{"product_id":"the-improv-an-oral-history-of-the-comedy-club-that-revolutionized-stand-up-9781942952435","title":"The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeatured in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 2017 \"Holiday Gift Guide for Hardcover Fans\"\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGet an insider's oral history of the World's most iconic comedy club, featuring exclusive interviews with today's most hilarious stars recalling their time on stage (and off) at the Improv.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1963, 30-year-old Budd Friedman—who had recently quit his job as a Boston advertising executive and returned to New York to become a theatrical producer—opened a coffee house for Broadway performers called the Improvisation. Later shortened to the Improv, its first seedy West 44th Street location initially attracted the likes of Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Albert Finney, and Jason Robards, as well as a couple of then-unknowns named Dustin Hoffman and Bette Midler.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile it drew near-capacity crowds almost from day one, it wasn't until comedians began dropping by to try out new material that the Improv truly hit its stride. The club became the first venue to present live stand-up in a continuous format, and in the process reinvented the art form and created the template for all other comedy clubs that followed.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the microphone to the iconic brick wall, the Improv has been the launching pad for practically every major name in American comedy over the last five-plus decades. Now, in \u003ci\u003eThe Improv\u003c\/i\u003e, Friedman, along with a Who's Who of his most famous alumni—including Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Lily Tomlin, Judd Apatow, Al Franken, Paul Reiser, Howie Mandel, Bob Saget, Drew Carey, and many more—tell it like it was in the first-ever oral history of how this game-changing comedy club came to be.\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Improv\u003c\/i\u003e gives readers an exclusive look at what really happened onstage and off-mic at one of America's most venerable institutions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"The Improv was a cauldron of talent. Whetsell writes about it wonderfully and with respect for its importance to comedy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Robert Klein\u003c\/b\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They used to say that if you made it New York you could make it anywhere. Maybe so, but if you didn't make it at the Improv, it was time to pack your bags and move to ‘anywhere.'\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Richard Lewis \u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book is a great walk down memory lane for me. All hail the Improv and all the laugh-filled times and wonderful nights that happened in front of those brick walls.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Bill Maher\u003c\/b\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The Improv played a vital part in my early stand-up days as it did in the careers of the dazzling array of stars, eccentrics, and colorful characters whose stories adorn this bright and greatly entertaining book. Get at \u003ci\u003eleast\u003c\/i\u003e two copies, in case you lose one.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Dick Cavett\u003c\/b\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Here's a book I'll probably never finish, because for years to come I'll be picking it up again and again and rereading parts over and over, whenever I need perking up. It's the history of an art form, though that sounds way too stuffy, and of an institution—the great American comedy club, especially the Improvs of New York and LA.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Tom Shales, Pulitzer Prize–winning former television critic for \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post \u003c\/i\u003eand #1 bestselling coauthor of \u003ci\u003eLive from New York \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThese Guys Have All the Fun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003eAn entertaining ride through the glory years—the people, the stories, the feuds, the laughs—of the club that started the stand-up comedy boom in America.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Richard Zoglin, author of \u003ci\u003eHope: Entertainer of the Century \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eComedy at the Edge: How Comedy in the 1970s Changed America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The Godfather of the comedy club is finally called to testify . . . and he sings like a canary.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Bill Knoedelsder, author of \u003ci\u003eI'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High-Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eForeword by Jay Leno\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003ePrologue\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePart One\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrowing Up Fatherless and Struggling to Find My Way\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBroadway Bound and the Unexpected Detour\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuilding the House That Hilarity Built\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlying by the Seat of My Pants\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Improv Gets Hot\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Future Film Legend Wanders into West 44th Street and I Nearly Produce My First Show\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Singing Waitresses\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiza Minelli and Judy Garland . . . Onstage at the Improv\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNot So Blown Away by Bette Midler . . . at First\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComedians Start Coming to the Improv\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Anointment of King Richard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePart Two\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRevelry and Rivalry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStiller and Meara\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMore Momentum, My Monocle—and Lily Tomlin’s Grand Entrance\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe One and Only Rodney Dangerfield\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRobert Klein Elevates Stand-Up—and the Improv—to a New Level\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLocking Horns with David Brenner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRichard Lewis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Hippest Room in America\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Improv’s Gentle Giant\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Improv and \u003cem\u003eThe Tonight Show\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Tale of Two Comedy Clubs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeeting Jay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProducing My First Show\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePart Three\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExpansion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy Early California Adventures\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy Kaufman Turns Stand-Up Upside Down\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDissing Larry David\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Tsunami Named Robin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComedy’s Tragic Prinze\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Troubling Nemesis Named Mitzi Shore\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoing Up in Flames\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOld Enemies and New Beginnings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePart Four\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn Evening at the Improv\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Improv Explodes . . . and the Stakes Get Even Higher\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Comedy Boom Busts and Finding Fallon\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePassing the Baton and Looking Ahead: The 2000s to the Present\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAbout the Authors \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BenBella Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51043325083991,"sku":"9781942952435","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781942952435.jpg?v=1750957840","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-improv-an-oral-history-of-the-comedy-club-that-revolutionized-stand-up-9781942952435","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}