“Think the comedy club scene is tough now? You should have been there in the 70’s!” That’s what your father would say if he was a comic who’d cut his teeth at The Comedy Store, LA’s premiere club for up and coming comics in the late 1970’s. Some of comedy’s biggest names, such as Leno, Letterman, Williams and Kaufman got their start playing this club in the hopes of being discovered by Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
The new book I’m Dying Up Here by William Knoedelseder chronicles The Comedy Store’s heyday, and its controversial proprietor, Mitzi Shore. Shore had a rare eye for talent, and cultivated the careers of countless heavy hitters. But she also had strict a no-pay policy, which led a large group of her talent pool to go on strike in 1979. The whole ordeal turned out to be a turning point in the LA scene and the business model for comedy clubs across the country. This book is a must for anyone interested in the comedy business. Click the image below to buy it.
