The Mostly True Adventures Of Standup Comedy’s Legendary Frat House

October 24, 2015 10:46 AM

A house overlooking the Sunset Strip played host to a generation of comics like Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, & Robin Williams, launching dozens of careers and about as many drug problems
posted by the man of twists and turns (12 comments total)

Great article, thanks for posting.
posted by billiebee at 11:17 AM on October 24, 2015

As a budding comedy nerd, this is red meat. thanks!
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 11:17 AM on October 24, 2015

I think this house has been brought up a couple of times on Marc Maron's WTF podcast. I seem to recall it being mentioned on the episode with Sam Kinison's friend Carl LaBove.
posted by blueberry at 11:32 AM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I just watched this movie last night: It covers similar grounds, and I would recommend it for folks interested in the history of Los Angeles (with the exception of a weak opening poetry scene). The final credits are rad.
posted by growabrain at 11:49 AM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I knew this was Mitzi's place before I finished the sentence.
posted by Sphinx at 12:24 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks for posting! I'm not much of a comedy nerd, but I too enjoyed the article.
posted by Borborygmus at 6:03 PM on October 24, 2015

Maron has mentioned the house numerous times over the years on his podcast and the book I'm Dying Up Here delves pretty deep into the Store and the house. Thanks for pointing this out.
posted by photoslob at 6:19 PM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

....trying to get my head around what it would be like to have Sam Kinison as a roommate
posted by thelonius at 8:48 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wow. Thanks for posting.
posted by persona au gratin at 10:49 PM on October 24, 2015

I enjoyed this article a lot, but as a (relatively) young person and non-American, wasn't familiar with many of the comics involved. I just watched a bunch of Sam Kinison clips on YouTube, and... this guy was popular? What am I missing here?
posted by retrograde at 2:31 PM on October 25, 2015

It was the 80s, mostly.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:00 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]

Thanks for posting this! I drive by there all the time and had no idea there was a connection between the Comedy Store and that house. And the history was fascinating to me, even as a person who wasn't into stand-up at the time.
posted by starscream at 9:23 AM on October 28, 2015