Standup Comedy "Your Host and MC"

Behind the Laughs: Memories of "Laughs Unlimited" a Comedy Institution Part l - Show 288

• Scott Edwards • Season 7 • Episode 288

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Scott Edwards is joined by Bob and Lynn Stobiner to reminisce about the wild days of running Laughs Unlimited, the Sacramento comedy club they started in 1980. The trio shares outrageous stories and memorable moments from their decades in the comedy business.

• Scott and Bob's friendship dates back to high school where they started several businesses together before opening Laughs Unlimited
• Lynn joined as Scott's first staff member, coming aboard after a brief career at Burger King
• Rodney Dangerfield once called the club looking for Bob Saget, creating an awkward moment for bartender Jill
• A magician's dove act went horribly wrong when several birds appeared "near dead" after being confined too long
• During power outages, audience members were given flashlights to illuminate performers, creating unique bonding experiences
• Gary Shandling once led an entire small audience into the men's room to continue his set when a patron left to use the restroom
• Robin Williams stopped by after his concert downtown and performed an impromptu set, appearing energetic on stage but shy and respectful backstage
• Bob once got punched by a drunk patron who had been ejected from a show
• Comedy club ownership involved both death threats and incredible celebrity encounters


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Bob Stobener:

This is another episode of Stand-Up Comedy, your host and emcee celebrating 40-plus years on the fringe of show business Stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not-so-famous. Here's your host and emcee, scott Edwards. Hi there, everybody, and welcome once again to Stand-Up Comedy, your host and emcee, and I'm your guest host, bob Stobiner. Today I'm filling in for Scott, who's locked up in the basement downstairs and he can't get out, and so I've taken over the podcast today and I've also brought in Lynn Stobiner, thank you, thank you very much, lynn Stobiner, an exceptional comedian and performer and also my sister and I thought that the Stobiner twins would.

Bob Stobener:

We're not twins, but I thought the Stobiners would just completely take over Scott's podcast today because he's locked in the basement and I thought that you know we can go over some of the memories of Laughs Unlimited and have some fun just talking about some of the stupid things that Scott did over the years.

Lynn Stobener:

How much time do we have?

Bob Stobener:

Well, I don't know, wait, did you hear something? Oh shit, hey, hey, I thought the drugs would last longer than that.

Lynn Stobener:

Melatonin is not a good drug to knock people out.

Bob Stobener:

Was it melatonin you're supposed to use? No, no, no, I use Jell-O.

Lynn Stobener:

Well All right, all right, all right. I think we should let him out.

R.Scott Edwards:

Why did you lock me in the closet?

Bob Stobener:

I didn't Scott, it was an accident. You really should get your doors fixed around here.

R.Scott Edwards:

Jeez. Well, what's going on? You're recording a podcast.

Bob Stobener:

I took over all your equipment. You've got some great equipment here. This is excellent stuff, top gear, well. Thank you the big, great production quality on this podcast.

Lynn Stobener:

What does that KCRA thing on Sketch?

Bob Stobener:

on the side of that, they'll never miss it. Oh sorry, they'll never miss it.

Lynn Stobener:

I think it's funny listening audience that Scott just looked at the side of his equipment. For the very first time To see if a KCRA was there, that melatonin Angelo must have really Yep, yep, yep.

Bob Stobener:

Well, anyway, as long as we've got your attention audience and before we start asking for the donations, I thought maybe we would, uh, go over a few fabulous laughs and limited memories from back in the day Now, laughs and limited. Scott, have you told them about laughs and limited?

Lynn Stobener:

Oh, maybe, maybe you have. What is this unlimited laughter you're speaking of?

Bob Stobener:

Well, uh, it's a what they we called termed a comedy club back in the 1980s and it was around for a long, long time and it was a lot of fun. We all worked there. And of course Scott is the primary laugh person. The owner.

R.Scott Edwards:

The laugh creator, the laugh creator Backstory.

Bob Stobener:

Scott and I were driving We've told this story but it's so fun. Scott and I were driving on I-80 coming into Sacramento and he said his then-wife and him had gone to the comedy store in LA and he thought, man, this would be great to bring comedy into Sacramento and open up a nightclub. And Scott has come up with a lot of crazy, stupid ideas we should mention it Over the years.

Lynn Stobener:

Oh, where's the applause on that? Over the years, yeah, we should mention the applause on that Over the years.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah, but I thought, you know, as if it was just yesterday. I thought to myself man, that is a great idea, that will actually work. And so he made it happen and we all chipped in and helped and we met a lot of very cool people and had a lot of great memories.

R.Scott Edwards:

And I know that's what this podcast is about. Yeah, but it's okay to say that you and I have known each other since high school and we'd actually started two other companies previous to the Chain of Comedy Clubs, so there was some history of me arm-twisting you into adventures.

Bob Stobener:

And, against my better judgment, I did join you and we started. That's a joke. We started. Of course I would have joined you.

Lynn Stobener:

Somehow that accidentally locking him in the basement is making a lot of sense now.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah, well, you know, we'll see if we can do it again.

