"Best Of Series" - "Walk Like an Egyptian" Waitress Interview Show #247

Podcast features interview with Lynn Stobener and 2 waitresses from the club (Patti Sewel & Sherri Morsett), their stories and memories of working in the service side of the comedy business. Also a great Comedy set by Paula Poundstone to highlight women in comedy.

Lynn Stobener, Sherri Morsett, and Patti Sewel each bring unique perspectives to the comedy club environment, shaped by their diverse experiences within the vibrant nightlife scene. Lynn Stobener, who managed the Stockton comedy club, emphasizes the importance of maintaining professionalism through strict rules to protect young staff members, while also appreciating the dynamic and familial atmosphere that makes the club feel like more than just a workplace. Sherri Morsett captures the excitement and challenges of performing at various venues, finding humor in everyday situations and using comedy to navigate life's ups and downs, all while enjoying the lively audience interactions that places like Sacramento offer. Patti Sewel, with her passion for the comedy scene, relished her role at Laughs Unlimited, where the energy and camaraderie made it feel like a night out with friends, underscoring the rewarding nature of her work despite the physical demands of cocktail serving.

(00:01:54) Club Dynamics: Maintaining Professionalism and Camaraderie

(00:04:36) Balancing Act: Serving Laughter at Work

(00:06:00) Laughter-Filled Team Bonding at Comedy Club

(00:06:36) Energetic Atmosphere at Laughs Comedy Cafe

(00:06:46) Lively Laughter at Laughs Unlimited Comedy Club

(00:11:21) Maintaining Professionalism in Nightclub Settings

(00:29:44) Bridesmaid Anecdotes: Lori Kilmartin's Comedy Routine

(00:38:11) Noteworthy Comedic Talent in Entertainment Industry

Transcript

R. Scott Edwards: 0:01

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Standup Comedy, your host and mc. For over five years, we've been diving deep into the world of standup comedy, sharing stories, insights, and laughs with some of the most talented comedians, club owners, and industry insiders around. Now we're taking you on a trip down memory lane with a special best of series. We've handpicked some of the most unforgettable moments, greatest laughs, and top insights from past episodes. So whether you're a longtime listener or just joining us, these episodes are packed with gems you won't want to miss. So sit back, relax, and get ready to relive the laughs. This is Stand Up Comedy, your host at mc, the Best of Edition. Hi. Welcome to another podcast, and we got something different and exciting for you this week. I am in the pleasure company of three lovely ladies, all of whom worked for me back in the day. And we're going to talk about what it's like being an employee at a comedy club. Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Patti Sewell, Sherry Morissette, and Lynne Stobiner. Well, that was pretty incredible. All right, so let's kick things off. Patty and Sherry. We already talked to Lynn in an earlier podcast. She was a hostess, kitchen manager, house emcee, ended up being an entertainer and ended up managing some of my clubs. So she's historically very important. But the club also wouldn't have had its success without a really tremendous staff that stuck around for many years. And part of that staff were Patty and Sherry, who were cocktail waitresses back. Back in the day. So, Patty, we'll start with you. How did you come to work for me at Laughs?

Patti Sewel: 1:54

Well, first of all, I'd like to say that I was head waitress, and Scott knows what that's all about.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:00

Yeah, she earned the title, but I'm bummed. Well, we got that out of the way fast.

Lynn Stobener: 2:05

Any millennial listening out there? It was okay to say that back then.

Patti Sewel: 2:12

I actually got started at Laughs Unlimited because I was dating your bartender, one of your bartenders there, and I came in one night with him just to see the show. And it was at Birdcage.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:26

Was it a secret person or do we know who this was?

Patti Sewel: 2:28

This was Bentoni.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:30

Oh, I didn't. I thought you guys met at the club. So you guys had met previously and he brought you in?

Patti Sewel: 2:35

Oh, yeah. We had been dating for a while.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:37

Ben Tony is another entertainer slash employee that we interviewed in a previous show. So I knew you guys had dated for a couple of years, but I didn't know it was. I thought you met at Laugh. So it was pre Laugh. So that's interesting. So you came in as a guest and audience member. Did you have a good time?

Patti Sewel: 2:53

I had a great time. I remember it was wonderful. And I just. I loved the whole atmosphere of the club itself. And they happened to be short a waitress that night. And Bentoni mentioned to. Was it you, Lynn?

R. Scott Edwards: 3:09

Could have been Richie.

Patti Sewel: 3:10

Richie maybe.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:11

Or Bob.

Patti Sewel: 3:12

Or Bob probably. You know, my girlfriend is out there in the audience and I know she's had cocktail waitress experience, so I just kind of went, sure, I'll do it. So I was kind of.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:21

So you waitress that night? That night instead of being in the audience. I did not know that.

Lynn Stobener: 3:26

That's hilarious.

Patti Sewel: 3:26

That was great.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:27

On the job training at Laps Unlimited.

Lynn Stobener: 3:30

To tell you the truth. If I'm remembering correctly, I am not sure if actually Patty ever legally worked. Legally? By meaning. By. No, no, I don't mean it that way. She legally worked. But in other words, she was never like an official staff member. She was all ing. Always just filling in.

Patti Sewel: 3:44

I think actually a very brief period, a very brief period downtown at the old Sacramento Club. I was on payroll. Otherwise, you know, I was just fill in. Which meant I didn't really have to follow all of the same rules.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:57

Oh, so funny. Sherry, how about you?

