The Improv Turns 60: Ramy Youssef, Whitney Cummings Honor Legendary Comedy Club Brand
variety.comWhitney Friedlander The Improv turns 60 this year and, despite the spontaneity that the name might suggest, there’s a methodical plan to grow the comedy organization.
In 1963, founder Budd Friedman opened the first location in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, envisioning the defunct Vietnamese restaurant with a brick wall as a gathering place for Broadway talent.
Comedians soon gravitated to the spot as a place to try out new material and talent scouts followed. While the original location shuttered in the 1990s, the brand itself is stronger than ever, boasting 25 clubs in 20 cities, including the Hollywood Improv on Melrose Avenue.
Robert Hartmann, founder and senior partner of current management company Levity Live, first worked at the Improv in 1985, when he was hired as a bar back and doorperson for the Irvine location.
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