R.Scott Edwards:

And I want to say that it's been mentioned before but let me say it here and now that if it wasn't for Lynn Stobiner, jumping in is like my little sister back in August of 1980, because it was all me in the beginning and she came in first as a volunteer and then she got some friends to come in and all of a sudden I kind of had a staff.

Lynn Stobener:

I did eventually pay them, but you know, thank you for that Well you know, after my three-week tenure at Burger King, I decided to move on with my career.

Bob Stobener:

Well, you were already assistant vice president or something.

Lynn Stobener:

I mean, you had you had a good title.

R.Scott Edwards:

You had an office and everything but it was a really exciting life. We'd had a lot of great fun and we have some stories that I gave a list to my co-host here, my host for the day, bob, to go through and see if we have the similar memories or dissimilar memories. I mean, as I look over in the corner I see the Big Bamboo album by Cheech and Chong that was autographed to me by Tommy Chong, who actually worked the club twice, and that was really exciting. But I'm sure there's other memories, bob.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah and what we've done is we've torn up the sheet of paper that you gave me into all these little bits and pieces and we put them into this magic hat.

Lynn Stobener:

Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, and I will pick out of the magic Magic Hat and we will bring up hey, make sure when we pick that our fingers are not sticky, sticky fingers. Oh, that is good. I can't believe. You didn't believe.

R.Scott Edwards:

On the nose, everybody. That was the name of one of our restaurants we are referencing, and Magic Hat was a magic bar. We had All right.

Bob Stobener:

We had a ton of different things in the Sacramento region. If you've never been to Sacramento, a lot of these things were like neighboring businesses, and so we had like a whole bunch of things in Old Sacramento. We took over Old Sacramento.

R.Scott Edwards:

It was fun. Wait a minute, what's that on the wall? It looks like art made of pasta. Oh, there you are.

Bob Stobener:

Look at that, I was thinking art. This art should be in a gallery, oh wow. A cartoon gallery yes, if it were.

R.Scott Edwards:

Okay, we've now named up four of the businesses we've had.

Bob Stobener:

You're going to have to edit all of this out. Anyway, let's dip into the hat and see what we find in here. Okay, here's the first the hat and see what we find in here. Okay, oh, here's the first one, rodney Dangerfield. Now, I was not here when this happened, but I can imagine this happened a lot at comedy clubs in the 80s because Rodney Dangerfield had his own club and he was really well connected with a lot of the comics and especially Saget was one of his best friends, and Saget would come up and name drop Rodney a lot. He would just say, oh yeah, I was at Rodney's so-and-so last week and he's a great guy. He's a great guy and stuff.

Lynn Stobener:

Probably called him Rod, he may have and Danger Rod Danger.

R.Scott Edwards:

It's actually not much of a story, but one night Bob Saget was headlining at the club and my then employee, now bride, jill Smith Edwards, was working the bar and the phone rang and she picks it up and she goes hey, this is Rodney, and Jill's like okay, rodney Dangerfield. She goes oh, how can I help you? I need to talk to Saget, I need to talk to Bob, and she wasn't sure what to do. I mean, normally, obviously, you don't interrupt an act on stage and she was just bartending at the time. But she politely put him on hold and checked and Bob still had 20 minutes of his set to do and she went back on the phone. Mr Dangerfield, he's on stage, I'll give him a message. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bob Stobener:

You do that, but credits to Jill because Rodney obviously had a real iconic voice and very easy to fake, so anybody could have done that impression. The fact that Jill even trusted that it was actually Rodney Dangerfield and you know, that's really something.

R.Scott Edwards:

But yeah, when she tells the story and she's not here right now she would say that the person just said it's.

Bob Stobener:

Rodney yeah.

R.Scott Edwards:

And it kind of she didn't put two and two together. She wasn't expecting a call from Dangerfield. So she did manage it very well, but it was about a brief moment in our life, but one of those what do you call a close call to fame Six degrees of bacon.

Lynn Stobener:

Not Kevin, just the sizzling.

Bob Stobener:

Not Kevin. Thank you. One degree of bacon. On Sunday we had some good bacon on.

Lynn Stobener:

Sunday oh, with your pancakes, didn't you have like it was great.

Bob Stobener:

Anyway, sidetrack, sorry See, that's what happens. That's why you don't let me host, because I'll do that, I'll go into.

Lynn Stobener:

Easter Sunday breakfast just like that, just like that, for no reason at all Okay, comes up with pigeons.

Bob Stobener:

You know you dip into a hat. You don't know what you're going to get.

R.Scott Edwards:

I got to tell you they're really good with bacon.

Bob Stobener:

Oh, boom, boom. Did you hear that? Yeah, I know, comedy genius right there.

Lynn Stobener:

Comedy and pork.

R.Scott Edwards:

So the story that he's pulled out of the hat was we had a really good comic magician named Great Scott.