Patti Sewel: 4:00

You know, I started at Laffs because I needed a job. I had two little boys at home. I just moved back from Hawaii and so my kids didn't have daycare. So I sent my

Patti Sewel: husband with the kids at 5: 4:13

00 and

Patti Sewel: 4:16

I would come to the club at

Patti Sewel: 6: 4:17

00.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:18

Did you just apply and got hired?

Lynn Stobener: 4:20

I did.

Patti Sewel: 4:21

I applied and interviewed.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:23

And was that at Birdcage?

Patti Sewel: 4:26

I did end up at Birdcage, yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:28

And Richie was the manager there.

Patti Sewel: 4:29

Richie was the manager.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:30

And so had you waitressed previously?

Patti Sewel: 4:32

I did in Hawaii and I bartended.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:34

Oh, wow.

Patti Sewel: 4:35

So yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:36

So what would you say the biggest difference between waitressing and a regular restaurant bar versus a comedy club?

Patti Sewel: 4:43

Ah, the energy, the love, the people. I just, I loved absolutely watching the guys up on stage. Loved watching Lynn come in and MC and make me so happy. It was like not even coming to a job. It was coming for fun. It was completely fun all the time. And made good money. Yeah. Oh yeah. Good money back then. I remember one thing in particular that struck me as very different from other cocktail jobs I had had is that there's a show going on. So of course you're. You're serving drinks in between, you know, during the show. And you're. It's dark and you got to be quiet. And I remember thinking, I've got all these long neck beers, 20 long neck beers on my tray and I have to squat so I get out of the way of the people behind me. And that's, that's no easy trick sometimes. And I remember that was strange, but, but I guess it was good for my quads.

Lynn Stobener: 5:36

I did do every job at last except for the hardest, which was the cocktail. Interesting cocktail serving. And it is, it's not like any establishment, like a dance. I mean, you do. You have to be invisible, yet you have to be out there all the time.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:52

You're giving good service while being invisible. That's a good way to put it.

Patti Sewel: 5:55

Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:55

And it was difficult because you didn't want to block or interrupt.

Patti Sewel: 5:59

Right.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:00

And sometimes if you're serving the front row, you're doing business, you're exchanging money and selling drinks and you're doing it while respecting somebody maybe three feet away trying to entertain people. And we were so lucky, and we talked about this during Lynn's interview, that we just happened to get a magically great staff, people that enjoyed coming to work. Like you said, it wasn't like a job, it was more like family. We did a lot of things outside of work, like family, but. And it's good to hear that you made good money because that helps.

Lynn Stobener: 6:36

Another cool thing, different than if you were just at a bar or a dance club, is that you always knew you were going to have new people in two hours.

Patti Sewel: 6:45

Yes, exactly.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:46

And even though we had our share of drunks, people. First off, in the first dozen years, I never had a two drink minimum because I didn't believe in that. I think people were paying for a show, should see a show, and if they wanted to drink or have food, it was up to them. These days there's 2, 3, 4 drink minimums and you gotta buy food. It's crazy. But in those days I didn't have all those rules. So people, I think at a comedy club, and I always love this about being in the business, are there to be entertained and to be happy. You know, it's not like you can go to a restaurant and you could be upset about something or you're at a bar and you know, whether you're hitting on somebody or on a date, you could have something negative happen or something negative going on around you. But at a comedy club, the entertainment factor, the fact that people paid, they're vested in having a good time, makes them want to enjoy themselves. I'm glad to hear from all three of you that it was something that was a more fun experience.

Patti Sewel: 7:44

Oh yeah. It was just the people were great, all the waitresses and all the other staff. It was just. It was like you're there with, you know, your family, like you said, and it was just we laughed all the time. We were always laughing. It seems like even at cleanup at the end of the night, I mean, the music's playing. I loved all the music that came on when the room is emptying and we're running around cleaning ashtrays and getting things off the table.

Lynn Stobener: 8:10

And millennials ashtrays used to be in the clubs because you could smoke indoors.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:16

So funny. But it's funny. Back in the day, something that we were talking about before we turned on the microphones is that we're all older now.

Patti Sewel: 8:27

Yes.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:28

But truism is that we were all young then. I mean, even I was only 24, 25 when I started. You know, that's very young to be operating this kind of operation. And you talk about the live music, the loud music and stuff. I'm a product of rock and roll 60s and that kind of music gave us energy. And it's great that it worked for the staff, but it was there because it worked for us. We enjoyed ourselves before, during and after the shows. And if that meant we can control the atmosphere, the environment, that we had to work because it still work.

Patti Sewel: 9:03

Some of us enjoyed that after drink a little bit more than others.

Lynn Stobener: 9:07

And sometimes it wasn't after, apparently.

Patti Sewel: 9:11

Oh, we would sneak a shot now and then. Now and then. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my. My best friend's cousins in the audience. Can I buy her a drink? Yeah, sure. Here you go. Okay.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:21

Well, it let's.

Patti Sewel: 9:23

You couldn't see that, but was me shoving a shot down my.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:27

So there was. There were rules. And I found out after I sold the club and talking to ex employees that many of those rules went out the window. And I wasn't aware. I was a pretty naive boss.

Lynn Stobener: 9:40

I would like to say. Surprisingly, most of them didn't go out the window, you know.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:45

Well, the rules were followed. But I mean, there was a rule you weren't supposed to drink during the show. The staff, of course, because you're.

Patti Sewel: 9:51

Was there really? I don't recall that on the sheet.

Lynn Stobener: 9:54

And then a real employee and got in the handbook.

