labor dispute and, 161, 172–173
Nichols, Diane, 78
laugh Factory and, 255
Nichols, Mike, 10
movies, 101
NLRB. See National Labor
The Richard Pryor Show (TV show), 91
Relations Board
Norton, Henry, 29
Radner, Gilda, 59, 103
Not Ready for Prime Time Players
Rapport, Michael, 75–76, 117, 119, 150
( SNL), 59
Real People (TV show), 235
Reddy, Helen, 90
Off the Wall (comedy improv trio), 77
Reid, Tim
Orlando, Tony, 83, 92
after Tim and Tom, 46, 51, 91
background, 27
Paar, Jack, 10, 50
early work, 26–27, 29
Pallandt, Nina van, 94, 96, 145, 243
See also Tim and Tom
Pauley, Jane, 144–145
Reiner, Carl, 10, 65
Peet, Harris, 88, 197, 204
Reynolds, Burt, 106
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278
Index
Rich, Buddy, 25–26
Comedy Store clubs differences, 84–86
Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip
“Comedy Store Day” proclamation,
(video/DVD), 259
249–250
Richard Pryor Show, The (TV show), 91
competition and, 61–62, 179–180,
Richards, Michael, 60
217, 225, 257–258
Richman, Frederic, 213
condos, 89
Rickles, Don, 115
expansion of empire, 88–89
Rivers, Joan, 22, 74, 78
Friedman and, 61–62, 175, 179–180,
Robards Jr., Jason, 23–24
225, 257
Rodriguez, Paul, 258
lease problems, 83–84
Rogers, Will, 85
Letterman and, 49, 57, 170–171, 193,
Rolling Stone magazine, 78
209, 267
Rollins, Jack, 11
Lubetkin and, 39, 96, 166, 169,
Rollins-Joffe, 107, 108
195–196, 197, 235–236, 238
Lubetkin’s suicide, 246, 250–251, 267
SAG. See Screen Actors Guild
“Mitzi’s boys,” 197–198, 205, 219
Saget, Bob, 60
parties with “pets,” 129, 135, 148,
Sahl, Mort, 2, 74, 115
259, 266
Saidel, Mitzi Lee, 36. See also
women comedians and, 72, 77, 79,
Shore, Mitzi
112–115, 116, 135–137, 258
Sais, Segio, 240
See also Comedy Store
Sammy and Company (TV show), 92
Shore, Mitzi/labor dispute
Sanders, Brad, 60, 86, 119–120, 186
comedians choosing sides, 165–166,
Sanford & Son (TV show), 33
169–173
Saturday Night (TV show), 71
first meeting, 147–151
Saturday Night Live (TV show), 59, 102, Improv fire and, 179–180
103, 141, 259
meeting without headliners, 153–154,
Schafer, Ross, 5
155–157
Schapp, Dick, 144
negotiations, 147–151, 162–163, 174,
Schimmel, Robert, 177, 178
190, 191, 211–212, 213–214,
Screen Actors Guild (SAG), 184, 212,
217–218
226, 231, 234, 254
PR, 181–183
Screen Extras Guild, 212
“settlement”/problems, 229–230,
Seinfeld, 60
231–236, 237–238, 254
Sennes, Frank, 83
See also Labor dispute
“Seven Words You Can Never Say on
Shore, Pauly, 35, 183, 258
Television” (Carlin), 19, 88
Shore, Peter, 183
Severson, Doc, 68
Shore, Sammy, 32–34, 35, 37–38, 199
Shandling, Garry, 205–206, 262, 267
Shore, Sandi, 111, 136
Shepherd, Cybil, 106
Short, Bobby, 176
Shore, Mitzi
Show Biz club, 52
as ABC consultant, 112, 257
Silver Bears, The, 106
after strike/today, 256, 257–258,
Sinatra, Frank, 2
259–260, 265–268
Smirnoff, Yakov, 205
background/family, 35–36
Snyder, Tom, 208
college concert tour, 89, 103, 156
Soul Train (TV show), 92
Comedian’s Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Sparks, Randy, 84
Foundation, 259–260
Sparrow’s Tavern, 28
Comedy Store, Westwood opening, 61
Staahl, Meg, 229
Comedy Store beginnings, 32–33,
Starland Vocal Band, The (TV show), 91
36–38, 39–40, 41, 46, 49, 50
Starr, Ringo, 106–107
