WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.100 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we are strapping 00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:04.900 in and taking you straight to the heart of how 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.620 modern stand -up comedy was professionalized, 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:11.259 monetized, and, well, frankly, militarized sometimes. 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.119 Yeah, it's quite a story. We're talking about 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:15.339 one venue, the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:19.199 and the really complex figures who ran it. Starting 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:21.480 with the showman Sammy Shore, but, you know, 00:00:21.579 --> 00:00:24.739 ultimately defined by the legendary, maybe infamous, 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:27.969 demanding gatekeeper, Mitzi Shore. Right. And 00:00:27.969 --> 00:00:30.410 it's vital, I think, to frame this accurately 00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:32.950 for you listening. This wasn't just another club 00:00:32.950 --> 00:00:35.670 where comedians performed. It was. More like 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:37.990 the crucible, the college of comedy, as she called 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:40.689 it. Our source today, it's a powerful stack of 00:00:40.689 --> 00:00:43.289 biographical bits, historical excerpts about 00:00:43.289 --> 00:00:45.609 both Mitzi and Sammy Short. They really force 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:47.990 us to look beyond just the punchlines. We're 00:00:47.990 --> 00:00:50.590 going to examine the volatile economic and cultural 00:00:50.590 --> 00:00:53.409 environment that produced these global superstars. 00:00:53.549 --> 00:00:56.329 So our mission here is to dissect the central 00:00:56.329 --> 00:00:58.770 kind of incredible paradox of this institution. 00:00:58.950 --> 00:01:02.649 How did this chaotic high pressure venue, which, 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:04.989 you know, famously refused. to pay its performers 00:01:04.989 --> 00:01:07.349 for years. Yeah, that's the kicker. How did that 00:01:07.349 --> 00:01:09.750 place become the single most important launching 00:01:09.750 --> 00:01:13.250 pad for the careers of basically every major 00:01:13.250 --> 00:01:16.069 name? We're talking Jay Leno, David Letterman, 00:01:16.370 --> 00:01:19.930 Robin Williams, Joe Rogan. The list goes on and 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:22.780 on. How did a no pay showcase become the institution 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:26.519 that defined professional comedy? OK, let's let's 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:28.439 unpack this history. Right. So to really get 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:30.180 the rise of the comedy store, we actually have 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:32.319 to start not with Minty, but with her husband 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:34.719 at the time, Sammy Shore, his co -founder. OK. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:41.060 The club opened its doors April 1972. 8433 West 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:43.180 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. A legendary 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:45.920 address. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. And Sammy opened 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:48.099 it with Rudy DeLuca, who was a screenwriter and 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:50.379 actor. Yeah. But really, it was Sammy's status 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:52.980 as a working, pretty high -level comic himself 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:56.310 that was the immediate draw. But what's so fascinating 00:01:56.310 --> 00:02:00.049 to me here is that the address itself, 8433 Sunset, 00:02:00.069 --> 00:02:03.189 it already carried this immense weight of Hollywood 00:02:03.189 --> 00:02:06.709 history. It lent this strange kind of immediate, 00:02:06.849 --> 00:02:09.349 maybe borrowed glamour to this new comedy venture. 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:11.409 Totally. It wasn't just any storefront. It was 00:02:11.409 --> 00:02:12.930 moving into a piece of entertainment royalty, 00:02:13.110 --> 00:02:15.969 wasn't it? Yeah, exactly. And if we connect this 00:02:15.969 --> 00:02:18.990 to the bigger picture of the Sunset Strip, this 00:02:18.990 --> 00:02:21.909 building had a serious reputation long before 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:23.629 stand -up was even the main thing there. Like 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:26.849 what? What was there before? Well, back in 1935, 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:31.389 the location housed Club Seville. And Club Seville 00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:35.430 was known for this utterly crystal marine room. 00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:38.289 Can you imagine this? Go on. A dance floor made 00:02:38.289 --> 00:02:40.969 of actual crystal. And underneath it, you could 00:02:40.969 --> 00:02:44.330 see like subsurface fish swimming around in fountains. 00:02:44.409 --> 00:02:48.909 It was the absolute definition of high end 1930s 00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:51.490 Hollywood excess. Oh, wow. OK, so it was already 00:02:51.490 --> 00:02:54.129 associated with serious opulence and spectacle. 00:02:54.210 --> 00:02:57.370 Totally. Then in 1940, it became Ciro's. And 00:02:57.370 --> 00:02:59.469 Ciro's was the quintessential Hollywood nightclub 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:01.590 for almost two decades, running right up until 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:04.430 1957. Every big star. went there presumably every 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:06.949 major movie star every power player the era if 00:03:06.949 --> 00:03:08.990 you were someone you were seen at cirrus then 00:03:08.990 --> 00:03:10.870 the building transitioned you know in the early 00:03:10.870 --> 00:03:14.189 1960s into cirrus la disc ah the rock and roll 00:03:14.189 --> 00:03:17.550 era exactly shifted focus to rock became incredibly 00:03:17.550 --> 00:03:19.469 influential in its own right that's actually 00:03:19.469 --> 00:03:21.590 where the birds were famously discovered in 1964. 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:25.710 that's amazing so when sammy shore leased or 00:03:25.710 --> 00:03:28.590 bought this space in 72 he wasn't just getting 00:03:28.590 --> 00:03:32.150 a room he was inheriting decades of legendary 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:35.520 very like A -list electricity. That's a great 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:37.819 way to put it. This wasn't some random hole in 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:40.300 the wall. It had serious pedigree, even if he 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:42.080 was turning it into a very different kind of 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:44.460 venue focused on comedy. And that pedigree sort 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:46.139 of popped back up, didn't it? Just two years 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:49.240 later in 74. Yeah, there's this perfect anecdote. 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.240 It really speaks to the continuity of Hollywood 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:54.340 history there. The Comedy Store hosted the wedding 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:57.360 reception for Liza Minnelli and Jack Haley Jr. 