Patti Sewel: 9:57

That's right. Remember, I'm just fill in. I'm doing you the favor so I don't have to follow the rules.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:02

Exactly. And what was interesting was Lynn and I were just cracking up about rule number eight. And I thought that rule number eight was pretty well held. And I found after.

Patti Sewel: 10:14

No, no, like, explain to the millennials Lynn. Once we towed the line. When Lynn managed us were, you know.

Lynn Stobener: 10:22

Yeah. I still think that in comparison to probably other clubs.

Patti Sewel: 10:27

Yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 10:27

Things were, I think, yes, the rules were broken and yes, you know, people once in a while did, you know, commingled. No, I was. But it's like you got out on a date, you know, you have to think about it, like after working together and bonding for so long, people were protective of the club, of where they were.

Patti Sewel: 10:47

Oh, yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 10:48

You know, Absolutely. I remember Sherry Woodson. Hey, this new person, you know, just snuck a. Snuck a drink and we won't have that.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:56

Good for you, Sherry.

Patti Sewel: 10:57

Right, right.

Lynn Stobener: 10:57

Of course. I was like three years after I found her, nevermind, lying about doing shots of tequila.

Patti Sewel: 11:04

I'm sorry.

Lynn Stobener: 11:05

You know, I said, well, drinks only. No premium liquor. Damn it.

Patti Sewel: 11:12

Only the best. Only the best. Yeah. My cousin's best friend out in the audience, she wanted that to be a Stoli kamikaze, if you don't mind.

R. Scott Edwards: 11:21

Well, as the owner, I had tried to establish a set of rules that I thought would protect. And Lynn and I talked about this. Sorry, audience, you're hearing it again. I had a lot of young staff and it was not the waitresses I was really the most concerned about, because you were all adults. But Lynn came to work for me when she was 15, and then she brought her friends along and they worked for me while they were 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 up into 20. But that's very young to be in a nightclub situation. And so the rules were there to protect, really, the underage, under 21 gals. And I had mostly women working for me. For some reason, I did better with women than men. I don't know why, but don't ever change. But it was. That was why the rules were there. And Lyn's always really quick to say that it did work and that it was better than most other nightclubs and especially comedy clubs where. And one of the reasons I had the rules was that people at other comedy clubs, it ruined comics and it ruined staffing if they would, you know, somebody would date or have a sexual interaction. And then the next night the guy's on stage and the waitress is throwing shit at him.

Lynn Stobener: 12:33

Right.

R. Scott Edwards: 12:33

That's something you don't want the audience to have to deal with. So let's move on to the next set of questions I have. We'll start with Patty did you have any kind of strange or any memorable audience or stories and interactions with other staff members?

Patti Sewel: 12:50

I do remember when I was working down in Old Sacramento, one night we had. Scott, you were there. You'll. You'll remember this. There were. I had three tables in the very back. Three, four tops. Four seating. Seating tables in the very back of the room. And they were. I came around the corner with drinks for the rest of my section, and they were all filled. And they were filled with Hell's Angels. Do you remember that?

R. Scott Edwards: 13:18

Yes.

Patti Sewel: 13:18

That motorcycle. Yeah. Remember? And so you called the beat cops in Sacramento and told me, okay, just ignore them. Well, they're in a comedy club and they're. They're scary and they want booze.

Lynn Stobener: 13:34

And they were. They were utilizing their ashtrays.

Patti Sewel: 13:37

Yes, they were. Where they were conveniently cutting up their cocaine. Right. And.

Lynn Stobener: 13:43

Which we didn't sell.

Patti Sewel: 13:44

Which we did not sell.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:45

Thanks for making that clear.

Patti Sewel: 13:47

Not on the menu.

Lynn Stobener: 13:48

So that's one of the reasons.

Patti Sewel: 13:50

But I did. I. So I kind of have to. Kept walking around them, and I remember thinking, oh, this. This not going to end well. This is not going to be good. And then they. We finally got the beat cops in and got them out because they were loud and boisterous and they were disrupting the show. And.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:04

Yeah. And I don't know if you can do that these days with all this PC crap, but back then, I had the right to refuse anybody. And there was several people that if they were previously drunk or obnoxious or overly loud or thought they were, or.

Lynn Stobener: 14:16

Doing cocaine on ashtrays or doing cocaine.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:18

On ashtrays, I would just boot them out. And if I felt like I couldn't handle it myself because I was the bouncer of my own club, I would bring in the help. Sherry, did you have any interesting stories with staff or his audience?

Patti Sewel: 14:31

I remember once when we were in.

Lynn Stobener: 14:33

Birdcage, and I want to say Birdcage, by the way, is a club.

Patti Sewel: 14:37

We weren't in a bird cage.

Lynn Stobener: 14:39

We were hanging out.

Patti Sewel: 14:40

That was the name of the mall, Right.

Lynn Stobener: 14:41

Strip mall, Very popular.

Patti Sewel: 14:43

So sorry, but I went to card this girl, and she. And she put out her finger with her. With her engagement ring on it and said, I'm engaged. And I'm like, okay, congratulations. Can I see your id? She goes, I'm engaged. I'm old enough. I'm like, I'm pretty sure you're not old enough. So the boyfriend or fiance was, like, getting kind of crazy, and we had to ask her to leave because she Was underage. Oh, she was like, not wanting to show the id.

Lynn Stobener: 15:12

Well, what was it? Remember there was someone who gave you the ID and you recognized the person on the ID and it wasn't. Wasn't them.

