The Comedy Store

He's like a...

He, he, he told me the other night at the, a comedy store, he was like, "Oh yeah, uh, I just went fishing in Catalina."

Yeah.

And I was like, "Okay, relax."

I used to ring up Billy Braver.

I don't know that guy.

And he, he's old school legend at The Comedy Store.

He's in that famous photo of Mitzi, Jay Leno, David Letterman, I think.

Devils advocate.

we both agreed he's our favorite comedy store door guy of all time yeah he

works in the comedy store he's a comedian and he's just kind of like he just exists here now yeah he lives

here now

in the back

No.

You can follow me on Instagram.

You can come to the comedy store and I'll show you where to sit and I'll let you into the show for free.

fight to get out of those rooms.

Even when I was doing spots at the Comedy Store, I would still do those rooms because they bring you back to reality quicker than the comedy store was.

It brings you back to that world.

And I never wanted to get out of that world because I know that's the real comedy world.

So you're going to get basic New Jersey people, a couple of Staten Island, a couple of Long Islanders.

it's a different feeling when you're at a club and you're talking to people and you know 60% of that club is in town to visit, but they came to a club to see whoever.

I didn't know about this until I lived in L.A. with the Comedy Store.

The last two years of the store, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, it was, people didn't even speak the language, whatever.

Becoming a paid regular at the comedy store, it takes probably more than...

Like, somebody who's not in the comedy scene would be like, oh, yeah, that's hard to do.

But, like, it's literally like a...

And the blood is literally why I say blood is I, over the years, have done many pratfalls on stage.

And I used to remember... just giving it my all, getting bloody bruised up from these dumb bits that I would do on stage and then not allowed to park in the parking lot there.

And I'd climb this giant hill up near the comedy store.

And I would leave the comedy store crying sometimes because it was so emotional and just wanting something just to get over.

I'm like, if I can do

I watched this from the beginning.

Like, I was at the Comedy Store when, like, Kill Tony.

I mean, Tony and I kind of started at the Comedy Store around the same time.

I watched this from the beginning.

So it's so wild to watch it and just see that it's kind of imploding on itself, you know? Even him kind of throwing Tony under the bus is really interesting because, like, oh, I bet he saw those Netflix numbers and he knows that Tony is, like, his...

Yeah.

And it's just been wild to watch him.

I also remember him seeing me at the comedy store, and he was, like, disgusted that I was such a tall woman.

But Walter Brendan's Indian Lodge Motel, the Beverly Garland Hotel, Gene Autry's Continental Hotel, which is where Steve Lubetkin jumped to his death.

You know, the famous comedy store.

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

Gene Autry's Continental Hotel, also known as the Riot Hyatt.

The Riot Hyatt.

Yeah.

Side by side with the Comedy Store.

In Nashville, there was Roger Miller's King of the Road Motor Inn.

I wonder how you could do that.

And then I became aware of the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard, which was a feeder system for comics to The Tonight Show.

And once I found out how it was done, I thought, OK, well, now it's just a matter of getting in line and seeing if you ever get your number called, you know, as at a bakery.

Did you have an act? No, of course not.

Yeah, I guess.

Uh, yeah.

So, uh, uh, I thought maybe I would go out there and, and, uh, try and act because they, the comedy store had a beginner's night, uh, And you could go in and get on stage and try your two or three or four or five minutes.

And that's what I did.

Southern California, Central California.

People often ask us, Wayne, can we see you do sets? And if we're doing sets at the Comedy Store or the Laugh Factory or the Ice House or whatever.

You're welcome to come.

You're welcome to come.

...

the Improv and the Comedy Store only book those with talent.

Oh my God.

[laughs]