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Index
279
Steinberg, David, 101
Twenty Grand, LA, 186
Stephans, Allan, 197
Tyler, Robin, 77, 113
Stephenson, Skip, 60, 85
Tyree, Dave, 155, 186, 197
Strike. See Labor dispute
Substance abuse
Uggams, Leslie, 57, 58
Belushi’s death, 259
Universal Pictures, 102–103
cocaine, 128–130, 135, 259
Upside of Anger, The (movie), 262
Comedian’s Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Urban Cowboy (movie), 93
Foundation, 259–260
Uris, Leon, 15
overview, 128–130
U.S. Department of Labor, 233
those not indulging, 128
US magazine, 105
See also specific individuals
Sugar Shack club, 27
Van Dyke, Jerry/club, 213, 215–216,
Sullivan, Ed, 10
218–219, 237–238
Sunset Boulevard (movie), 266
Variety, 163, 192
Super, Glenn, 266
Velardi, Valerie, 73–74, 145
Sweetzer, Susan, 78, 204, 239, 254, 255
Vernon, Jackie, 22, 33
Swerdloff, Eli, 160
Village Gate, 14
Vincent, Hilda, 78
Taxi (TV show), 104, 127
Teamsters, 160, 180, 189, 212, 226
Wag the Dog (movie), 34
Tennis, Craig, 29, 41–42, 43–44, 65–66,
Waits, Tom, 73
69, 90
Walker, Jimmy
Texaco Star Theater (TV show), 9
Comedy Store, 23, 39, 40, 51, 52, 62,
That Nigger’s Crazy (Pryor), 20, 87
86, 111
Thaxton, Lloyd, 56, 57
Ebony Genius Management, 55, 74
Theodore’s coffeehouse, 52, 72, 75
Good Times (TV show), 39, 44
Thomerson, Tim, 60, 85–86, 140,
Improv, 12
147–151
labor dispute, 161, 162
Throw Me a Line (TV show), 56–57
Walters, Mitch, 73, 197, 240
Tim and Tom
Wanted: Richard Pryor Live in Concert
break up, 45–46
(Pryor), 87
Improv, 28
Warfield, Marsha
See also Dreesen, Tom; Reid, Tim
after strike, 256
Time magazine, 105, 130
Chicago, 75
Tiny Tim, 115–116
Comedy Store, 60, 75, 77, 86, 87, 113,
Today Show, The, 144–145
136, 137, 140
Tomlin, Lily, 1
01
labor dispute, 158, 159, 186
Tonight Show, The
money problems, 119–120
importance to comedians, 12, 22, 24,
Pryor and, 87, 91
31–32
Washington Post, 144
launching/making careers, 23, 26, 29
Wayne, Carol, 78
Letterman/Leno and, 2–4, 258
Weinberger, Ed., 103
move/effects, 31–32, 34–35, 38–44
Weinstock, Lotus, 77, 112–113,
See also Carson, Johnny; specific 136–137
individuals
Weis, Gary, 141, 142
Town Hall, New York, 103
Weiss, Chuck E., 73
Tramer, Bennett, 141, 142, 144
Weld, Tuesday, 24
Turn of the Century club, 57–58
Wilcox, Larry, 202
Turner, Lana, 34
Wild and Crazy Guy, A (Martin), 102
20 Grand, Detroit, 27
Wilder, Gene, 101
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Index
William Morris Agency, 63, 69–70
Wilson, Flip, 33
Williams, Andy, 35–36
Winger, Debra, 52, 93–94
Williams, Robin
Winters, Jonathan, 10, 88
after strike, 257
Witherspoon, Johnny, 3, 51, 52, 60, 86,
background, 91
91, 119
Boosler and, 73–74
WKRP in Cincinnati (TV show), 46
borrowing material, 131–133
Wolff, Bud, 227–228
Canter’s, 76
Women comedians
Comedy Store/Shore, 59–60, 76, 91,
Belly Room, 112–113, 114, 115,
111, 118, 266, 267
135–137, 182–183, 200, 218, 229,
drugs, 129, 130, 259, 266
232, 237, 250
Improv fire and, 179
Carson and, 78–79, 90
income/success, 119, 130–131,
overview, 71–79
132–133
Shore and, 72, 77, 79, 112–115, 116,
labor dispute, 120, 122, 161, 162
135–137, 258
Laugh In (TV show), 91
See also specific individuals
Leno and, 89
Women’s movement (1979), 135
Lewis and, 145–146
Masada and, 264