Patti Sewel: 15:21

Yes, there was one of those.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:22

Oh, what are the odds, right?

Patti Sewel: 15:24

Yeah, exactly. I'm pretty sure.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:25

Beverly. I just saw Beverly at the hair salon. I don't think you're her.

Patti Sewel: 15:28

It was a bad day for that person trying to use that id.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:31

It's like, oh, crap, what are the odds?

Lynn Stobener: 15:33

I had a guy, we served them, and then I. I don't know why I was at the table, but, you know, I said, whatever the. The amount was. And he showed a badge and goes, this will be our pay or whatever. And I'm like. I was so, like, dumbfounded. I was like, no, that's not going to work. It's like, this guy's a cop and he's like trying that.

Patti Sewel: 16:00

I was just out of his bill, right?

Lynn Stobener: 16:01

And I made him pay. And he just. He made. He kind of threatened me. Like, okay, I'll remember this, right?

Patti Sewel: 16:07

I remember one time, this one gal was just a total jealous type. And she was there with her boyfriend. And there I came over, hi, I'm Patty. Can I get you something to drink? And. And she gave me a glare right away because I happened to look at him. You know, I'm just making eye contact with him. She was just one of those women. And I said, a margarita, you know, pina colada, something fun like that. And the guy turns to me and he says, do you have sex on the beach?

Sherri Morsett: 16:34

And I just.

Patti Sewel: 16:35

I just. Right away, I just said, anytime I can get to the coast.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:42

Perfect answer.

Patti Sewel: 16:44

So I surprised myself. And I'm telling you, you should. She was looking daggers at me. It looks good, Gill. You know, he's cracking up. And.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:53

Oh, that's funny. We should say, though, we had some very good looking waitresses. You guys were all bodacious and, you know, not like, what's that look, Lynn? No, they weren't like bodacious tatas.

Patti Sewel: 17:06

Yeah. Not sex kit for you millennials out there.

Lynn Stobener: 17:12

So we're hiring for some new cocktail servers in Citrus Heights. And this very angelic, kind of plain girl came in and, you know, she had plenty of experience and seemed very nice. I mean, very. She looked very innocent and quaint and all that. And so we hired her. And then she shows up for her shift and I swear to God, I didn't even recognize her. She was like, oh, I don't know. I don't remember because she had.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:44

Let me guess. Sex sells.

Lynn Stobener: 17:46

Oh, yeah. I mean, she wasn't leaving anything to the imagination. I mean, she. You don't remember? She was, like, unrecognizable. She was just like.

Patti Sewel: 17:54

Stop to think of. What did you do? Did you.

Lynn Stobener: 17:57

I don't remember. It didn't. Well, we were not the Playboy Bunny Club, so I don't think she was happy with. I mean, it turned out not to be her gig.

Patti Sewel: 18:05

Oh, good.

Lynn Stobener: 18:05

She literally was like, yeah, she wanted.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:08

A bar where those looks would make her more money, literally in a comedy club.

Patti Sewel: 18:15

But you know what? That's so great that I met these girls at Laughs Unlimited how many years ago? And we're still more like 35, but we're still so close and such good friends. And that. That speaks to the environment of laughs and living.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:32

Well, that brings it back to what Sherry was saying is it wasn't just a job. It was fun and it was. And we did a lot of stuff outside of the club. In fact, I'm going to go off of my script. Do you guys remember some of the things that. Like who here of the three of you went to bowling night?

Lynn Stobener: 18:49

It's a podcast, Scott. So the raising of the hand.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:52

Well, I was going to say, let.

Patti Sewel: 18:54

The record show that Sherry and Scott are the only ones raising hands.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:57

Well, Lynn was there.

Patti Sewel: 18:58

Apparently, my invitation to bowling night got lost in the mail.

Lynn Stobener: 19:02

Well, it was a Wednesday night thing, and you never filled in on Wednesday.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:04

There you go. And then we went. We had the boat. We sometimes took the staff out on the house boats after jazz festival.

Patti Sewel: 19:11

Again, an invitation lost in the mail. We went on a bus to see the Oakland A's.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:17

Yeah. We took the whole staff to an Oakland A's game. How about we went to the Poor Reds.

Patti Sewel: 19:22

Well, listen, I'm gonna run.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:24

Poor Reds. We went to Poor Reds. Poor Reds.

Patti Sewel: 19:26

Oh, yeah, I was there. Gold Cadillacs. Poor Reds ribs. Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:29

And then we went to the water park down in.

Lynn Stobener: 19:32

So it's a jazz festival trip.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:34

Yeah, jazz festival. But what park is that? It's down like Mandica.

Patti Sewel: 19:38

Mandica, that's right.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:39

We got a bus and we loaded up with staff and went down to the Manteca waterpark. But I meant those kind of things, I think made us bond a little bit better. And again, having kind of a young, naive boss where everybody was treated with trust and respect, I think made it a good work environment. So we talked about working with the audience and the staff. So, Pat, we'll start with you. Patty, what experiences, unique, good or bad, that you had with any of the entertainers? Well, Lynn's laughing already. Where are we going?

Patti Sewel: 20:09

Gosh, you know, I.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:13

Well, you were dating one Bentoni for a couple years, but after that.

Patti Sewel: 20:17

But after that, you know, I remember. I remember coming in with Bentoni one time when Dana Carvey was there and he was so funny. And I came back another night. I also did that with Larry Miller. Miller, very funny. Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:32

So you just named two of the best comics.