R.Scott Edwards:

He's still around, lives down in San Diego and I don't think he's performing anymore. He's retired but he used to work our club all the time, a couple times a year and always on Halloween week, and he was a terrific magician, did have some comedy, but I would say, unlike other comic magicians, he had some straight magic. He always ended his show to a Santana's Abraxas album and he would make appear like 15 doves and then make them disappear, and the audiences loved it. It was always really well done and, being the producer of the show, you know we kind of were with him backstage so we kind of knew how the tricks were done. But the audience was always very amazed and it was a really good set. However, early in the 80s this new up and cominer out of Russia, yakov Smirnoff, was booked with Great Scott and Great Scott said look, I break my act into two sets, so it's going to be the opening act a little bit of Great Scott, then Yakov and then Great Scott would go back and do this big dove presentation.

Lynn Stobener:

So it's more comedy first.

R.Scott Edwards:

Right kind of comedy and then magic and and every other entertainer would go along with it. Well, Yakov who, by the way, is a really nice guy I just talked to him the other day. He's doing great Was in Bali last time I talked to him. He's getting around the world, but he refused.

Lynn Stobener:

He must have been bigger then, because why would he have?

R.Scott Edwards:

already had a little bit of fame. He was already doing some work with Ronald Reagan and writing for some speeches and doing some comedy. He'd already. There was a couple of movies he was in.

Bob Stobener:

It was a super headliner.

R.Scott Edwards:

I mean yeah, I could see, you know and anyway he refused to do this bit for Scott and I was a weak producer, I should have made it happen. I didn't. I let Yakov call the shots and Great Scott went ahead and did his whole set with these pigeons magically in his around him to be appeared. But anyway the story. Is he?

Bob Stobener:

anyway the the story is he was wearing the pigeons for 45 minutes. Is that what you're saying?

R.Scott Edwards:

Well, we don't want to give away the trick, but the point is, let's just say, the pigeons did not have a nice breathable space. Yes, yeah, they were somewhat hyperventilating and stuff, and so Scott was doing his act and as he's, and he would make a excuse me a pigeon appear and then put it in this nice cage. So he was making these pigeons appear and when they appeared they were dead, yeah, or near dead, near dead.

Lynn Stobener:

It's not dead.

Bob Stobener:

It's not dead, it was deadly dead. It was dead-like.

R.Scott Edwards:

And the thing is is there's like 15 of them.

Lynn Stobener:

So he couldn't really stop his act. And when the birds were living in his previous times at performing, he would put them up on a perch.

R.Scott Edwards:

They would stand on the perch.

Lynn Stobener:

Dead pigeons, however, don't have very good balance Poor.

R.Scott Edwards:

Scott's trying to balance the pigeon on the perch against the cage.

Lynn Stobener:

So they just sat him down and he couldn't really stop it.

R.Scott Edwards:

He just kept going and going and I'd say out of the 15 birds we lost three or four.

Lynn Stobener:

We did not.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh well, he lost three or four, and then there was another four or five that were hyperventilating and couldn't stand on their own feet.

Lynn Stobener:

And it was very hard to give mouth to mouth. Oh yeah, to some of those birds. I know you tried, I know.

R.Scott Edwards:

Well, the audience was just aghast and we as the hosting of the show were like, oh my gosh. But now looking back, it was one of the funniest, saddest, funniest moments. I know there's people out there with the pro-life animals that's going to get pitchforks, but it was one of those things that nobody could have controlled, it just happened.

Bob Stobener:

It was an occupational hazard for the pigeon, yeah, yeah, they were old. Anyway, they all knew the risk when they went in controlled. It just happened. It was an occupational hazard for the pigeon, yeah, yeah, and, and they were old and, by the way, they all knew the risk when they went in and there's a good end of the story oh, I know for the pigeons?

R.Scott Edwards:

yes, and for the pigeons, because at the end of his show they'd all vanished. Yeah, that's right.

Bob Stobener:

So there was no dead birds but you know, the most amazing thing is when great scott pulled yuck off out of his, out of his pants, the last, the very last one.

Lynn Stobener:

I don't know how he did that yeah, and he was hyperventilating and he was yeah, but enjoying it anyway okay, we've gone down a dark path, but that was the story story too okay, well it was two things and I might have mentioned it before on this podcast, because I've been on here, before, but anyway, uh, it was a, it was some magician that only played our club once because he was pretty much a dick okay, he was very much a jerk he was not nice to his girlfriend and we did not all oh, I think I remember this.

Bob Stobener:

So there were two things.

Lynn Stobener:

One of he would make a cat appear. Uh, very first thing that he did on stage, well, the the way he does, that is, the cat's in a sack on his back, cat's sack back. And so I was backstage and he's, you know, doing whatever and all of a sudden you hear it fell off his back. And then the other one was involving a bird, and I don't remember exactly, but I think he, like, made it appear whatever, but then it just started flying around the room.

Bob Stobener:

Oh I remember that and.

Lynn Stobener:

Brian Benton got on the back mic and said uh, whoever ordered the chicken sandwich? It's going to be a little while, but it was like. I was just thinking this could not have happened to a nicer magician.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh that is. I remember that, and it took us a while to coax the bird to capture it again.

Lynn Stobener:

This guy's a hack. I'm flying away.

R.Scott Edwards:

But then Tony had the perfect line for that. That's hilarious, it was Brian.

