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Comic Strip Live

Stand-up comedy club in New York City

Field	Value
name	Comic Strip Live
image	Comic Strip Live 1568 2d Av jeh.jpg
address	1568 Second Avenue
location	New York City, New York, United States
coordinates
type	Comedy club
website

The Comic Strip Live is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City, located at 1568 Second Avenue (between 81st and 82nd Streets).

History

The Comic Strip was opened in 1976. Richard Tienken and Robert Wachs were two of the club's founders. Before emerging as a venue spotlighting only stand up comedians, the club originally featured singers, magicians, and novelty acts. Chris Rock used to stack chairs to get stage time and Colin Quinn was a bartender at the club.

In 2017 Jerry Seinfeld returned to the club to shoot his Netflix special, Jerry Before Seinfeld; he had first performed at the club in 1976. Adam Sandler also shot part of his 2018 special 100% Fresh at the club.

Present

Primarily a showcase club, the Comic Strip encourages performers to consistently write, perform and perfect new material. Once a year, the club holds an "Audition Lottery", where aspiring newcomers line up to be given a date to try out their routine on "Audition Night". If they do well, the club's talent booker passes them. "Passing" means getting a chance to work late night, where they perfect their acts. This occurs weeknights after the regular show has ended.

Guinness World Record

From June 3, 2008 through June 5 the Comic Strip Live broke the Guinness World Record for the Longest Continuous Stand Up Comedy Show, finishing at slightly beyond the 50-hour mark. The entire event was hosted by William Stephenson and included performances by Dave Attell, Judah Friedlander, Ted Alexandro, Tony Rock, Jeffrey Ross, Mike Birbiglia, Judy Gold, Rich Vos, and Greg Giraldo.

Notable alumni

Ted Alexandro
Dan Allen
Aziz Ansari
Dave Attell
Ben Bailey
Greer Barnes
Charlie Barnett
D. C. Benny
Mike Birbiglia
Scott Blakeman
Vinnie Brand
Kevin Brennan
Jim Breuer
Eddie Brill
Jimmy Brogan
Louis C.K.
Bryan Callen
Mario Cantone
George Carlin
Dave Chappelle
Dane Cook
Tom Cotter
Sunda Croonquist
Rodney Dangerfield
Ellen DeGeneres
Ray Ellin
Susie Essman
Jimmy Fallon
Wayne Federman
Christian Finnegan
Judah Friedlander
Jim Gaffigan
Elon Gold
Judy Gold
Bobcat Goldthwait
Gilbert Gottfried
Darrell Hammond
J. R. Havlan
John Henson
Vanessa Hollingshead
Cory Kahaney
Artie Lange
Carol Leifer
Kerri Louise
Bill Maher
Jackie Martling
Dennis Miller
Larry Miller
Eddie Murphy
Dan Naturman
Kevin Nealon
Big Jay Oakerson
Patton Oswalt
Rick Overton
Joe Piscopo
Richard Pryor
Colin Quinn
Paul Reiser
Caroline Rhea
Chris Rock
Tony Rock
Seth Rogen
Ray Romano
Jeffrey Ross
Angel Salazar
Adam Sandler
Steven Scott
Jerry Seinfeld
Rick Shapiro
Sarah Silverman
Spanky
Jon Stewart
Jeff Stilson
Wanda Sykes
George Wallace
Damon Wayans
Robin Williams
Dennis Wolfberg

References

"City Search".
(December 2023)
Samson, E. J.. (9 May 2005). "New York Magazine: After-Prom".
Genzlinger, Neil. (2021-03-06). "Richie Tienken, Whose Comedy Club Propelled Careers, Dies at 75".
(7 May 2007). "Celebrity First Jobs". [[Forbes]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

comedy-clubs-in-manhattan upper-east-side second-avenue-(manhattan)

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