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:00.719 Wow. Liza Minnelli's wedding reception at the 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.419 Comedy Store. Well, sort of. And the detail that 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:05.860 really sticks with me, from the sources, is that 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:07.659 the club actually had to cover up its own Comedy 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:09.969 Store signage for the evening. No way. Yeah, 00:04:09.969 --> 00:04:12.750 they put up signs that just read Zeros, specifically 00:04:12.750 --> 00:04:15.389 to, you know, invoke the building's glamorous 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:17.730 past and suit the occasion. Who was there? It 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:19.670 must have been packed with stars. Oh, it's a 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:23.230 total who's who event. Massive figures like Elizabeth 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:27.730 Taylor, Johnny Carson, Bob Foss, Cher, Sammy 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:31.589 Davis Jr., another Sammy, and dozens more. It 00:04:31.589 --> 00:04:34.089 really cemented the club's position early on 00:04:34.089 --> 00:04:36.610 as a place where show business at its highest 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:39.709 level. still happened. That context is so crucial 00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:42.029 because it demonstrates that Sammy Shore, you 00:04:42.029 --> 00:04:43.889 know, he wasn't some newcomer just trying to 00:04:43.889 --> 00:04:46.689 scratch out a living. He was established. He 00:04:46.689 --> 00:04:49.170 moved in those circles. Definitely. Let's delve 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:50.970 into his background a bit more. Where did this 00:04:50.970 --> 00:04:53.730 professional showman come from? Well, Sammy started 00:04:53.730 --> 00:04:56.509 his career doing stand up. with Shecky Green, 00:04:56.649 --> 00:04:58.449 actually, way back in the Catskill Mountains. 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.129 The classic Borscht Belt training ground. Exactly. 00:05:01.189 --> 00:05:02.990 That was the traditional proving ground, especially 00:05:02.990 --> 00:05:06.509 for Jewish comedians in the 40s and 50s. And 00:05:06.509 --> 00:05:08.930 that history, I think, gave him a really deep 00:05:08.930 --> 00:05:11.629 appreciation for the craft, but also for the 00:05:11.629 --> 00:05:14.230 need for a relentless work ethic. But his biggest 00:05:14.230 --> 00:05:16.069 professional break, the one that probably gave 00:05:16.069 --> 00:05:18.910 him the capital and the connections he needed 00:05:18.910 --> 00:05:21.310 to even think about launching Comedy Store, that 00:05:21.310 --> 00:05:23.750 was tied to the king himself, right? Precisely. 00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:28.730 His huge pivotal moment came in 1969. Sammy was 00:05:28.730 --> 00:05:31.350 chosen to open for Elvis Presley's massive comeback 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:33.709 performance at the International Hotel in Las 00:05:33.709 --> 00:05:36.389 Vegas. That's monumental. Elvis's return was 00:05:36.389 --> 00:05:40.110 like global news. Absolutely huge. And he didn't 00:05:40.110 --> 00:05:41.889 just get a one -off gig out of it. He became 00:05:41.889 --> 00:05:44.230 a regular fixture for the king. Right. He kept 00:05:44.230 --> 00:05:46.550 opening for Elvis's road shows right up until 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:51.110 1972, which is tellingly the exact same year 00:05:51.110 --> 00:05:53.370 he opened the club. Interesting timing. Yeah. 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:55.329 And he was a professional success story beyond 00:05:55.329 --> 00:05:58.449 Elvis, too. He opened for other massive headliners. 00:05:58.689 --> 00:06:01.519 Tony Orlando, Tony Bennett. Barbra Streisand, 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.720 Sammy Davis Jr. again. He really understood the 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.860 economics and the demands of being a top tier 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:09.500 working comic. That's important context for later 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:12.000 when we discuss the club's philosophy. And he 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:13.720 wasn't just a comic. Our sources mentioned he 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:15.500 had other layers, too. He served in the U .S. 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:17.439 Navy during World War II. Right. Brings a certain 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:19.639 discipline, maybe. And he later appeared in films, 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:22.199 including some classic Mel Brooks movies like 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.240 Life Stinks and History of the World Part One. 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:26.680 Yeah, he was around. So Sammy seems like the 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.860 perfect guy to launch this club. Seasoned, incredibly 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:32.240 well -connected, disciplined from his service. 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:36.980 He absolutely was. However, the story of a comedy 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:39.199 store as we really know it, the institution it 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:42.980 became, that story truly begins the moment he 00:06:42.980 --> 00:06:45.480 steps away. Sammy might have launched the club, 00:06:45.620 --> 00:06:48.040 but it was Mitzi Shore, his wife, who became 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:51.819 its living, breathing, and frankly, sometimes 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:54.449 terrifying identity. Okay, so here's where the 00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:57.350 narrative takes a hard pivot. Sammy was the successful 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.209 opener, the established name, but Mitzi -born 00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:02.910 Lillian Sadal, she became the essential gatekeeper, 00:07:02.970 --> 00:07:04.730 didn't she? Completely, yeah. She was born in 00:07:04.730 --> 00:07:07.769 1930 in Marinette, Wisconsin. Quite a journey 00:07:07.769 --> 00:07:09.610 from there to the Sunset Strip. Definitely. She 00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:11.449 studied art, actually, at the University of Wisconsin 00:07:11.449 --> 00:07:13.949 -Madison, a field that feels, you know, worlds 00:07:13.949 --> 00:07:16.110 away from the cutthroat entertainment business. 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:18.990 Very different vibe. But she dropped out of university 00:07:18.990 --> 00:07:20.930 after meeting Sammy Shore, and they got married 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:23.699 in 1950. So they were married for quite a while. 00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:26.199 Yeah, 24 years. Raised four children together. 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:29.879 But their divorce in 1974, which was two years 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.430 after the club opened. That's the absolute critical 00:07:32.430 --> 00:07:34.470 hinge point. That's what gave birth to the modern 00:07:34.470 --> 00:07:36.550 comedy store. And the divorce settlement. This 00:07:36.550 --> 00:07:38.610 is the part that's always seemed kind of wild 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:41.550 to me. Mitzi acquired complete total ownership 00:07:41.550 --> 00:07:43.449 of the comedy store as part of that agreement. 00:07:43.610 --> 00:07:45.110 That's right. But wait, I need clarification 00:07:45.110 --> 00:07:47.910 here. So Sammy Shore, this guy opening for Elvis, 00:07:48.129 --> 00:07:50.910 presumably making good money, he valued the club 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:53.730 so little that he basically traded it to lower 00:07:53.730 --> 00:07:56.889 his alimony payments. Was the club actually like... 00:07:57.100 --> 00:07:59.579 Losing money then? Or was the valuation just 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:02.220 low because of the no pay model for comics? That 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:04.279 is the million dollar question, isn't it? And 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:05.920 the sources are pretty explicit on this. Sammy 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:08.180 himself stated, this was in a 2003 interview, 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.680 that he, quote, relinquished control of the club 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:14.079 to lower his alimony payments. Wow. So if we 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:17.420 look at the economics of 74, the club was still 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:20.480 a new venture, right? Still finding its footing. 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:23.040 And its entire structure was built around paying 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.819 zero dollars to its main talent. The comedians. 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.040 Right. Meaning the overhead on talent was nonexistent, 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:31.720 but the potential revenue wasn't fully realized 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.379 yet. So the business probably looked more like 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:36.559 an operational headache than a guaranteed goldmine, 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:39.820 especially compared to, you know, hard cash alimony 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:41.820 payments he wouldn't have to make. Precisely. 