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27-506: The Comedy Store was opened in April 1972 by comedians Sammy Shore (1927–2019), and Rudy De Luca . The building was formerly the home of Club Seville (1935), later, Ciro's (1940–1957), a popular Hollywood nightclub owned by William Wilkerson , and later Ciro's Le Disc, a rock and roll venue, where the Byrds were discovered in 1964. When the venue reopened as The Comedy Store in 1972, it included

54-401: A 99-seat theatre. As a result of a divorce settlement, Sammy Shore's ex-wife Mitzi Shore began operating the club in 1973, and she was able to buy the building in 1976. She immediately renovated and expanded the club to include a 450-seat main room. In 1974, The Comedy Store hosted the wedding reception of newlyweds Liza Minnelli and Jack Haley, Jr. The Comedy Club signage was covered, for

81-514: A Vietnamese restaurant ) founded on 20 April 1963, by Budd Friedman and his future wife, Silver (née Schreck ) Saundors, and located at 358 West 44th Street, at Ninth Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City near the southeast corner of 9th Ave. The Improvisation was originally an after hours coffee house where Broadway performers could unwind after shows with an open mic inviting impromptu musical performances. In 1964, Dave Astor

108-755: A regular at The Comic Strip in New York City , for being "too vulgar", and he eventually performed at the Improv in Los Angeles when he was only 15 years old. Karen Black , Debra Winger and Barry Manilow , among others, worked there as waiters, waitresses, hosts or musicians before becoming famous. New and upcoming performers have performed there as well. Comedy Central's Dave Attell frequents Improv locations in Tampa and Hollywood . Comics Lewis Black , Mike Birbiglia , Louis C.K. and Jimmy Fallon have performed at

135-531: A short-lived labor union and demanded to be paid for their appearances at The Comedy Store. For six weeks (beginning in March), several comedians staged a protest in front of the club, while others crossed the picket line. The comedians involved formed a union called Comedians for Compensation and fought for pay where they had received none before. They eventually picketed in front of the club when their demands were not met. Jay Leno and David Letterman were among those on

162-683: The Fairfax District of Los Angeles , California (which immediately prior housed the Ash Grove , a folk music venue). In 1979, Mark Lonow became a general partner and with Budd Friedman ran the Melrose club and oversaw the expansion of the single room as it became a successful chain. When the Friedmans divorced in 1981, the divorce settlement gave Budd Friedman ownership of the LA Improvs and Silver Friedman

189-518: The International Hotel , Las Vegas . He then opened for Elvis’ road shows until 1972. Shore continued to perform comedy, opening for Tony Orlando , Tony Bennett , Barbra Streisand , Sammy Davis Jr . and others. Shore served in the U.S. Navy during World War II . On April 7, 1972, he founded the Comedy Store with his writing partner Rudy De Luca. In 1974, his ex-wife, Mitzi , became

216-486: The 1980s, numerous comedians resided or just partied there, including Andrew Dice Clay, Marc Maron, Robin Williams, and Richard Pryor. Argus Hamilton and Mike Binder were the first to officially move into the house. Dave Coulier was also an early resident, and Yakov Smirnoff moved in in 1980. The place was known for its all-night parties and heavy consumption of cocaine and alcohol. Bill Hicks moved there in 1980 when he

243-732: The Comedy Store La Jolla , at 916 Pearl St., Comedy Store Playhouse, on Las Palmas, Comedy Store at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, in Universal City , and the Comedy Store Las Vegas at the Dunes Hotel . Beginning in 1979, The Comedy Store served for many years as the host location for the annual HBO Young Comedians specials. Tension between the club owners stems from a 1979 strike of Los Angeles comedians against

270-430: The Comedy Store's "no-pay policy". Until that time, neither Shore nor Friedman paid comedians a salary. The theory was that comedians should almost be paying the owners for the exposure the clubs provided. When the comedians' strike began, The Improv (opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue) was closed for fire-damage repairs. Therefore, the strike focused on Shore, not Friedman. Also in 1979, stand-up comedians formed

297-590: The Improv chain to Levity Entertainment Group, now known as Levity Live. The Improv was the place to see Richard Pryor , Robert Klein , Steve Landesberg , Bette Midler , Lily Tomlin , Jay Leno , and others when they were just starting out. Dustin Hoffman played piano there. On any given night in the later 1970s, one could see Gilbert Gottfried , Joe Piscopo , Bruce Mahler , Robin Williams , Larry David , and many others. Often famous comedians would walk in to "work out" before appearances on The Tonight Show . It

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324-462: The club and could work on their material in front of casting agents and other talent scouts who would possibly hire them as professionals if they were good enough. The comedians at the club became unhappy when the club was expanded several times and it was perceived that Shore's profits were quite substantial. Shore also paid the rest of her staff, including waitresses and bartenders. After the strike, some comedians were no longer allowed to perform at

351-465: The club, including Steve Lubetkin, who committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the Continental Hyatt House next door. His suicide note included the line: "My name is Steve Lubetkin. I used to work at The Comedy Store." Lubetkin hoped that his suicide would resolve the labor dispute. He also cited Shore as the reason he no longer had a job. The union ceased to exist in 1980, although from

378-504: The debauchery that had been going on for years, Mitzi Shore kicked everybody out of the house and turned it into a recovery house. By the early 1990s, Her son Pauly moved into the house, and by the end of the 1990s, the house was sold. Knoedelseder, William (2009). I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Standup Comedy's Golden Era (1st ed.). New York: PublicAffairs . ISBN   9781586483173 . — "A history of