Ye Olde Treasure Shoppe, 14
Mork, 104–105, 130
Young Comedians HBO specials, 257
Pryor and, 91
Youngman, Henny, 256
Winters and, 88
Your Show of Shows (TV show), 9
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William Knoedelseder has been a jour-
nalist with the Los Angeles Times, executive producer of Fox Entertainment
News and of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s hour-long nightly television news program “Inquirer News Tonight,” and vice
president of news at USA Broadcasting.
He is the author of Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, The Music Business, and the
Mafia and In Eddie’s Name: One Family’s Triumph Over Tragedy. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he lives near Los Angeles, California.
1586483173 text_rev.qxd:Layout 1 5/19/09 1:55 PM Page 282
PublicAffairs is a publishing house founded in 1997. It is a tribute to the standards, values, and flair of three persons who have served as mentors to countless reporters, writers, editors, and book people of all kinds, including me.
I. F. Stone, proprietor of I. F. Stone’s Weekly, combined a commitment to the First Amendment with entrepreneurial zeal and reporting skill and became one of the great independent journal-ists in American history. At the age of eighty, Izzy published The Trial of Socrates, which was a national bestseller. He wrote the book after he taught himself ancient Greek.
Benjamin C. Bradlee was for nearly thirty years the charismatic editorial leader of The Washington Post. It was Ben who gave the Post the range and courage to pursue such historic issues as Watergate. He supported his reporters with a tenacity that made them fearless and it is no accident that so many became authors of influential, best-selling books.
Robert L. Bernstein, the chief executive of Random House for more than a quarter century, guided one of the nation’s premier publishing houses. Bob was personally responsible for many books of political dissent and argument that challenged tyranny around the globe. He is also the founder and longtime chair of Human Rights Watch, one of the most respected human rights organizations in the world.
• • •
For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner Morris B. Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toyn-bee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors. In 1983, Schnapper was described by The Washington Post as “a redoubtable gadfly.”
His legacy will endure in the books to come.
Peter Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large
Document Outline
Contents
Photo Sections
Acknowledgments
Prologue: A True Comic
Blood Brothers
The Hippest Room
Mitzi's Store
Tom, Dave, and George
All About Budd
Six Minutes, Twenty-two Laughs
The Boys' Club
Guns, Drugs, and Westwood
Comedy University
Richard's Baroness, Steve's Movie
The Funniest Year Ever
Roommates
The New Year's Resolution
Drugs and Theft
Order, Please
Diary of a Young Comic
The Gauntlet
Comedians for Compensation
Choosing Up Sides
Fire!
The Vote
All on the Line
Dave's Big Night
The Union Forever?
Jay's Big Flop
"My Name Is Steve Lubetkin"
A Standing Ovation
Epilogue: The Prisoner of Memory
Index A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era Page 30