00:08:42.169 --> 00:08:45.070 For a working comedian like Sammy, who was still 00:08:45.070 --> 00:08:48.610 touring, the stability of a lower fixed alimony 00:08:48.610 --> 00:08:51.809 payment was likely way preferable to the daily 00:08:51.809 --> 00:08:54.470 headaches and the financial uncertainty of running 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:56.929 a brand new nightclub venture on Sunset. It really 00:08:56.929 --> 00:08:59.309 speaks volumes about how the club was perceived 00:08:59.309 --> 00:09:01.909 in those very early days. Sammy wanted out. He 00:09:01.909 --> 00:09:04.730 did. And Mitzi clearly saw the potential that 00:09:04.730 --> 00:09:06.889 maybe he didn't fully grasp or didn't want the 00:09:06.889 --> 00:09:09.610 hassle of realizing. And Mitzi, right away, she 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:11.700 proved she was a pretty shrewd operator. didn't 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:13.639 she? She didn't have Sammy's headline or cash 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:16.100 flow, so how did she even keep the doors open 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:18.440 initially? Well, the sources reveal that almost 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:20.879 immediately after taking full control, Mitzi 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.779 went straight to her network. She secured a significant 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:26.500 cash loan from none other than comedian Shecky 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:29.279 Green. Sammy's old Catskills partner. The very 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.539 same. That loan was crucial to ensure operations 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:35.039 could continue smoothly. It was a savvy move. 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:37.299 Shochi understood the business side right away. 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:39.899 Leverage your relationships, maintain cash flow, 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:41.940 whatever it takes. And she wasn't content just 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:45.220 keeping the lights on. She expanded aggressively. 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.639 Oh, yeah. She completely transformed the venue 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:51.720 from, you know, a modest showcase room into a 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.679 comedy behemoth. In 1976, she didn't just renew 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.559 the lease on the space. She bought the whole 00:09:57.559 --> 00:10:00.090 building. Bought the entire building. and immediately 00:10:00.090 --> 00:10:02.789 started renovations, expanded that initial 99 00:10:02.789 --> 00:10:06.370 -seat theater into a massive 450 -seat main room. 00:10:06.509 --> 00:10:09.429 That's a huge leap. Huge. This wasn't just minor 00:10:09.429 --> 00:10:12.049 structural work. This signaled her ambition loud 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:14.700 and clear. She was creating a venue designed 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:17.399 for profit, designed for mass consumption of 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:20.259 comedy. And her role was never just like manager 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:22.600 in the back office, right? She became the arbiter 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:24.340 of taste. She was one deciding who got stage 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:26.700 time, who developed, who failed. Absolutely. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:28.980 She was deeply involved, not just in the day 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:30.919 -to -day management, but crucially in the recruitment 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:33.759 and maybe most importantly, the development of 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.860 talent. She didn't just book acts. She molded 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:39.919 them. And the list of names she either launched 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.639 or seriously nurtured there. It's basically a 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.059 who's who of American stand up for the next 30 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:48.840 years. It really is. You've got the titans of 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.620 television and arena comedy. David Letterman, 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.259 Jay Leno, Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld. Just 00:10:55.259 --> 00:10:57.879 mass. The edgier guys, the character comics. 00:10:58.039 --> 00:10:59.980 Right. People like Roseanne Barr, Jim Carrey, 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:02.759 Whoopi Goldberg, Andrew Dice Clay. And then even 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:04.840 the modern generation, the podcasters who came 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.120 up through her system, like Joe Rogan and Marc 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:10.279 Maron, Gary Shandling, too. Pauly Shore, her 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:12.679 son, obviously. It was like she created this 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:15.360 intense environment where if you could survive 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:18.039 Mitzi's system, her boot camp, you were ready 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:20.139 for primetime anywhere in the world. But that 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:22.399 very intensity combined with the fact that this 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.460 huge 450. seat room was now filling her pockets. 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:29.019 That's what created the inescapable tension, 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:30.779 isn't it? The thing that boiled over into that 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:33.940 defining labor dispute. Exactly. The comedians 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:35.679 eventually realized they were building her empire 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:38.860 night after night for free, and they decided 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:41.120 they'd had enough. Yeah, this is the era where 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.440 the club really transcends just being an entertainment 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.700 venue. It becomes a pivotal piece of, believe 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.960 or not, American labor history. And it all hinged 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:53.179 on Mitzi's famous or maybe infamous College of 00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:55.539 Comedy philosophy. That was her line, yeah. Let's 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:57.620 break that down a bit. She insisted the venue 00:11:57.620 --> 00:11:59.700 was purely a training ground, right? Yeah. A 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:01.840 place where aspiring comics learned their craft. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.899 And the payment wasn't cash. It was exposure 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.700 to casting agents, talent scouts. Stage time 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:11.710 was the currency. Mm -hmm. Was this like a genuinely 00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:14.289 held artistic philosophy on her part? Or was 00:12:14.289 --> 00:12:16.289 it just a really cynical business model designed 00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:19.090 to maximize her profit? You know, I think the 00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:21.970 truth is it was probably both. And that's what 00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:24.610 makes Mitzi such a fascinating, complicated figure. 