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flexing her sass and attitude, like a
tour guide in 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie...'

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- Rome! The eternal city! Did 
no one read the info packet?

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...a no-nonsense secretary in
'Good Night, and Good Luck...'

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- Brent's not gonna be in
for another hour...

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...and let's not forget about the
Razzie Award-winning 'Catwoman,'

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in which she fit right in as
the plucky best friend Sally.

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- If I screw it up, you can throw
away the key.

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In more recent years, Seth MacFarlane
has continued to feature her

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in projects like 'Ted...'
(screams)

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...and 'A Million Ways to
Die in the West.'

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But one of Alex's favorite roles was in
the short-lived HBO dark comedy "Getting On"

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as the head nurse in a geriatric wing
of a hospital.

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- It's not "a feces" it's
just "feces."

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- But it wasn't a gang of them,
it was just one beast.

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When this show was cancelled,
Alex almost threw in the towel

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as far as on-screen acting.

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- I don't wanna read your diary.
- It's not my diary.

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- I don't care what your
first time felt like.

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...until she was approached by
"Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" creator

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Amy Sherman-Palladino, whom
Alex had previously worked

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with on "Gilmore Girls."

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The rest is history, and Alex has continued
making audiences laugh

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both behind the mic and in 
front of the camera.

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(laughing)