Lynn Stobener:

Let's give him.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh, brian, I don't want to.

Bob Stobener:

I'm sorry, it was a good line. I'm sorry, it was Brian.

Lynn Stobener:

Brian got on the back and said that Perfect timing, everything. But I tell you the sound. If I think hard enough, I could hear the sound of the cat hitting the yeah, no, no.

R.Scott Edwards:

you did a good example. I think the audience has that image in their face and the cat lived by the way. There you go, good, good, good Well what's in the hat now. Let's go look, host Bob that really doesn't sound like him.

Bob Stobener:

I hope you guys are enjoying this.

R.Scott Edwards:

We Just kind of having fun and goofing and sharing old laughs, unlimited stories.

Lynn Stobener:

And don't forget, the 29th caller gets a free chance at winning $5,000.

Bob Stobener:

That's correct as a chance. Chance, yeah, we're not Okay Um this one's a little this one's a little dark sin bed and the death threat.

R.Scott Edwards:

I've seen that movie.

Bob Stobener:

Do we want to do? We want to go down this path.

R.Scott Edwards:

Well, it's, it's, it's. It turns out, nobody died. It was a uh, it was an interesting story. So here's the story I will share. I was the booker of the club and so people had to showcase for me and there was this one local guy who showcased and showcased and showcased, and I would always try to help him and give him advice and actually told him that maybe comedy wasn't his thing. Bottom line, he wasn't very good and he seemed a little let's just say you get that feeling where the hairs in the back of your neck go up maybe slightly disturbed. So after some big open mic and a discussion with him about the reality of his future as a comedian, I got a seven-page handwritten letter yeah, like a manifesto, seven pages and the first five were how much he loved me and respected me and how much I knew about comedy and he must've been a wacko.

R.Scott Edwards:

Well, here's what's interesting. The last two pages were basically a long written out death threat and how, the many different ways he would kill me because he was not happy with where his life was going and it was all my fault, wow, well, I, I knew the guy, I'd interacted with him, I knew he was a bit off and I didn't take it serious. I didn't tell the police. I I did share it with some of my staff did he work for those birds?

R.Scott Edwards:

but, uh, eventually it was just gone. It was just something that was in the past I didn't think about. Now fast forward about eight months and the phone rings and I answer it and the guy goes hey, this is Sinbad. Now for those in the audience that don't know, sinbad's a very talented actor who started off as a standup comic, had a lot of fame, very, very talented guy, but we'd never worked together. I did not know him. But he called and said hey, this is sin bad. Are you Scott Edwards? And I said, oh, yeah, yeah, how can I help you, sir? You know, I had no idea what was going on. He goes, he goes.

R.Scott Edwards:

The freakiest things just happened. I met this young comic down here this is in Hollywood and, um, you know, I I was kind of nice to him and I got this weird letter where on one part he kind of like loved me and looked up to me and praised me and then he threatened my life. I, I, you know, I've talked to the police, but you know they can't. They say they can't do anything until after I'm dead. You know what? You know, I heard that you knew this guy and I said oh geez, I'm so sorry, sinbad, you know, I know this guy, he's harmless, he's yeah, he's a bit whacked. But I got a similar like seven page letter and I ignored it and I think you should too and he was like really Cause, you know, I, I don't want to take any chances and I said no, no, I, you know you do what you feel like you need to do, but I'm not too worried about it and I don't think you should waste any more energy.

Lynn Stobener:

By the way, you're a good actor, nice to meet you and how much do you want for a week?

R.Scott Edwards:

No, the call just ended and we hung up. But then about a year and a half, two years later, he was actually working at a club here in Sacramento and I was doing some business with the club owner and this is during the day, not during a show or after a show and I show up at the club to talk business and Sinbad happened to be there, Mm-hmm, and I introduced myself and I said you know, we have a connection. Not many people have and of course he gave me a strange look and kind of backed off a couple of paces.

Bob Stobener:

You're not the guy you could have been the guy with the look, there you go.

R.Scott Edwards:

And I said, oh, I'm Scott Edwards, I own Laughs Unlimited and before I could say, the connection goes oh yeah, oh man, you are so great. Thanks so much. And it was so funny because you would have thought we'd known each other for 10 years. There was this bond over the death threat and we sat and chatted for at least 20, 30 minutes about the craziness of the industry and I kind of caught him up on this guy. But that's my Sinbad connection.

Bob Stobener:

It's not every day you get you know you don't. It's not every day you get death threats like that.

R.Scott Edwards:

No, no, at least you, no, no. I mean, I've had transvestites throw me hotel keys and I've had Well, that's understandable, I've had some weird things happen, but that was my one and only death threat. I've had a death threat.

Lynn Stobener:

You did happened, but that was, uh, my one and only death threat. I've had a death threat. You did yeah, yeah at the at the stockton club yeah, remember no, oh, never mind. No, uh, you're gonna elaborate. Well, it was a. I remember it was a sunday night, yeah, and we had a comic magician, but I can't think of his name, and that was kind of funny too, because earlier in the week he he's done did that trick where you, he's got a dinner table with dishes and everything and you pull the tablecloth off and anyway, we were bored one night so we tacked the tablecloth down and so when he yanked it the dishes just went, so anyway.