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:26.769 How so? On one hand, she seemed to genuinely 00:12:26.769 --> 00:12:28.669 believe that if you got paid, you wouldn't be 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:30.389 hungry enough. You wouldn't push yourself to 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:33.549 innovate. She saw herself as running this rigorous, 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:36.389 demanding artistic academy. But? The business 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:39.610 reality was just inescapable, wasn't it? It allowed 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:42.889 her to run a major expanding nightclub on the 00:12:42.889 --> 00:12:45.409 Sunset Strip without having a payroll for her 00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:48.470 core product, the performers. So connecting that 00:12:48.470 --> 00:12:51.450 to the bigger picture of labor, she was essentially 00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:54.230 arguing that artistic passion somehow negated 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:56.669 the need for actual wages. Pretty much. Yeah. 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:58.850 And here's the detail that really highlights 00:12:58.850 --> 00:13:01.429 the maybe the cynicism or at least the business 00:13:01.429 --> 00:13:04.370 calculation involved. Shore did pay her entire 00:13:04.370 --> 00:13:07.059 operational staff. Right. The bartenders, the 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:09.899 waitresses, the door guys, the coat check people, 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.500 they were all getting paid. Everyone else was 00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:14.879 on payroll. It was only the talent, the people 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:17.000 actually generating the revenue by bringing in 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.700 the crowds who worked entirely for free, for 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:21.639 exposure. So the resentment must have been building 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:25.019 for years. What was the final trigger? It really 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:27.679 reached a breaking point after 1976. That's when 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.720 Mitzi bought the whole building and finished 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:32.460 that big expansion to the 450 -seat main room. 00:13:32.580 --> 00:13:35.460 The comics saw the place packed. Night after 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:37.960 night, they saw the significant profits coming 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:41.480 in and they just felt understandably that they 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.639 were being exploited. They were the engine and 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:45.820 they deserved a piece of the action. Their work 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:49.019 justified payment. So in 1979, they decided to 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:52.539 organize. To unionize. Yeah. They formed this 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:55.600 short -lived labor union called Comedians for 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:58.610 Compensation. Their demand was simple, get paid 00:13:58.610 --> 00:14:00.970 for performing sets. And Mitzi refused. Flat 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:03.529 out refused, which led directly to a bitter, 00:14:03.649 --> 00:14:06.669 pretty grueling six -week picket line that kicked 00:14:06.669 --> 00:14:09.450 off in March 1979. Now, this wasn't just some 00:14:09.450 --> 00:14:11.570 minor disagreement. This was an existential battle, 00:14:11.730 --> 00:14:14.549 wasn't it? It split the entire L .A. comedy community 00:14:14.549 --> 00:14:16.769 right down the middle, pitted friends against 00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:19.330 each other. Oh, absolutely. Deep divisions. Who 00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:21.110 were the major figures leading the picket line? 00:14:21.210 --> 00:14:23.230 Who was willing to risk Mitzi's wrath? Well, 00:14:23.269 --> 00:14:25.210 the leadership included some guys who would become 00:14:25.210 --> 00:14:28.649 future giants. Jay Leno was a big voice, already 00:14:28.649 --> 00:14:31.590 known for his incredible work ethic. Tom Driesen 00:14:31.590 --> 00:14:33.850 was a really powerful organizer behind the scenes. 00:14:34.110 --> 00:14:37.850 And David Letterman, incredibly, served as the 00:14:37.850 --> 00:14:40.750 emcee for the picketers, leading chants, holding 00:14:40.750 --> 00:14:43.610 rallies right outside the club. Wow, Letterman 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:46.470 as a picket captain. Yeah. They were highly visible, 00:14:46.610 --> 00:14:49.009 and they were absolutely risking their careers 00:14:49.009 --> 00:14:51.389 by standing outside that club door every night. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:53.860 And on the other side, who crossed the line? 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.460 Because that decision, I imagine, haunted some 00:14:56.460 --> 00:14:59.720 comics for years afterwards. It did. Comics who 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:02.200 famously crossed the picket line included Gary 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:05.399 Shandling and Yakov Smirnoff. It highlights just 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:07.480 how incredibly difficult that personal choice 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.759 was. Why cross? Well, for many working comics, 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:12.960 especially those not yet established, the Comedy 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:16.059 Store was basically the only game in town. Their 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:18.100 entire livelihood, their chance at getting seen, 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:22.070 depended on staying in Mitzi's good graces. Crossing 00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:24.330 that line was seen by some as a sign of loyalty 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:27.049 to the institution, even if it meant betraying 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:29.990 their striking peers. Huge pressure. And the 00:15:29.990 --> 00:15:33.409 sources are also really clear on the legal footing 00:15:33.409 --> 00:15:37.090 of this whole dispute, which is crucial for understanding 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.409 why Mitzi maybe felt she had the upper hand for 00:15:39.409 --> 00:15:41.330 so long. Yeah, what's really fascinating here, 00:15:41.429 --> 00:15:45.259 legally speaking, is that this job action. it 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:47.379 wasn't technically considered a strike under 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:49.659 labor law. Why not? Because Mitzi's business 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:52.960 model classified all the comedians as independent 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:56.340 contractors, not as employees under any kind 00:15:56.340 --> 00:15:58.860 of contract. Ah, the contractor loophole. Exactly. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.720 She didn't issue traditional paychecks or W -2s. 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:05.179 She offered stage time. So she could basically 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:08.620 evade traditional labor laws because the performers 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:11.440 were classified as freelancers receiving a showcase 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.019 opportunity rather than as workers providing 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:16.179 a paid service. So the Comedians for Compensation 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:19.419 Union had a really tough legal battle. Incredibly 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:21.659 difficult. They were fighting not just a powerful 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:24.899 club owner, but also this fundamental technicality 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:27.379 in labor law that totally favored the owner in 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:29.759 this specific setup. And that six week picket 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.539 line. It wasn't just people holding signs peacefully, 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:35.759 was it? Things got heated. Jay Leno was famously 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.179 injured. That's right. Lena was actually hit 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:40.539 by a car that was attempting to, like, rush through 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:42.000 the picket line. That highlights the physical 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:45.340 danger involved and just the raw, escalating 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:47.980 emotion of the dispute. Both sides felt completely 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:51.049 justified, you imagine. Absolutely. Mitzi felt 00:16:51.049 --> 00:16:54.029 justified in her artistic ideal of exposure and 00:16:54.029 --> 00:16:56.750 running her college. The comics felt justified 00:16:56.750 --> 00:16:58.990 in their basic economic right to be paid for 00:16:58.990 --> 00:17:01.450 work that was clearly generating huge profits 00:17:01.450 --> 00:17:04.470 for the club. But the conflict took a truly, 00:17:04.529 --> 00:17:07.769 truly tragic turn, one that cemented the human 00:17:07.769 --> 00:17:11.150 cost of that no -pay philosophy forever. We have 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:12.809 to pause here, I think, and talk about Steve 00:17:12.809 --> 00:17:16.809 Libetkin. Yes, this is the really dark moment. 