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venue). In 1979, Mark Lonow became a general partner and with Budd
Friedman ran the Melrose club and oversaw the expansion of the single room as it became a successful chain. When the Friedmans divorced in 1981, the divorce settlement gave Budd Friedman ownership of the LA Improvs and Silver Friedman
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and other New York-based television shows began frequenting the venue looking for new acts to book. After several years of alternating acts between singers and comics, by the 1970s it was a stand-up comedy venue. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the
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performers could unwind after shows with an open mic inviting impromptu musical performances. In 1964, Dave Astor was its first comedian. Gradually comedians would use it as a venue to try out new material and talent scouts from
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Originally, it was a 50-seat single venue (which immediately prior, housed a
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and his future wife, Silver (née
Schreck) Saundors, and located at 358 West 44th Street, at Ninth Avenue, in the
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was given ownership of the New York Improv. The original New York Improv closed in 1992.
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near the southeast corner of 9th Ave. The
Improvisation was originally an after hours
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1167:"Levity Entertainment Offers Groundbreaking Marketing Services for Comedy Clients"
994:"It's A Funny Thing - How the Professional Comedy Business Made Me Fat & Bald"
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This article is about the
American comedy club franchise. For the TV series, see
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The
Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy
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Budd
Friedman and Tripp Whetsell collection, ACC-MSS 020, shelf: Digital.
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played piano there. On any given night in the later 1970s, one could see
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as a warm-up host. Other locations have opened since then, such as in
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Nearly every big name in comedy has played The Improv, including
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in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s.
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The following is a list of Improv locations as of May 2020:
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New and upcoming performers have performed there as well.
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In 1982, the L.A. Improv became the original site for the
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have performed at the Improv in
Louisville, Kentucky.
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The following is a list of former Improv locations:
816:"Improv, in Chapter 11 Protection, Is Still Joking"
166:franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the
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127:Learn how and when to remove this message
884:"Ten Things We Leared from 'The Improv'"
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470:Silver Friedman auditioned and rejected
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222:(which immediately prior housed the
65:adding citations to reliable sources
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1315:Comedy clubs in the United States
1296:Archives and Special Collections.
763:List of New York Improv comedians
1218:"Dave Foley at Hollywood Improv"
270:The Improv was the place to see
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1240:Improv.com Improv Comedy Clubs
52:needs additional citations for
1021:. Open Road + Grove/Atlantic.
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1300:Interview with Chris Albrecht
1115:"Budd Friedman knows success"
814:Hevesi, Dennis (1992-03-19).
850:Roberts, Sam (2022-12-09).
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1330:Comedy clubs in California
463:. Jeremy Ruder at 18, and
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1038:– via Google Books.
1004:– via Google Books.
736:San Francisco, California
697:Atlantic City, New Jersey
256:Atlantic City, New Jersey
1320:Landmarks in Los Angeles
768:Traffic School by Improv
635:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
630:West Palm Beach, Florida
580:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
252:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
240:An Evening at the Improv
18:An Evening at the Improv
889:The Wall Street Journal
788:"History of the Improv"
640:Raleigh, North Carolina
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32:The Improv (TV series)
1085:"Improv Comedy Clubs"
938:"Improv Comedy Clubs"
731:San Diego, California
600:Kansas City, Missouri
585:Hollywood, California
560:Brookfield, Wisconsin
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27:Comedy club franchise
712:Louisville, Kentucky
650:Schaumburg, Illinois
645:San Jose, California
610:West Nyack, New York
260:Louisville, Kentucky
61:improve this article
1147:. 15 September 2017
741:Seattle, Washington
702:Baltimore, Maryland
615:Ontario, California
1277:The Improv Atlanta
1193:"Improv Comedians"
1130:, 30 October 2003.
1120:2007-03-12 at the
1113:Charleston, Rita.
967:Northeasttimes.com
856:The New York Times
820:The New York Times
625:Oxnard, California
595:Irvine, California
361:Rodney Dangerfield
238:television series
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1282:Improv Louisville
996:. BearManor Media
707:Las Vegas, Nevada
660:Stateline, Nevada
300:Gilbert Gottfried
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1058:. Retrieved
1054:AP news .com
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726:Reno, Nevada
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524:Jimmy Fallon
498:
490:Debra Winger
484:
472:Eddie Murphy
469:
425:Larry Miller
417:Steve Martin
389:Carol Leifer
385:Andy Kaufman
369:Bill Engvall
333:Milton Berle
326:
319:
308:Bruce Mahler
284:Bette Midler
276:Robert Klein
269:
266:Performances
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196:coffee house
181:
159:
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117:October 2009
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76:"The Improv"
71:
59:Please help
54:verification
51:
963:"Editorial"
512:Lewis Black
504:Dave Attell
486:Karen Black
445:Joan Rivers
441:Paul Reiser
365:Jeff Dunham
316:Larry David
304:Joe Piscopo
288:Lily Tomlin
216:Los Angeles
164:comedy club
1309:Categories
1222:Improv.com
1197:Improv.com
1177:August 12,
1171:Stage Time
1089:Improv.com
942:Improv.com
920:2023-11-17
869:2023-11-17
833:2023-11-17
797:2023-11-17
774:References
664:Lake Tahoe
520:Louis C.K.
465:Jim Carrey
457:Bo Burnham
437:Ray Romano
413:Marc Maron
409:Bill Maher
401:Jon Lovett
381:Bill Hicks
373:Dave Foley
353:Bill Cosby
341:Drew Carey
228:folk music
220:California
160:The Improv
87:newspapers
1245:5 October
1236:"History"
1202:5 October
947:5 October
864:0362-4331
828:0362-4331
564:Milwaukee
530:Locations
510:. Comics
508:Hollywood
461:Ron White
449:Joe Rogan
224:Ash Grove
1151:19 April
1118:Archived
1094:19 March
1060:19 April
1034:19 April
1000:19 April
977:19 April
895:19 April
757:See also
721:New York
292:Jay Leno
200:Broadway
750:England
654:Chicago
467:at 19.
178:History
101:scholar
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915:EW.com
862:
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792:Improv
746:London
544:Dallas
258:, and
198:where
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656:area)
566:area)
546:area)
162:is a
108:JSTOR
94:books
1247:2015
1204:2015
1179:2009
1153:2022
1096:2018
1062:2022
1036:2022
1023:ISBN
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949:2015
897:2022
860:ISSN
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522:and
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226:, a
80:news
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