Lynn Stobener:

So we had already played a practical joke on him earlier in the week. So Sunday comes and the bartender came up to me and said we just had a death threat and this was in Stockton. So this is just like a you know, normal life Very possible.

Bob Stobener:

Yes, it's very possible.

Lynn Stobener:

So the first thing we had to do was try to wind up the show and convince the headliner that this was actually happening and we needed to wind up the show and convince the headliner that this was actually happening and we needed to wind up the show.

Lynn Stobener:

It's not a practical job. And then the other thing is, because we didn't necessarily think it was true but, you know, didn't want to be wrong about that. So I went in the office and I was wrapping up stuff and then I had to call down to the main club and let them know what's happening.

Lynn Stobener:

And so I call, and Jill Smith same bartender so jill answers the phone and again I'm in my office doing the book stuff. So I'm on my calculator, you know, tapping to the right, and the phone's to the right. So I'm doing two things at once and I say hey, joe, we just had a bomb threat and I was meaning to to zero out the calculator. But I hit the phone, hang up. So jill here's.

Lynn Stobener:

Hey, jill, it's lynn, we had a bomb threat, scared the shit out of her yeah, and I was laughing, I was peeing my pants, it was so funny, but jill did not take it.

R.Scott Edwards:

No, she. She came running to me in a panic the look on her face because stockton is has had some issues I.

Lynn Stobener:

I had my tires slashed and stuff.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yeah, we'd had some issues and Jill took it very serious and when that hang-up happened she came running to me with the look of a ghost. She was frightened to death. Lynn just called there's a bomb threat in Stockton. But the phone went dead.

Lynn Stobener:

It was perfect. I mean the timing of me saying it and then clicking it.

Bob Stobener:

So you two have both had death threats. I feel so left out.

R.Scott Edwards:

No, you got punched.

Bob Stobener:

I was going to say okay, so I was going to tell that story.

R.Scott Edwards:

Wait, wait, before we move on, Lynn, was there a bomb?

Lynn Stobener:

No, but actually the crew and I, we sat out front having a having a little cocktail and watched the building to see if it, if it blew.

R.Scott Edwards:

And I did call and kind of make sure everything was okay Once I got the message. So that ends the bomb scare story. But yeah, Bob, you had a little excitement yourself.

Bob Stobener:

So I'm doing I'm emceeing the show. Bob, you had a little excitement yourself, so I'm doing I'm emceeing the show. And if anybody in the audience, if you worked in comedy, you know the desperation, how sucky it is when you have an audience member or group of members who are just drunk off their gourd and they're just not good citizens.

R.Scott Edwards:

They're not good comedy. Citizens, you were running the Birdcage Club.

Bob Stobener:

The Birdcage Club and this particular party was just obnoxious and just killing the whole show. So I had to kick them out. And then you know they're not. They're not at the lat. You know at the back of the room where it's easy you could do it without the rest of the audience really seeing it. They're right dead center in the room. So I just okay time to go and I had to. There was like maybe six or seven of them, so we're marching them out and of course they're all bitching and yelling and stuff and they're just as drunk as you possibly could think Obnoxious, yeah, yeah absolutely, and we get out, and then they have elected a spokesman.

R.Scott Edwards:

So they've all Wait a minute. They had a quick parliamentary vote.

Bob Stobener:

Well, apparently there was one who spoke for the group and you know he's yelling at me and saying if we ever have this problem again, I'm going to have a lawyer and blah, blah, blah. And I'm so I'm just saying yes sir, yes sir, but you have to go. And I turned my head to the left. I'm really remember this. I turned my head to the left to make sure that you know, the door is closed or the curtains closed and the audience is okay, and I just feel like the wall behind me just came crashing down on top of me. That was the feeling of it. He had decked me just right across the chin, just completely knocked me on my ass.

R.Scott Edwards:

You weren't paying attention and he cold cocked you.

Bob Stobener:

No, he cold cocked me because I was looking right at him. But then I turned to check on the audience and that's when he decked me and we should explain to the audience.

R.Scott Edwards:

Bob is a titan of a man. He is buff and muscular, and to make him go down had to have been like getting hit with a sledgehammer.

Bob Stobener:

That guy's hand must have hurt.

Lynn Stobener:

No, no, I'm not, I just remembered.

Bob Stobener:

But but yes, and then I got myself up somehow.

Lynn Stobener:

Cassie, my lovely wife came out I was going to say, and Cassie took care of him.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah, yeah, but anyway, the cops came and they had them all outside and they asked me if I wanted to press charges and I said no, just get them out of here, and uh.

R.Scott Edwards:

so that's my little, my little, that's all I can contribute well, that's kind of close to a bomb threat I didn't have physical damage yeah, you know this is.

Bob Stobener:

We should really go into the hat and find another story because this is getting a little lynn. Why don't you pick one out of the hat there, it's your turn. Yeah, that really doesn't sound like a hat Paper cut.