00:17:16.890 --> 00:17:19.779 The turning point was tragically real. A comedian 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:22.240 named Steve Lubetkin, who was reportedly struggling 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.859 both financially and emotionally, he committed 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:27.299 suicide. He jumped off the roof of the adjacent 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:29.700 Continental Hyatt house. The infamous riot house. 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:32.839 The very same, which significantly overlooked 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.480 the comedy store. Oh, my God. That's incredibly 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:37.559 heavy. What was the impact of his death on the 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:39.980 ongoing dispute? Did it change things? It had 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:43.650 to. His suicide note was explicit. It directly 00:17:43.650 --> 00:17:47.650 cited Mitzi Shore and his inability to work at 00:17:47.650 --> 00:17:50.509 the store as contributing factors. The most heartbreaking 00:17:50.509 --> 00:17:54.170 line read, My name is Steve Lubetkin. I used 00:17:54.170 --> 00:17:56.910 to work at the comedy store. He apparently hoped 00:17:56.910 --> 00:17:58.769 his death would serve as the ultimate resolution 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:01.470 to the struggle. And the sources suggest this 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:04.430 tragedy just profoundly shocked and destabilized 00:18:04.430 --> 00:18:07.210 the entire community. It forced both sides, I 00:18:07.210 --> 00:18:09.690 think, to recognize the real severity of the 00:18:09.690 --> 00:18:11.990 economic desperation that Mitzi's system could 00:18:11.990 --> 00:18:15.150 foster for struggling artists. So did Mitzi Shore 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:17.369 finally relent then? Did she give in after that? 00:18:17.569 --> 00:18:20.230 She did relent, but importantly, only after she 00:18:20.230 --> 00:18:22.450 lost her competitive advantage. It wasn't purely 00:18:22.450 --> 00:18:24.990 out of sorrow or immediate legal pressure, it 00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:26.970 seems. What do you mean? She only folded once. 00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:29.470 Her main competitor in L .A. Bud Friedman, who 00:18:29.470 --> 00:18:31.609 owned the Improv Club, announced that he would 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:34.410 start paying his comics. Ah, market forces. Exactly. 00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:37.150 Once the L .A. market standard shifted, Mitzi 00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:38.990 really had no choice if she wanted to retain 00:18:38.990 --> 00:18:41.750 any top talent. So she finally agreed to pay 00:18:41.750 --> 00:18:44.109 the comics. The amount agreed upon was $15 per 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:47.670 set. $15, which sounds like almost nothing today. 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:50.109 But if we put that into economic context, what 00:18:50.109 --> 00:18:53.450 was $15 worth back in 1979? Yeah, sounds tiny. 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:56.650 But our sources indicate that $15 per set in 00:18:56.650 --> 00:19:00.049 79 is roughly the equivalent of about $65 today. 00:19:00.269 --> 00:19:02.750 Okay, so not life -changing money, but... Not 00:19:02.750 --> 00:19:04.289 life -changing, but it was a crucial foundational 00:19:04.289 --> 00:19:07.809 step. It marked the definitive end of unpaid 00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:11.250 labor as the standard model at the store. It 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:13.990 was symbolic and practically important. And that 00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:16.109 settlement hammered out through this intense, 00:19:16.269 --> 00:19:18.849 sometimes tragic labor action in Los Angeles. 00:19:19.210 --> 00:19:22.230 It immediately set a new national standard, didn't 00:19:22.230 --> 00:19:24.569 it? It absolutely did. It forced the New York 00:19:24.569 --> 00:19:26.690 City clubs, places like Catch a Rising Star, 00:19:26.910 --> 00:19:29.410 and other major comedy venues across the U .S. 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:31.309 to start compensating their stand -up talent 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:34.309 as well. So this six -week standoff, born from 00:19:34.309 --> 00:19:36.650 the success and the policies of the comedy store, 00:19:36.990 --> 00:19:39.890 irrevocably changed the entire economic structure 00:19:39.890 --> 00:19:42.289 of professional stand -up comedy. Yeah, it really 00:19:42.289 --> 00:19:44.450 helped turn... it from what was often seen as 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:46.349 a hobbyist's pursuit or something you did for 00:19:46.349 --> 00:19:48.869 exposure on the side into a potentially paid 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:51.170 career path right from the club level. A huge 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.450 shift. What's so remarkable about Missy Shore, 00:19:53.549 --> 00:19:56.410 though, is that despite her incredible stubbornness 00:19:56.410 --> 00:19:59.329 on the compensation issue, she showed surprising 00:19:59.329 --> 00:20:01.799 foresight. maybe even institutional bravery, 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:04.819 when it came to diversity and inclusion within 00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:06.920 the club itself. That's another layer to her 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.380 complexity, absolutely. She seemed to recognize 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:11.880 that talent wasn't monolithic, and she created 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.440 these necessary institutional spaces for voices 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.200 that were often routinely excluded elsewhere. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:19.740 Right. The boys club environment of professional 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:22.220 comedy back then was notorious, wasn't it? Oh, 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:25.849 incredibly so. And Mitzi... perhaps recognizing 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:28.549 that a huge pool of talent was being overlooked 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:30.309 or maybe wasn't comfortable in the main room, 00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.450 deliberately broke that mold right there within 00:20:33.450 --> 00:20:35.630 her own club on the Sunset Strip. And the most 00:20:35.630 --> 00:20:37.670 famous example of this has to be the Belly Room. 00:20:38.089 --> 00:20:40.930 Tell us about that space. Why was it so revolutionary, 00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:43.309 especially for female comics? So Mitzi converted 00:20:43.309 --> 00:20:45.789 the upstairs section of the club into the Belly 00:20:45.789 --> 00:20:49.650 Room. This was as early as 1978, even before 00:20:49.650 --> 00:20:52.609 the strike fully resolved. It was a really tight, 00:20:52.730 --> 00:20:55.890 intimate space, only held about 50 seats. And 00:20:55.890 --> 00:20:58.190 for a significant period, Mitzi ran it with a 00:20:58.190 --> 00:21:01.329 pretty radical policy. She booked female comedians 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:03.750 exclusively. Exclusively women? Why was that 00:21:03.750 --> 00:21:06.029 necessary? Couldn't women just perform on the 00:21:06.029 --> 00:21:09.029 main stage downstairs? Well, they could, and 00:21:09.029 --> 00:21:11.410 some did, but they often faced an immediate disadvantage. 