Patti Sewel: 20:34

Oh, yeah, Cracked me up. I think I came back before four nights in a row. And that Lynn Stobner, she was funny too. Yes.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:41

Lynn's pointing at herself.

Patti Sewel: 20:42

Hilarious female comic. But I don't remember.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:46

You never had any problems there?

Patti Sewel: 20:48

Oh, no, I never had any problems with them. Everyone I, you know, had contact.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:52

Sherry?

Patti Sewel: 20:53

Nope. I thought very, very nice. Yeah. The time that we were at Lapse Unlimited downtown and Harry Anderson. Yes, Harry Anderson. Yeah. Jay Johnson. Yeah. That was big shows. They were great guys doing magic tricks for us, the staff afterwards and stuff. It was always fun.

Lynn Stobener: 21:11

I liked it when you brought your little boys into the meet the comics.

Patti Sewel: 21:14

Oh, I know, yeah. They love the comics.

R. Scott Edwards: 21:16

Well, J. Johnson was a world famous ventriloquist and been on the TV show Soap Soap. And then Harry Anderson, everybody knows from Night Court and Cheers, was a very good comic magician and they were very good friends and would often work together at the club, which was just a blessing for me because I love both of them and I get to got them in a package. But you're right, we would meet with them after the show at the Magic Hat or out in the front bar and they were happy to entertain and keep things going even after the audience was long gone.

Patti Sewel: 21:47

Yeah, that was fun.

Lynn Stobener: 21:49

I remember a post show night, I guess it was when we went out with Stevie Starr, the regurgitator. Do you remember that?

R. Scott Edwards: 21:58

Yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 21:59

And we were at Fridays. Were you at that? Who was this Stevie Star? He's called a human regurgitator.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:04

Some people might remember him. He was just on.

Lynn Stobener: 22:06

He was just on America's Got Talent.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:07

America's Got Talent a few years ago. Yeah, yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 22:09

And he's also an amazing close up magician. So we're sitting at Fridays and he has the salt and pepper shakers in front of him and he takes the pepper shaker and it looks like he swallowed it. Oh. And then. And then he brings it back up.

Patti Sewel: 22:30

Oh.

Lynn Stobener: 22:31

But I also know he's an amazing close up magician. So to this day I have no idea how he does what he does.

Patti Sewel: 22:36

I don't know if he's made. He did the same thing up the stairs at the Magic Hat when he took my wedding rings and took them and swallowed. And I'm like, oh, jeez, how am I gonna explain this?

R. Scott Edwards: 22:45

Tell my husband somebody has swollen.

Patti Sewel: 22:47

He's like, do you want your rings back? I'm like, sure, dude. Yeah. What did you just come from the bathroom? Spit them up. It was like, what the hell? Where were those?

R. Scott Edwards: 22:56

But he actually made a living swallowing and then bringing back up stuff. Or the Great Regurgitator, and I don't even remember him. And he played for us a couple times.

Patti Sewel: 23:08

Yeah, he did Live Goldfish. He did a light bulb. Oh, all kinds of stuff.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:12

The light bulb always freaked me out. And like Lynn said, some of it was close prestidigitation and some of it was. He actually was able to swallow things and get it so far down his esophagus and bring it back up. But it was. You were mentioning he did it once at a restaurant. I remember once that. And it might have been the same trip. But just as he's coughing up a salt and pepper shaker, here comes the waitress, and she saw this and screamed, you know, like, what? What's going on?

Patti Sewel: 23:42

That's disgusting.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:44

But it wasn't.

Lynn Stobener: 23:44

It's not. I mean, it was. When things came up, they were very clean.

Patti Sewel: 23:49

Clean?

R. Scott Edwards: 23:51

Oh, yeah. They weren't. Yeah. Snotty or anything? No, they were. Weren't covered in saliva. So in dealing with the comics. So you pretty much had good experiences and nobody was out of hand. Because I know that there's a problem in other clubs where the comics could get kind of handsy. And I've heard after the fact, after I sold the club that a couple of the waitresses were having after show shenanigans with some of the entertainers. Nothing else.

Lynn Stobener: 24:17

Shenanigans is intercourse.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:21

Yeah, intercourse code. It's a code word. Yeah, coitus, as Sheldon would say. So anyway. But even then, they weren't being mistreated. They were just having relationships. Well.

Patti Sewel: 24:35

And I know there were a couple that dated and actually dated the comics. Long, long term dating.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:42

I may not be aware of that old sack. Yeah, I just remember marrying Milt Abel because he does a whole bid on it now.

Patti Sewel: 24:48

Oh, does he?

R. Scott Edwards: 24:49

Oh, you guys haven't heard it.

Patti Sewel: 24:52

I just remember I was just looking at Abel stuff on Facebook just the other day. I just. He came across as a suggested friend on Facebook. So I dropped him a little note saying, hey, remember me? And I went and looked at his page, I'd forgotten all about him. He was so hilarious.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:07

I probably can't do it justice, but it's pretty funny because he says he's lying in bed with Mary and Mary's phone rings. She answers the phone and she goes, oh, well, you know, I'm with somebody. No, no, no, not him, no. Oh, I wish. And Mill's sitting there listening. And the funniest one is he goes, oh, not them, you know. Anyway, we shouldn't talk ill of Mary. She's a sweetheart. She worked for me for years. But she was having quiteest breaking rule number eight with a very, very dear friend of mine, Milt Abu, who I just worked with with a show last year and he'll be soon guesting as an interview on the podcast and maybe I'll have him tell the story because he does it even funnier. But so that's evidence right there that there was some shenanigans going on that I was not aware of. But overall though, you guys felt like it was a good experience and very.

