Boston Comedy Club

40.729758°N 73.998923°W / 40.729758; -73.998923

The Boston Comedy Club was an American comedy club founded by Barry Katz that was located at 82 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street.[1][2]

The club was open from 1988 to 2005 and was a starting point for comedians such as Sarah Silverman, Jim Gaffigan, Neal Brennan, Adam Sandler, Jeff Ross, Bert Kreischer and Pete Holmes.

History

The Boston Comedy Club was founded in 1988 by comedy talent manager and producer Barry Katz.[1][3] Katz started as a stand-up comedian in Boston in the 1980s, later becoming a booking agent for other comedians.[3] Katz also opened up a talent agency in New York City and Louis C.K., whom Katz met while in Boston, was his first client.[3] C.K. also helped Katz to install the wiring and lighting at the Boston Comedy Club and was the first comedian to perform there.[3]

Neal Brennan (co-creator of Chappelle Show) started as a doorman at the club and counted the experience as one of "10 Defining Moments" in his comedy career as per the list he put together for New York magazine's pop culture website Vulture.[4] It was at the Boston Comedy Club that Brennan first performed stand up and where he first met Dave Chappelle.[5][6] Sarah Silverman, Pete Holmes and Bert Kreischer all worked as "barkers" for the club in their early careers—barkers are responsible for announcing line ups and distributing fliers to people passing by the club's entrance.[7][8][9] Adam Sandler started his comedy career at the club, performing there at age 17.[10] Jeff Ross's first stand up performance was in 1994 at one of the club's open mic nights.[11]

The club closed its doors in 2005.[8] In 2016 a re-creation of the club was built for Pete Holmes's semi-autobiographical television series Crashing.[8][12]

During Katz's 2016 appearance on the Be Here For A While podcast hosted by comedian Rachael O'Brien, Katz was asked: "Why did you call the club 'The Boston Comedy Club' in New York?" Katz responded: "Because clearly I'm an idiot."[13]

References
  1. Holden, Stephen (June 12, 1992). "Where Comics Stand Up". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  2. "Nightlife". New York Magazine. New York City, New York, United States: Vox Media. May 8, 1995. p. 110. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. Arthur, Kenneth (March 16, 2018). "Diving Deep into the Business of Comedy with Barry Katz". Splitsider. New York City, New York, United States. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. Brennan, Neal (August 11, 2014). "Neal Brennan's 10 Defining Moments on His Path From Comedy-Club Doorman to Approval Matrix Host". Vulture. Retrieved May 1, 2020. 1991: Doorman at the Boston Comedy Club.
  5. Downs, Gordon (June 22, 2011). "Obama, Twitter and Pokez: The Neal Brennan Sketch Comedy Diet". SanDiego.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. King, Scott (June 14, 2011). "Just for Laughs exclusive – Neal Brennan interview". Chicago Now. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  7. Hart, Jon (August 10, 2015). "Can Lewis Schaffer, Once New York's Biggest Comedy Barker, Play Abroad". The New York Observer. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  8. Giannotta, Meghan (July 14, 2017). "HBO's 'Crashing': Pete Holmes compares Boston Comedy Club set to NYC venue". amNY. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  9. Tucker, Reed (May 19, 2014). "The real-life Van Wilder". New York Post. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  10. Moser, John J. (December 16, 2019). "Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sandler started performing at a Boston comedy club at 17". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  11. Thangevelo, Debashine (November 19, 2015). "Feel the burn of Ross's roast . . ". Cape Argus. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  12. Techler, Graham (August 18, 2017). "A Day on the Set of HBO's Crashing". Paste. Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  13. "Ep 24: Industry Legend Barry Katz on making it in the business". rachaelobriencomedy.com. October 20, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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