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.750 The sources suggest the main room, often dominated 00:21:14.750 --> 00:21:17.349 by established male comics and catering to a 00:21:17.349 --> 00:21:19.509 predominantly male audience sensibility at the 00:21:19.509 --> 00:21:21.809 time, just didn't always provide the same supportive 00:21:21.809 --> 00:21:24.170 environment. Especially not for women trying 00:21:24.170 --> 00:21:26.769 to develop edgier, riskier, more personal material. 00:21:27.029 --> 00:21:29.309 So the belly room was like an incubator. Exactly. 00:21:29.309 --> 00:21:31.410 It provided this almost unheard of opportunity 00:21:31.410 --> 00:21:33.890 for female comedians to really find their voice, 00:21:33.950 --> 00:21:35.829 to bomb safely, refine their material, build 00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:38.089 a following. all without the immediate pressure 00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:40.230 and maybe judgment of the main room's expectations. 00:21:40.650 --> 00:21:42.670 It was crucial for women who would later define 00:21:42.670 --> 00:21:46.210 comedy, like Roseanne Barr and Whoopi Goldberg 00:21:46.210 --> 00:21:48.589 definitely came through there. And her commitment 00:21:48.589 --> 00:21:50.769 to inclusion, it didn't stop with the belly room, 00:21:50.829 --> 00:21:52.710 right? She kept creating these specialized nights 00:21:52.710 --> 00:21:56.210 for decades. Yeah, she did. As the club matured, 00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.430 Mitzi seemed to understand that variety wasn't 00:21:58.430 --> 00:22:00.869 just fair, it was good business. It kept things 00:22:00.869 --> 00:22:04.329 fresh. So in the 1990s, she created specific 00:22:04.329 --> 00:22:06.849 specialty nights dedicated to Latino performers, 00:22:07.289 --> 00:22:09.950 gay performers, lesbian performers groups that 00:22:09.950 --> 00:22:12.509 often struggled to get consistent quality stage 00:22:12.509 --> 00:22:15.250 time in more traditional venues. And we absolutely 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:17.710 have to highlight Fat Tuesdays. That became legendary. 00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:21.309 Fat Tuesdays was immense. Yeah. It ran for years 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:24.269 and became this essential foundational staple 00:22:24.269 --> 00:22:27.049 for the black comedy scene in Los Angeles. She 00:22:27.049 --> 00:22:29.089 provided the infrastructure, the room, the staff, 00:22:29.150 --> 00:22:31.480 the promotion, the platform necessary. for that 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.420 community to really grow and thrive within the 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:35.799 store. It launched so many careers. A whole generation 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:38.400 of black comics got crucial developmental stage 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:40.200 time there that they might never have gotten 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:42.799 otherwise. It really shows Mitzi was focused 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.400 not just on who was funny right now, but who 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.400 could be funny next, regardless of their background. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.579 She had an eye for raw talent. So it's this incredible 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:54.000 contradiction again. On one hand, she's running 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.289 this tight... arguably exploited a business model 00:22:57.289 --> 00:23:00.150 that leads to a tragic strike. But on the other 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:02.950 hand, she's this champion of marginalized talent, 00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:05.710 providing them with institutional support that 00:23:05.710 --> 00:23:07.970 was basically unmatched anywhere else in the 00:23:07.970 --> 00:23:10.589 industry at the time. It's baffling. And yeah, 00:23:10.670 --> 00:23:12.910 kind of beautiful in its complexity. And that 00:23:12.910 --> 00:23:15.569 contradiction, that mix of support and chaos, 00:23:15.769 --> 00:23:18.490 it extended directly into the living arrangements 00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:20.809 of her comics, too, didn't it? We absolutely 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:23.750 have to talk about the most legendary, most chaotic 00:23:23.750 --> 00:23:27.269 comedy incubator maybe in history. The Crest 00:23:27.269 --> 00:23:29.869 Hill House. Oh, the Crest Hill House. Yes. The 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:32.809 comedy frat house, as it's often called. The 00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:35.690 sheer level of talent and, frankly, debauchery 00:23:35.690 --> 00:23:38.970 that was concentrated in that one single 5 ,000 00:23:38.970 --> 00:23:41.769 square foot house. It's just staggering to think 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:43.609 about. So Mitzi owned this house. Where was it? 00:23:43.730 --> 00:23:45.849 Yeah, she bought this house nearby. The address 00:23:45.849 --> 00:23:48.710 was 8420 Crest Hill Road. She actually bought 00:23:48.710 --> 00:23:50.170 it at the same time she bought the club building 00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:53.890 itself back in 1976. But it wasn't until 1979, 00:23:54.109 --> 00:23:55.990 interestingly, right around the time the strike 00:23:55.990 --> 00:23:58.710 was happening or just ending, that she essentially 00:23:58.710 --> 00:24:00.650 just gave the place over to the working comics, 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:02.369 let them crash there, sleep there, live there, 00:24:02.450 --> 00:24:05.759 basically rent free. Wow. Why would she do that? 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:07.839 Was it like an economic tool to keep them loyal 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.240 and around after the strike? Or was it more a 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.559 genuine attempt to foster some kind of, you know, 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:15.880 24 -7 comedy community? I suspect it was likely 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.359 a bit of both. But primarily, I think she wanted 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:21.480 to foster that intense, hyper -competitive, always 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:23.960 -on atmosphere, keep the comics immersed. And 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:26.890 it worked. Oh, yeah. The house became legendary 00:24:26.890 --> 00:24:28.970 for these all night writing sessions that would 00:24:28.970 --> 00:24:32.049 immediately devolve into all night parties. Fueled 00:24:32.049 --> 00:24:34.509 very heavily, according to our sources, by cocaine 00:24:34.509 --> 00:24:37.150 and alcohol. It was a nonstop pressure cooker 00:24:37.150 --> 00:24:39.650 designed to test and refine material. Basically 00:24:39.650 --> 00:24:43.309 247. The list of residents. It's just astonishing. 00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:45.230 And it wasn't just the young up and coming talent 00:24:45.230 --> 00:24:47.809 living there, right? No, not at all. It attracted 00:24:47.809 --> 00:24:50.009 some of the biggest names, too, people drawn 00:24:50.009 --> 00:24:52.910 in by the creative energy, the chaos. Residents 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:56.190 included Andrew Dice Clay, Mark Maron, Richard 00:24:56.190 --> 00:24:58.630 Pryor dropped in, Robin Williams hung out there. 00:24:58.930 --> 00:25:01.509 These were already stars living side by side 00:25:01.509 --> 00:25:04.990 with younger comics. Bill Hicks, the iconic counterculture 00:25:04.990 --> 00:25:07.069 comic, actually moved into the house when he 00:25:07.069 --> 00:25:09.599 was just 18 years old. I cannot even imagine 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.900 the atmosphere in that house. The sources suggest 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:14.940 it was just this environment of constant, brutal, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.880 creative competition. It was like the ultimate 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:22.019 unscheduled high -stakes masterclass. Jim Carrey, 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.160 who stayed there for a period, is specifically 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:26.980 noted in our sources for having, quote, turned 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:31.400 his act around in this house. Wow. Imagine being 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.440 surrounded constantly by those kinds of minds 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:36.210 prior. William Kinison later on. Knowing your 00:25:36.210 --> 00:25:38.470 next joke, your next line, had to be killer just 00:25:38.470 --> 00:25:41.529 to earn respect at the breakfast table. The chaos 00:25:41.529 --> 00:25:43.990 was maybe productive in a weird way. It forced 00:25:43.990 --> 00:25:46.170 them to be incredibly sharp. Mitzi even tried 00:25:46.170 --> 00:25:48.730 to capture some of that crazy energy on film, 00:25:48.849 --> 00:25:51.789 didn't she? She did, yeah. Around 1987, she actually 00:25:51.789 --> 00:25:55.029 shot a 12 -minute pilot presentation there, trying 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:57.630 to somehow commercialize the wild atmosphere. 