Patti Sewel: 26:08

They were all respectful. The guys were fun.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:11

Yeah, but you guys were also got experience working with comedians and there weren't a lot of female comics in the day, but maybe there was somebody that stood out. I know, Sherry, you mentioned Ellen earlier and she's obviously world famous now, but who were some of the other women comics that you thought made a difference on stage?

Patti Sewel: 26:31

Diane Nichols. Yeah, Diane Nichols was good. And that Last Unlimited is where I first met Carla and we're. We're friends today.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:38

Oh, Carla Ray. Carla Ray out of Las Vegas. She's a radio personality in Las Vegas and still does comedy.

Patti Sewel: 26:44

Woohoo.

Lynn Stobener: 26:45

She is so freaking strong. I mean, I just saw her about six months ago.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:50

She lifting weights now. She means strong on stage.

Lynn Stobener: 26:55

Oh my God, she's. Yeah, she's like.

Patti Sewel: 26:57

I would love to see her again perform comedy that I haven't seen her bit in a long, long time.

Lynn Stobener: 27:04

So that would be Millennials. A bit is a.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:08

One of my favorites was Lois Bromfield. Oh yeah, she had that. Remember that great bit about the women in the.

Lynn Stobener: 27:14

Oh, Sorority girls from hell. Which you should go look up on YouTube. It's.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:18

It's on there and they did a video of it.

Patti Sewel: 27:20

Oh, that's hilarious.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:21

Sorority girls from Hell. Yeah, check out the video. It's hilarious. But when she does this, that bit live on stage, it is so funny. But we had a lot of Carol Leifer, who's hilarious, came through the club.

Lynn Stobener: 27:34

Who Patty is very much alike.

Patti Sewel: 27:36

Oh, yeah, and also, thank you. I've been told that. But also, I think, isn't she the one that Seinfeld patterned the character Elaine in Seinfeld's show after Carol Leifer?

R. Scott Edwards: 27:48

After Carol Leifer, yes. And also, Paula Poundstone started off as an opening act for me. She had come out from back east and was living in San Francisco, was struggling as an act and worked her way up to a headliner while working at laughs.

Patti Sewel: 28:04

I always liked Paula Poundstone. She had good stuff. Really good stuff. Strong set.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:09

Okay, now the ladies are whispering, which you really can't do.

Patti Sewel: 28:12

It's hard to remember 40 years ago, I got this little age thing going on. Ginkgo biloba.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:21

Make sure you have your put down the joint. So go ahead.

Lynn Stobener: 28:25

I really liked Karen Anderson.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:27

Oh, yes, Karen Anderson. We should talk about Karen. Karen was actually from Sacramento, and she started off as an emcee opening act and ended up being one of the head writers for the Ellen DeGeneres show, but many other TV shows, and she's still writing today.

Patti Sewel: 28:41

Yeah, that's great.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:42

Karen Anderson is a very funny young lady.

Patti Sewel: 28:44

Yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 28:45

And for a while there, we look very similar and we dressed very similar. So it messed with people's heads when she was working the club. And I was there, too, because we had, like, the same kind of permed hair and doing the international female comedian wardrobe, which was the blazer over the T shirt.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:04

For you fashion people. Fashionistas. There you go. Well, I think it's good that we talk about the female comics because to be honest, there weren't a lot and because there weren't a lot, they weren't in the club that much. But several were developed at the club. Karen Anderson, Cheryl the soccer mom, and a few others who have gone on and done well or stayed in comedy. And then we were lucky enough to have those that ended up being pretty good celebrities. Carol Leifer and Paula Poundstone and Ellen, just to name a couple. Lois Bromfield is still entertaining and doing great. Oh, almost forgot. Another one of my favorites. You guys remember Laura Kilmartin?

Lynn Stobener: 29:44

Oh, yeah.

Patti Sewel: 29:44

Lori Kilmartin. That's who it is.

Lynn Stobener: 29:46

Yes.

Patti Sewel: 29:46

That was the monkey butt pink dress.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:49

Oh, what was the bit? She was at a wedding. What was the bit? Sherry?

Patti Sewel: 29:54

She was doing the bit about she's always been a bridesmaid, never a bride, and there's like, so many shades of pink. And she goes, and which one do I get? Monkey butt pink. Monkey butt pink. I love it.

R. Scott Edwards: 30:05

Everyone knows that Lori Kilmartin was A hoot. She lives back in New York now and is raising a child and still doing comedy. She's doing really well. Well, that's a great shout out to the comedians and the business. We're gonna go on to our next subject, so stay tuned. Now, here to celebrate women in comedy, here's a nice Sacramento set from Paula Poundstone.

Sherri Morsett: 30:33

Thanks very much. Yeah, I was able to nail down the comedy oasis job. I'm able to go to Winnipeg and Sacramento. I'm feeling pretty good about it tonight. Shows nothing when you compare it to Sacramento Unlimited laughs, you guys. What more could you ask for? Jay loves the road. I like it. Okay. It gets a little depressing, though, sometimes. I was in Cleveland a couple weeks ago. I ran into Chevette and tried to drive into a tree and kill myself. Well, as it turns out, you can't get up enough speed to do that in a Chevette. You know what you can do? You can knock the Kleenex box off the dashboard, which certainly vents a good deal of feeling. Are there a lot of tourists here?