Lynn Stobener:

It doesn't sound like it and I have no glasses, so hold on there. What the hell Blackout?

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh, I just put that on the list because you know the old adage, the show must go on is a true adage in show business and there were a couple times I would say at least four in the history of the club where, due to a storm or some adverse activity outside, all the power went down. Now, when you have a room full of audience that's looking to be entertained and you've paid these entertainers, the show must go on. And what we would do is the club was designed so that everybody could hear the comics. We always had a really good sound system, but even without the comics know how to project their voice. But lighting, of course, is an issue. We always kept a stash of flashlights and we would hand flashlights to various people in the audience and tell them to shine it on the entertainer.

R.Scott Edwards:

And what was really cool about it was it obviously disrupted the show. It made it difficult for both the audience and the entertainers. But because everybody's sharing that moment of uniqueness being in a blackout and yet being in the middle of a comedy club and in the middle of a show it kind of bonded everybody and the audience people took their job very seriously. They could have wielded the flashlights all over and been a distraction, but no, they were like rock solid on the entertainers and the show went on. And I just think that that's one of the amazing things about humanity and show business is that sometimes difficulties are it's not really a tragedy to have a blackout, but when you have something like that, everybody, everybody bonded, got in together and got it done that's kind of cool.

Bob Stobener:

Restores my face. Yes, it really kind of does, actually, because I remember that story, I remember that night and I wasn't there. I was must have been at the other club but I remember you telling me yeah, I was getting smacked. But yeah, I do remember you telling the story about they all just hung because they wanted to see the show. They were all. They were all in for the benefit the show. So they all chipped in to make sure the show happened.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yeah, and nobody asked for a refund. Nobody got pissed at us. They knew it was something we couldn't control.

Bob Stobener:

And there were no mics, because the sound of Simpson was out, so everything was you know.

Lynn Stobener:

That's the perfect club for that to happen to, though, being in a basement and having no carpet up front. It had a good and we had that nice kind of um, what's it called?

R.Scott Edwards:

Uh, it went up in the back. It was kind of a bowl yeah.

Bob Stobener:

It was a perfect, perfect comedy. I always thought that was the best room.

Lynn Stobener:

Not that this is, you know, uh anyway. Uh, sometimes Sunday nights, when there weren, have a lot of fun because the group is really a great group of people and like one show there was hardly anybody. But I took everybody's order and we ordered Fridays and had food delivered and the comics were really into it. So it was like a really intimate show that everybody was just kind of hanging out, but they loved it and it was really fun.

R.Scott Edwards:

It makes it special. When we used to have small crowds at the main room, I would sometimes just do the show in the bar. I had to have at least 10 people. But if we had 10, 12 people and the comics kind of liked it because instead of feeling that pressure to put on a show there was many times you know Gary Shandling or Dana Carvey they would literally sit on the stool and talk with the audience. It was very intimate and very funny.

Lynn Stobener:

I'm sorry. No, go ahead. I was going to say what's the Gary Shandling story about a small crowd or something?

R.Scott Edwards:

like oh, okay, I'll tell you, but Bob was going to share something.

Bob Stobener:

Oh no, I was just going to say that Sunday nights sometimes were the best nights of the week for those reasons, because that's when you everybody was really super relaxed and if the people were really into it, uh, we could do a lot of different things. Like I remember, you know, uh, it was like springtime weather was just starting to get nice and it was like the first Sunday night that we had really great weather in Sacramento, and Sacramento evenings you can have like amazing evenings because the weather's still warm. So, um, you know, we're in the basement club and we had like 20, 25 people and, um, and I think I think I was at emceeing that night for some reason, I think I. I seem to remember I was in and I just said screw this, let's not be inside, let's go outside and do the show outside, and we had a restaurant across the alley that had a little stage.

Bob Stobener:

So we took everybody over to art ofasta and we'd started up the sound system over there and we just did it outside and it was really great and it's just. You know the thought of getting all the customers to get out of their chairs and take their drinks and move them across the aisle, go down a block. You know that was just one of those nights you could do one of those things. I know there's another story on here about Gary.

R.Scott Edwards:

I want to get into that story next. Well, the it's interesting, though, because what we're sharing is that that, even though we were the producers of a comedy club and a comedy show and the comics were all we only use professionals. It was interesting how intimate it could get in the right circumstance.

R.Scott Edwards:

I mean you still have your sold out Saturday night eight o'clock show where you get them in, sell them a couple of drinks, give them some comedy and send them home. But there were Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Or you know t-shirt Tuesday, you know you wear a t-shirt, you get in free that we made and sold. Or Monday nights open mics. But Sundays I think we're really extra special because it's not a going out night. So the people that are there are extra vested in the comedy and I think that's a great story. I remember us doing that and doing the show at the Art of Pasta was a perfect ambiance for a comedy show outside.