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.269 But ultimately, the debauchery just became unsustainable. 00:26:01.390 --> 00:26:04.430 Too much even for Mitzi. Apparently so. The sheer 00:26:04.430 --> 00:26:07.390 chaos, the nonstop parties, the rampant drug 00:26:07.390 --> 00:26:10.009 and alcohol consumption, it just became too much 00:26:10.009 --> 00:26:12.789 for even her to manage or condone long term. 00:26:12.910 --> 00:26:15.390 The place was reportedly falling apart. So the 00:26:15.390 --> 00:26:18.170 architect of this incredible, chaotic college 00:26:18.170 --> 00:26:20.990 of comedy finally had to intervene in her own 00:26:20.990 --> 00:26:25.059 creation. Yeah. By 1988, Mitzi Shore had clearly 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:27.680 had enough. She cleaned house, literally and 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:29.839 figuratively, kicked everybody out. And then 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:31.799 what happened to the house? And then, in a move 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:33.700 that speaks volumes about the intensity of the 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:35.660 environment she'd fostered there for nearly a 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.099 decade, she actually transformed the house into 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:40.799 a sober living facility, a recovery house for 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.480 comics. Wow, from party house to recovery house. 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:45.960 Quite the turnaround. She eventually sold the 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:49.329 property by the late 1990s, but... Cresthill 00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:51.490 House remains just one of the most legendary, 00:26:51.690 --> 00:26:54.829 high risk, high reward comedy incubation sites 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:58.730 in American history. Just mythic. And, you know, 00:26:58.730 --> 00:27:00.650 the structure and the influence that Mitzi built 00:27:00.650 --> 00:27:03.369 at the store, it continued long after the strike 00:27:03.369 --> 00:27:05.490 was settled and the Cresthill House was cleaned 00:27:05.490 --> 00:27:07.930 out. For many years, the comedy store served 00:27:07.930 --> 00:27:10.509 as the official host location for the annual 00:27:10.509 --> 00:27:13.480 HBO Young Comedian specials. Right. which was 00:27:13.480 --> 00:27:16.400 huge. That meant getting significant stage time 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:18.200 at the Comedy Store wasn't just about impressing 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:19.940 agents or managers who happened to be in the 00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:21.960 room that night. No, it was much bigger. It was 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:24.400 basically the national confirmation broadcast 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:28.099 on HBO that you were officially next. It really 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:31.380 solidified the club's role as the primary arbiter 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:34.119 of taste and the main gatekeeper to mainstream 00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:37.140 national success for a whole generation. And 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:39.940 this brings us back in a way to Mitzi's original 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:42.640 maybe self -serving argument about the value 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.220 of exposure. Yeah. While the comics absolutely 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:47.480 deserve to be paid for their labor, the specific 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:50.160 stage time Mitzi provided, especially once those 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:53.140 HBO specials were involved, actually did translate 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:55.500 directly into national television deals, movie 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:58.519 roles, arena tours for many. She really understood 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.279 the power of the platform she controlled, even 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:03.240 if she initially distorted the economics of it. 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:06.000 And Mitzi didn't just limit the Comedy Store 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.799 brand to that one iconic building on Sunset, 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:11.440 did she? She attempted to replicate the model 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:14.460 elsewhere. That's right. She successfully expanded 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:17.039 the Comedy Store brand over the years. She opened 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.200 other venues in Westwood, La Jolla down near 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:22.400 San Diego, Universal City at the City Walk, and 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.720 even had a Vegas outpost for a while, notably 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:27.240 at the Dunes Hotel. It really helped establish 00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:28.900 the brand's national presence and reputation. 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:32.319 And the institution kind of remarkably continues 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:34.880 to operate today, doesn't it? Which really demonstrates 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:37.000 the strength of the foundation that Sammy and 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:39.779 then Mitzi built. It does. The main club on Sunset 00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:42.960 is still very much operational, though the ownership 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:44.779 has transitioned now to the next generation. 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:47.799 Peter H. Shore, who is Mitzi and Sammy's son, 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:50.200 is the current owner. He serves as the trustee 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:52.440 of the Mitzi S. Shore Trust. So it's still a 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:54.500 family business, maybe the only family business 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:57.319 in America built primarily on competitive insults 00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:00.319 and neurotic observations. Huh. Probably true. 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:03.200 It's quite a legacy to inherit. And just to conclude 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.740 their personal stories, Mitzi Shore passed away 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:09.839 on April 11th, 2018. She was 87 years old in 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:12.180 West Hollywood. The sources mentioned she was 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:14.559 suffering from Parkinson's disease and also an 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:17.579 undisclosed neurological disorder. Yeah. And 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:20.000 Sammy Shore, her ex -husband and the club's co 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:22.500 -founder, he passed away just over a year later 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:26.339 on May 18, 2019. He was 92, living in Las Vegas, 00:29:26.539 --> 00:29:29.769 died of natural causes. So the separation that 00:29:29.769 --> 00:29:32.210 happened in their careers back in 74 was clear, 00:29:32.329 --> 00:29:34.930 but their joint legacy really remains completely 00:29:34.930 --> 00:29:37.049 inseparable from the history of that club, doesn't 00:29:37.049 --> 00:29:38.750 it? Absolutely. You can't tell the story of one 00:29:38.750 --> 00:29:41.250 without the other, ultimately. And their story, 00:29:41.349 --> 00:29:43.549 Mitzi's story in particular, is so powerful, 00:29:43.589 --> 00:29:46.630 so iconic, that it has seeped directly into popular 00:29:46.630 --> 00:29:48.890 culture. It's kind of defined the modern myth 00:29:48.890 --> 00:29:51.349 of the struggling comedian and the powerful gatekeeper. 