R. Scott Edwards: 31:22

Sheesh.

Sherri Morsett: 31:24

Then the locals are going to get their butts kicked in the playoff game. I think I'm trying to think if I've done anything summer here, vacation, I don't really too much. I'm always edgy in the summer because my parents recently bought a Winnebago, which means they could pull up in front of my house any day now and just live there. I tell you what, they're not plugging anything in or not getting any water. They should have thought of that a long time ago. When I was a little kid, my mom would get mad at me. She'd say, your butt is my meat. I always wondered what wine goes with that. I don't know if it messed me up or not, but I talk to a shrink pretty much every day now. I say, you know, the thing about seeing a shrink is you really can't pay someone to take an interest.

R. Scott Edwards: 32:16

You know what I mean?

Sherri Morsett: 32:17

There's nothing worse than realizing that piece of paper your shrink is writing on is a crossword puzzle. It was a dead giveaway. I told her something about my mom. She said, mm, and who played 99 on Get Smart? I said, well, Barbara Feldon. Why?

Patti Sewel: 32:34

Mm.

Sherri Morsett: 32:35

And how do you feel about that? So I guess I'm kind of mad. I had always wanted Karen Valentine to have that role. As it turns out, a lot of my sexual problems has to do with casting in sitcoms in the early 70s. I would like to do a remake of that movie. It's a Wonderful Life where in the beginning of the film, I jump off the bridge and the angel rescues me and shows me what life would have been like without me. Only it turns out it really would have been a whole lot better. And the angel is forced to apologize.

Lynn Stobener: 33:15

Israel.

Sherri Morsett: 33:15

I think it was last month's Life magazine. They were talking about old movies. They said the wizard of Oz was reviewed badly when it first came out. Did you read this?

Patti Sewel: 33:22

Yeah.

Sherri Morsett: 33:22

They said it was stupid and unimaginative. What if it turns out Rambo3 was really good and they showed every Easter? I'll tell you. I understand that you guys liked the Batman movie. I'm not gonna see it. I figure I've seen it frame by frame in T shirts that have walked by me at this point. Enough with the Batman movie. I liked the television show when it was out. You know though, you know why I think the criminals always got caught on that show is because they wore their names on their outfits. The Riddler wore a green leotard with question marks on it.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:07

Exactly.

Sherri Morsett: 34:08

How hard is that gonna be to identify why? Yes, officer, I believe that, Tim. Unless, of course, the Ice Capades has a punctuation theme this year. Wow.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:24

Hey, I hope you enjoyed that. That was Paula Poundstone. When Paula first came out from Boston to San Francisco, she got stage time at Laughs Unlimited as an opening act. And she was one of the only acts that worked consecutive weeks as she honed her sets for the audience. It was a real pleasure to work with her. She turned out to be a very talented star in comedy. So let's get back to our interview with our waitresses. So wait a minute. You had good jobs, you made good tips, you had good family experience and you like the comics. I guess the podcast's over. There's nothing controversial here, right?

Patti Sewel: 35:03

I guess stayed there for eight years. When I stopped to think about eight years. That's a long time.

R. Scott Edwards: 35:09

We were talking about how long the staff, like Lynn was saying she had very little turnover on the waits on the hostess staff. And they were all family and friends of Lynn's. I was so blessed to have her there. But even in the waitresses, you were there eight years. I know. Mary was there like 10 or 12. How long now? You weren't really an employee.

Patti Sewel: 35:28

I was only fill in.

R. Scott Edwards: 35:29

But how long did you fill in for?

Patti Sewel: 35:32

Several years, I think. But I loved it. I mean, honestly, if I could handle it right now, I couldn't do the squatting with long neck beers on a tray, but I would do that job today if I could. If I could go back and it was all of us.

R. Scott Edwards: 35:47

It would just be so much fun.

Lynn Stobener: 35:49

When you think about it, what do you do generally on the weekends? You go out with friends. So this was like going out with friends, but you had to do a little bit of work and then you.

Patti Sewel: 36:00

Got paid and you got paid. Yeah, you win a lot of cash in your pocket. That's good. It was really perfect. It was a great job.

R. Scott Edwards: 36:07

So, Sherry, let me ask you, as we're wrapping up a little bit here, you saw a number of really good entertainers, but who stood out as somebody? You thought, wow, they're going to be big stars or you just really enjoyed them. I'll give you a quick example. Larry Miller was one of my personal favorites. He has been in several movies. He's been on a lot on tv, but quite frankly, he's not a household name. But he's got to be one of the funniest human beings on the planet. But so that's give you a range. Who did you feel really stood out or that you thought was funny or ended up being famous?

Patti Sewel: 36:45

Well, Carlos, Alice, Rocky was a local boy that did good. Totally loved and followed him. Still do Rocco and all that fun stuff.

R. Scott Edwards: 36:53

Yeah, he went on to what she's talking about Rocco's. He went Rocko's Modern Times. He ended up being the main voice on a that cartoon. And he actually did several other.

Lynn Stobener: 37:03

And he also did. He had a kettle Taco Bell.

Patti Sewel: 37:05

And he did.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:06

Oh, the Taco Bell dog.

Patti Sewel: 37:07

And didn't he do Reno 911 or something?

R. Scott Edwards: 37:10

Yes, he was on Reno 91 1. So he's had a good career.

Patti Sewel: 37:12

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:13

But he started off as an opening act for us.

Patti Sewel: 37:15

Yeah, right. That's right. I remember. Right.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:17

So Carlos, Alice, Rocky, anybody else?