Bob Stobener:

It was great.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yeah, the Gary Shandling story is very early on. It's um. I opened the club in August of 1980, and this is probably September, october. Uh, gary was our opening act, our very first show, um, in August of 80, and was quickly a headliner. He was really, really talented and we were. It was like a Wednesday night Cause we used to do shows every night of the week and it was, I think you know, minimum 14, 16 people in the audience, but the show must go on. Right, it was more than 10 people, that was my rule. And Gary is about halfway through a set and this guy gets up to go to the restroom right in the middle of a set, which you know happened but in a room of 200 or 100, you know you're not going to even notice. Right, with a show of, you know, 14 people.

Lynn Stobener:

It's a high percentage of people leaving the room.

R.Scott Edwards:

Gary stopped after the guy had left the room and said exactly what you just said. That's too high percentage of the audience to leave. I can't go on unless we're all together. Come with me and he took the other 13 people, men and women, down the hall to the men's room, walks right in the guy, the poor guy standing at the urinal doing his business. Gary goes and stands right behind him and there's not a lot of room in this bathroom come on in, come on in everybody yeah, like you got the voice down and the other 13 people cram into the bathroom, men and women.

R.Scott Edwards:

Everyone's giggling and this guy looks like you know what an intrusion on his personal space, but gary, without a beat, stands behind him and goes right back into a set Like nothing had happened. It was so funny, so amazing.

Lynn Stobener:

Never happened again. It would have been great to talk to that guy.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh, yeah, oh, and, by the way, we made sure he washed his hands.

Bob Stobener:

And he probably got a few complimentary tickets too.

R.Scott Edwards:

I thought you were going to say he got a few compliments, but that was a special moment that never happened again, and those 13, 14 people will never forget it.

Bob Stobener:

It was another night. It was a Sunday night Again, one of those closing nights. I think we're probably half full. It was in the original room and Gary was the headliner and Yakov was the opening act and they just got stupid. Not only I think that was one of the nights they did some improv, which didn't happen too often, but I do remember that Yakov got some sparklers.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh.

Bob Stobener:

I remember this. Oh, that's probably great.

Lynn Stobener:

Low ceiling with flammable.

Bob Stobener:

So Gary's up there doing his set and Yakov lights this sparkler and puts it up his butt and runs up on stage and runs around the room and I forgot what he was trying to prove.

R.Scott Edwards:

Oh, he was like singing God Bless America. I mean, he was like being it might've been near July 4th or Gary was doing a bit about the holidays. I don't remember the setup, but I'll never forget it was like a Russian rocket.

Lynn Stobener:

How did he put it up?

R.Scott Edwards:

his butt. That might have been it. It might have been the rush, Gary was talking about Russia and the missile threat or something, but anyway, I don't remember the basics. But that was so funny and Yakov and Gary didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden Gary comes running out of the back and raced around as long as that sparkler Yakov.

Bob Stobener:

what happening all of a sudden? Gary comes running out of the back and raced around as long as that sparkler, yakov.

R.Scott Edwards:

What did I say? You said gary, oh, which I was trying. Gary was talking, yakov was running around with a uh, and he just held it up against his ass.

Lynn Stobener:

I was gonna say that's his commitment to a joke, yeah and and he didn't say anything.

R.Scott Edwards:

I mean, he was kind of uh, singing something about america or russia, and then he runs around, gary, a couple times, the sparkler goes out and boom, he left the stage with no explanation. It was a very funny moment. I'm glad you remembered that. Yeah, that was funny.

Bob Stobener:

I'm going to go. I'm going to actually, just I know what I'm going to pull out. Oh see, and there it is Robin Williams. So the one night we had. It was a Tuesday or Wednesday, I don't know what day and it happened twice.

R.Scott Edwards:

It doesn't matter.

Bob Stobener:

I only remember it once.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yeah, it happened twice.

Bob Stobener:

I don't remember. Okay, it's your show.

Lynn Stobener:

Sure Scott, it was my club. He was there twice a week for a month. That's it.

Bob Stobener:

Well, I know that I went to Robin booked a concert in Sacramento. I went to the concert. Julie my friend Julie and I attended the concert, but you were clever enough, smart enough to book his pal as an opening act that week with the idea that Robin might come over and do a set.

Lynn Stobener:

I can't think of his name.

Bob Stobener:

Jeremy Kramer.

Lynn Stobener:

Jeremy Kramer.

Bob Stobener:

Jeremy.

R.Scott Edwards:

Kramer, jeremy Kramer.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yep so how did you? What Bob's leading up to is that, robin, often he loves stand-up comedy, so so much that he's doing this sold-out concert at the big pavilion downtown with, you know, 2,000 people. And when he gets off stage after doing an hour and 20 minute set, what's he do? He takes his limo over to a local comedy club and will drop in if he has a reason or has the time. Well, because we had Jeremy Kramer and because Jeremy had told Robin what was going on when he got done with his set, here comes Robin Williams, just bebop into the club like he was just another customer and we escorted him backstage where Jeremy was already offstage. He was an opening act or feature act.

Lynn Stobener:

Who was Headline? Do you remember?

R.Scott Edwards:

We could probably look it up. It was Headline.

Bob Stobener:

I think it was Saget.