00:29:51.509 --> 00:29:54.369 For sure. The character Goldie, played by Melissa 00:29:54.369 --> 00:29:57.450 Leo on the Showtime series, I'm Dying Up Here. 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:01.720 That character is famously very loosely based 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:05.240 on Mitzi Shore. Right. Captures that tough, sometimes 00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:07.660 seemingly cruel, but maybe ultimately necessary 00:30:07.660 --> 00:30:10.549 gatekeeper persona. Yeah, the character really 00:30:10.549 --> 00:30:13.170 embodies that constant tension between art and 00:30:13.170 --> 00:30:16.450 commerce, passion and payment that Mitzi represented 00:30:16.450 --> 00:30:20.029 so vividly. And there's also the 2020 docuseries, 00:30:20.109 --> 00:30:22.309 which is excellent, also just titled The Comedy 00:30:22.309 --> 00:30:24.630 Store. It breaks down the club's really complex 00:30:24.630 --> 00:30:28.009 history beautifully, era by era, and significantly 00:30:28.009 --> 00:30:31.009 it dedicates an entire episode specifically to 00:30:31.009 --> 00:30:33.170 that defining struggle we detailed. The episode 00:30:33.170 --> 00:30:35.940 is titled The Comedy Strike. Yeah, it's essential 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:37.480 viewing if you're interested in this history. 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:40.180 And finally, just to show the complexity of the 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:42.420 relationships forged there, we have the dedication 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:45.099 from Joe Rogan. Ah, yeah. Rogan, whose career 00:30:45.099 --> 00:30:47.500 was absolutely defined by his years performing 00:30:47.500 --> 00:30:50.799 at the Comedy Store, he dedicated his 2018 Netflix 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.460 special Strange Times to Mitzi right after her 00:30:53.460 --> 00:30:56.079 death. That's really telling. It is. It feels 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:58.700 like a perfect little microcosm of the relationship 00:30:58.700 --> 00:31:00.759 Mitzi seemed to have with so many of her comics. 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:03.779 Intense conflict at times, maybe resentment, 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:07.559 but ultimately this deep, lasting respect for 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:10.160 the incredibly high standards she enforced and 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:12.720 the unique environment she created. Hashtag tag 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:15.599 outro. So what does all this history mean for 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:17.880 you listening right now? We've spent this time 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:21.680 looking at this single location. a former glamorous 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:24.960 nightclub turned comedy crucible, and explored 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:27.539 how Mitzi Shore, driven by this potent mix of 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:30.279 artistic rigor and, let's face it, shrewd economic 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.180 efficiency, how she transformed it into the high 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:36.039 -pressure, make -or -break system that really 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:38.400 catalyzed the careers of arguably every major 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.940 American comic from the late 70s onward. Yeah, 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:42.559 and if we try to connect this to the bigger picture 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:44.859 for you, Mitzi Shore really embodies the central 00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:46.920 paradox of the arts, doesn't she? She was the 00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:49.539 woman who initially stubbornly refused to pay 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:51.839 comics, clinging to that belief that exposure 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:55.319 alone was sufficient compensation. Yet her exacting, 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:58.460 unconventional, undeniably demanding system, 00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:01.480 combined with the vital institutional spaces 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:04.140 she intentionally created, like the Billy Room 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.980 for Women, Fat Tuesdays for Black Comics, that 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:09.799 whole package is exactly what refined stand -up, 00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:12.480 professionalized it, and helped turn it into 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:15.059 the massive, diverse, and highly marketable global 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:17.839 industry it is today. She was the ultimate gatekeeper. 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:20.819 Her rules, however unfair they sometimes seemed, 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:23.359 somehow ended up establishing the modern standards 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:26.400 of comedic excellence. You really had to survive 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:29.259 the comedy store system. Whether that meant navigating 00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:31.559 the fraught politics of the strike, the unique 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:33.960 intensity of the belly room, or just the sheer 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.960 chaos of the Cresthill House, you had to get 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.200 through that to prove you were truly ready for 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:41.299 the national stage. It was a truly Darwinian 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:43.559 proving ground for jokes. Yeah. So this raises, 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:45.339 I think, an important question for you to consider 00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:48.049 today. That core tension we saw between commerce 00:32:48.049 --> 00:32:51.069 and art represented so vividly by the 1979 strike. 00:32:51.549 --> 00:32:54.089 Isn't it still reflected in how comedy is consumed 00:32:54.089 --> 00:32:56.950 and maybe how it's paid for right now? How so? 00:32:57.150 --> 00:32:59.589 Well, think about it. Stand -ups today rely so 00:32:59.589 --> 00:33:02.150 heavily on streaming specials, on viral YouTube 00:33:02.150 --> 00:33:05.690 clips, on TikTok, on short -form content. Are 00:33:05.690 --> 00:33:08.589 today's digital platforms maybe the new exposure 00:33:08.589 --> 00:33:12.220 model? Demanding constant free or low paid content 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:14.420 up front for the promise of maybe getting that 00:33:14.420 --> 00:33:17.420 big special down the line. Does it mirror Mitzi's 00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:20.240 initial philosophy in a new form? That's a really 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:22.940 interesting and slightly uncomfortable parallel 00:33:22.940 --> 00:33:25.339 to draw. Yeah. Worth thinking about. And also 00:33:25.339 --> 00:33:28.160 consider how those necessary institutional spaces 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:31.339 that Mitzi created, the belly room, Fat Tuesdays, 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:33.819 how they fundamentally shaped what we find funny 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:36.240 today simply by providing dedicated platforms 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:38.660 for voices and perspectives that the mainstream. 00:33:41.769 --> 00:33:45.410 It's a legacy built on glamour, grit, debt, genius, 00:33:45.589 --> 00:33:47.970 exploitation, and the relentless lifelong pursuit 00:33:47.970 --> 00:33:52.369 of the perfect maybe eventually paid joke. A 00:33:52.369 --> 00:33:54.650 perfect deep dive into the often messy business 00:33:54.650 --> 00:33:56.609 of funny. Couldn't have said it better. Thanks 00:33:56.609 --> 00:33:58.089 for diving deep with us today. We'll see you 00:33:58.089 --> 00:33:58.430 next time.