Patti Sewel: 37:20

Well, oh, Bob Worley. Bob was always our favorite. Always clean, clean, clean. And he was so much fun. And he was fun. He would stick around after the show and just, you know, fool around with all of us and.

Lynn Stobener: 37:31

Fool around Millennials.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:34

No, no, no.

Patti Sewel: 37:34

Not fool around is not Shenanigans.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:37

No, he was. He's very married and has two kids, by the way, Bob and I and his lovely wife Bernice and my wife Jill, we're all friends. We go down and visit him and Pasadena. He still lives in South Pasadena and we take him out to dinner at least twice a year and always have a great time. He's doing really well. But I'll pass along that he was mentioned. So, Bob Orley, Carlos. So it's interesting that you mentioned those two guys because you guys actually got to see people like Seinfeld, Carvey, Leno, Harry Anderson, Paula Poundstone. Sorry, Ellen. You remember Ellen being there?

Patti Sewel: 38:11

Ellen DeGeneres.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:12

A lot of people don't remember that. She only worked one week and she was the feature act, which means for those out there in my audience, she wasn't a headliner. She was just working her way up. And she was a featured actor and worked for us for a week. And we got a chance to work with her after her shows about her set. And now I think people have heard of her.

Patti Sewel: 38:33

Ellen, bit of a household name.

Lynn Stobener: 38:37

I let her close for me in Stockton once.

Patti Sewel: 38:40

Oh, gee.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:41

Oh, wow. Very good.

Patti Sewel: 38:44

She's very cool.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:45

Lynn is the manager of the Stockton club. Had the prerogative to.

Lynn Stobener: 38:49

Well, no, it wasn't actually. It was. It was not a laughs gig.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:53

Oh, it was.

Lynn Stobener: 38:54

I don't know who. Well, no, I think they. No, it was with. I don't remember.

Sherri Morsett: 39:01

Old 40 years, you know, starting to.

Patti Sewel: 39:03

Show a little bit.

R. Scott Edwards: 39:04

That'll be really good on the podcast. I got a great story, but I don't remember.

Lynn Stobener: 39:08

I middled for her. No, I opened for her because it was at. And it was at the college there. What's that?

R. Scott Edwards: 39:13

Sierra College.

Lynn Stobener: 39:15

Oh, university. Oh, the Pacific.

R. Scott Edwards: 39:17

Yeah.

Lynn Stobener: 39:18

And. Yeah. And then I brought her back to the Stockton club after the show so she could see it. And. Yeah, that's it.

R. Scott Edwards: 39:24

Oh, cool. We'll see. I don't remember that. That's a good story. So it took a while. Took. We took the long path, but we got to the end. Patty, what were some of the comics that you really enjoyed working with? You mentioned Bob Worley.

Patti Sewel: 39:36

Yeah. Milt Abel. I always loved Milt's performance. He was great. And of course, Larry Miller, Dana Carvey, you know, like I said, he. He was just great when he came back and did that week for you, because that was, I think, as I recall, right after he got Saturday Night Live. Yeah, that gig. But he had to go early back to New York. So he kind of missed a week on his contract with you, I think. So he said, I owe you one. And he darned if he didn't.

R. Scott Edwards: 40:02

He and Jerry Seinfeld both did that. Jerry had to cancel a week when he got the Seinfeld show, did the first season and then came back and worked for me for a week. Now, sadly, the first season of Seinfeld actually wasn't that popular, but it was still great to have him come back and honor that. And I was talking to Larry Wilson earlier about how there is a difference between your average everyday standup comic and a true professional. And we've had the honor to work with some great professionals. Well, ladies, it's been a real honor to get to see you again. And from my heart, thank you for the hours of work and Patty in your case, volunteering that you did at the clubs back in the 80s and 90s. And Lynn, all of it's because of you. So thank you for being here.

Lynn Stobener: 40:50

Everything is because of me.

R. Scott Edwards: 40:52

Everything. Well, I didn't mean it quite like that.

Patti Sewel: 40:54

This for the trip down memory lane. This was fun.

R. Scott Edwards: 40:56

Yeah. I hope you guys had a good time. We hope the audience got a kick out of it and got a little bit of a behind the scenes feel for what it was like to waitress and a comedy club. Anyway, thank you for listening. Patti Sewell, thanks for coming out. By the way, a really good author and she had a book just come out. Sherry Morissette, a great mother of two amazing boys. Three.

Patti Sewel: 41:17

Well, two boys, one girl and one girl.

R. Scott Edwards: 41:19

The two boys are amazing. The girl I don't know.

Patti Sewel: 41:22

She's okay. She'll be fine. She's a doll.

R. Scott Edwards: 41:25

Three amazing kids. And of course Lynn, you guys all know. So thank you very much for listening and we appreciate everybody coming out, everybody on the podcast. Be sure to share this. Don't be shy about reviewing it and rating it. And we thank you very much for listening. Stay tuned for another episode next week. Thanks for coming out. Thanks, ladies.

Patti Sewel: 41:44

Tip your weight, staff.

R. Scott Edwards: 41:46

Don't just tip them, push them all the way over.

Patti Sewel: 41:49

Oh God, I forgot that. Awesome. That was fun.

Lynn Stobener: 41:57

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Stand Up Comedy.

R. Scott Edwards: 41:59

Your host and mc. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhostnmc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of standup comedy.

Lynn Stobener: 42:16

Visit a comedy showroom near.