405-497: The evening, by signs reading "Ciro's", denoting the venue's prior identity. The event was attended by many dozens of Hollywood glitterati, including Elizabeth Taylor , Sammy Davis Jr. , Cher , Bob Fosse , Johnny Carson , Goldie Hawn , Cesar Romero , Priscilla Presley and other stars, past and present. The original Comedy Store on Sunset at Ciro's had been joined by the Comedy Store Westwood , at 1621 Westwood Blvd.,

432-477: The owner of the club. The club launched the careers of many comedians including Rodney Dangerfield , David Letterman , Eddie Murphy , Robin Williams , Jim Carrey , and Joe Rogan , also including his own son, Pauly. Shore appeared in many films including The Bellboy with Jerry Lewis and both Life Stinks and History of the World Part 1 from Mel Brooks . He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and

459-401: The picket line while Garry Shandling and Yakov Smirnoff crossed the line . The job action was not legally a strike as the comedians were classified as " independent contractors " and were not under contract with the club. Mitzi Shore argued that the club was and had always been a showcase and training ground for young comedians and was not about profits. She alleged that comedians came to

486-448: The time of Lubetkin’s suicide(After a bitter labor dispute between comedians and management), she essentially gave the place over to the comedians who worked at the Store." Mitzi Shore also owned a 5,000-square-foot house a few doors away from the club, on 8420 Cresthill Road. The house was bought with the club in 1976. In 1979, she started to let the comedians from the clubs sleep there. During

513-453: The time of the job action onward, comedians in Los Angeles were paid for their shows. This included The Comedy Store and The Improv . "When she and Sammy divorced in 1974, he gave her the club to lower his alimony payments; two years later, after being briefly evicted (and opening a new Comedy Store location in Westwood), she negotiated a deal to buy the entire building — plus Cresthill...around

540-539: The young comedians coming to Los Angeles in the 1970s and performing at the club." A docu-series based on The Comedy Store debuted on Showtime in October 2020. Each episode is an hour long and breaks down a different time period throughout the existence of the Comedy Store. The director, Mike Binder goes on a podcast with a different comedian to set the tone and help provide the narrative of each episode. Sammy Shore Sammy Shore (February 7, 1927 – May 18, 2019)

567-483: Was Miss Alabama in 1970. They remained together until his death in Las Vegas, Nevada of natural causes at the age of 92. IMDB The Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. Originally, it was a 50-seat single venue (which immediately prior, housed

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594-420: Was 18 and running away from his parents to pursue his career as a comedian. Many of those comedians developed their style while residing there. Sam Kinison was a pillar there, and Jim Carrey turned his act around in this house. Mitzi Shore had a plan to cash in on the house's unique atmosphere, and even shot a 12-minute pilot around 1987 starring Daphne Davis, Nancy Redman, and Tamayo Otsuki. In 1988, because of

621-602: Was an American actor, stand-up comedian and co-founder of The Comedy Store . Sammy Shore was born in 1927 in New York City at the start of the Great Depression in the United States . He grew up in a traditional household to Jewish parents. Shore began his career doing stand-up comedy with Shecky Greene in the Catskill Mountains . He was chosen, in 1969, to open for Elvis Presley ’s comeback performance at

648-696: Was given ownership of the New York Improv. The original New York Improv closed in 1992. In 1982, the L.A. Improv became the original site for the A&;E Network television series An Evening at the Improv , running from 1982 until 1996, and was produced by Larry O'Daly, created by O'Daly and Barbara Hosie-O'Daly, with Budd Friedman as a warm-up host. Other locations have opened since then, such as in Tampa, Florida , Fort Lauderdale, Florida , Atlantic City, New Jersey , and Louisville, Kentucky . In 2014, Friedman sold

675-437: Was its first comedian. Gradually comedians would use it as a venue to try out new material and talent scouts from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and other New York-based television shows began frequenting the venue looking for new acts to book. After several years of alternating acts between singers and comics, by the 1970s it was a stand-up comedy venue. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in

702-823: Was not unusual to find celebrities in the audience. Nearly every big name in comedy has played The Improv, including Richard Belzer , Milton Berle , Kevin Brennan , Drew Carey , George Carlin , Andrew Dice Clay , Bill Cosby , Billy Crystal , Rodney Dangerfield , Jeff Dunham , Bill Engvall , Dave Foley , Jeff Foxworthy , Bill Hicks , Andy Kaufman , Carol Leifer , David Letterman , Richard Lewis , Jon Lovett , Norm Macdonald , Bill Maher , Marc Maron , Steve Martin , Dennis Miller , Larry Miller , Liza Minnelli , Freddie Prinze , Ray Romano , Paul Reiser , Joan Rivers , Joe Rogan , Jerry Seinfeld , Bo Burnham and Ron White . Jeremy Ruder at 18, and Jim Carrey at 19. Silver Friedman auditioned and rejected Eddie Murphy ,

729-531: Was on Sanford and Son . Shore was voted Best Comedy Act in Atlantic City, New Jersey , and the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors named a day after him on July 24, 1990. He appeared at Harrah's Casinos and hotels more than any other entertainer. Shore was married to Mitzi for 24 years, and was the father of four, including actor and comedian Pauly Shore . Shore married Suzanne Dennie in 1990. She

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