R.Scott Edwards:

I think it was Saget Because Saget got pissed Because Saget was about halfway through a set and I just went up on stage and said hey, I had never seen Bob Saget man. Well, no, not pissed, but he was like, hey, this is my show, and even though it was Robin Williams, I mean, I'm just saying he had a few words with me that I may have managed it better.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah.

R.Scott Edwards:

You know like waiting until him to finish his set or something, but instead I was so excited that Robin was there. I literally walked up on stage in the middle of Bob's set and I said, ladies and gentlemen, I have to interrupt this show.

Bob Stobener:

Why would Bob be upset? I do not remember that.

R.Scott Edwards:

Yeah, and Bob's like what, what? And they go. Well, you know, we have to take advantage of this situation.

Lynn Stobener:

We have someone much funnier here than you are.

R.Scott Edwards:

I'm saying I didn't handle it well, I was just kind of overwhelmed.

Bob Stobener:

Well, it was overwhelming, and I do remember. Robin goes up and he does like another 40 minutes.

R.Scott Edwards:

I mean he was having so much fun and the audience was just out of their minds.

Bob Stobener:

I remember the moment that you know, and I don't remember about Saget being upset or anything and actually cutting the set short. I don't remember that at all, but I do remember you came out and when you said, ladies and gentlemen, robin Williams and you had such pride in your voice when you said it and it was like it was like this is, this is the top, this is, this is amazing. And I do remember robin doing a pretty long set um.

Lynn Stobener:

But do you remember that? I just remember a lady, and I don't think it was three rows packed. I mean I, I know.

R.Scott Edwards:

No, no, it was like two rows, yeah, it was a very small crowd but they were good.

Lynn Stobener:

But I do remember a lady just standing up and just I swear she was crying, just saying I can't believe you came here. This is such a small and then I remember, uh robin williams acting like he received an award she'll probably. You can imagine that person, she probably has that story she probably thinks she might have been drunk, so I don't know.

Bob Stobener:

Yeah, she maybe she was, but anyway, I do also remember that. Uh, after the, we spent a great evening at the condo with the comics and, and robin was there. He's very gracious.

R.Scott Edwards:

Um, you know, we have told great conversations many times on other podcasts that what was interesting about robin is when he was on stage he was like electrified, right a mile a minute. His mind worked so well as rolodex of jokes was just unbelievable. But backstage he was actually a very kind of shy, quiet guy, was not the class clown or cutting up, he was and very respectful of the other comics, whether they were opening acts or stars like saget. Of course saget wasn't famous at the time, but it was still a magical moment for me and what's interesting about the story and not to anybody but me I was so enthralled with the whole evening and everything that happened. I never asked for an autograph or a photo.

Bob Stobener:

No, and then you know that's another thing.

R.Scott Edwards:

He may have liked that yeah.

Bob Stobener:

But if we had smartphones back then? You know I mean it would have been stupid. By the way, there's no phones. Back then, we barely took, we barely even thought to take pictures.

Lynn Stobener:

I mean, Ben Tony took a bunch, but I don't even know.

Bob Stobener:

I don't think he has them still, but yeah but he was also a photographer.

Lynn Stobener:

but you know, God forbid we, I do.

Bob Stobener:

I do remember, like you said, scott, that he was very, very, you know, very chill, very calming, and he would just, he would talk to you on your level about anything that you know made sense and I had the memory of actually he followed me in his car so I helped him get to the freeway and so we walked to his car and said goodnight and everything. It was just like another guy. It was just like another guy, it was just like very calming.

R.Scott Edwards:

And then you know, and we should explain to people this was after Mork and Mindy, but before a lot of his big movies. So he was already a celebrity, but not the Robin Williams that starred in huge, huge films after that, 83 maybe. When was.

Lynn Stobener:

Mork and Mindy, Everybody go to the Googler yeah, or it was like high, not high, but it doesn't matter, because we had the moment. We did. Thank you for bringing that up, but when was he there again? When did that happen again?

R.Scott Edwards:

Several years later, a similar situation, but not not as elaborate. We didn't hang out in the condo, he only went on stage for a few minutes and I can't remember who he was. He was there to see somebody. That's amazing. That story is the one that sticks with me.

Bob Stobener:

How's our time Fine?

R.Scott Edwards:

Are you having fun audience?

Lynn Stobener:

Oh yeah, I'm having fun, you have fun yeah it was great.

R.Scott Edwards:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the co-host. I guess Bob's the host on this show, but I'm just interrupting because we ended up having so much fun. This goes on for a while and I didn't want to take up too much of your time. I hope you're enjoying it. It's a little selfish, but the nostalgia, the memories, the stories I think are interesting and we hope you enjoyed listening to my ex-partner Bob Stobiner, his sister and one of my favorite employees and comic Lynn Stobiner and I just chatting about some of the times we had at Laughs Unlimited. So I'm going to stop this one here and then next week's show. We'll have some more and I hope you're enjoying it and thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. We'll see you next week for the rest of this show. All right, thanks bye.

Bob Stobener:

we hope you enjoyed this episode of stand-up comedy, your host and mc. For information on the show, merchandise and our sponsors, or to send comments to scott, visit our website at wwwstandupyourhostandmccom. Look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand-up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near you.

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