How Laughs Unlimited Started And Why It Lasted 40 Years

Forty years doesn’t happen by accident, especially in live entertainment. Lynn Stobener grabs the host chair and gets Scott Edwards and Bob Stobener talking through the real, unpolished origin story of Laughs Unlimited, one of Sacramento’s defining stand-up comedy clubs. The early days are pure DIY: a tiny budget, borrowed know-how, side hustles that quietly trained them for the chaos of hospitality, and a willingness to figure things out in public.

We dig into the moments that shaped the club’s identity, from naming Laughs Unlimited and designing the logo to choosing independence over a comedy chain deal that almost happened. Scott and Bob explain how they learned production the hard way, cutting costs, building shows, and creating opportunities without waiting for credentials. Then we rewind to the Delta Queen basement days, the constant teardown-and-setup grind, and the sudden scramble to move locations when the room was threatened.

If you love comedy history, you’ll hear the human side of the 1980s comedy boom: favorites, regular road warriors, and the relationships that brought incredible talent through Sacramento. The stories get wild too, including the infamous “crap book” scrapbook notes and a legendary Robin Williams drop-in that nobody in the room forgets.

If Laughs Unlimited or Sacramento comedy means something to you, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s the best stand-up set you’ve ever seen live?

Transcript

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Welcome And A New Host

Speaker 5 0:04

This is another episode of Stand Up Comedy, your host and MC, 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 MC, Scott Edwards.

Lynn Stobener 0:21

Hello and welcome to the show this week. If you're waiting to hear the voice of Scott Edwards, you're gonna have to wait a little longer because this is Lynn Stolbener, Laughs Unlimited's very first employee, and I have taken over as host this week. But I do have two fine, fine young gentlemen as my guests. One of them is familiar to you, the one and only Scott Edwards. Oh nice, nice, nice. And then oh, it's amazing how all those people simultaneously quick clapping.

Bob Stobener 0:53

It's all timing.

Lynn Stobener 0:54

It's all about timing. And that other voice you hear is the one and only drawer of the logo. Drawer? No. Drawer. Drawer. Illustrator. Illustrator, yes, illustrator of the Laughs Unlimited logo. Another owner of the Laughs Unlimited Club. Let's hear it for Bob Stop.

Bob Stobener 1:16

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you both.

Lynn Stobener 1:20

So I and I've never done a uh hosted a podcast, so um it's probably gonna be really bad, but we will have some fun. Um and the first thing uh that I want to ask you to is how did it happen?

Scott Edwards 1:34

Well, I I so so for my regular listeners, both of you, uh you know that at one of the very first podcasts I kind of told the story of how the club came about, how I got the idea, and how I kind of got it going. What I wanted to do today, because we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the club this week, and I my

How The Club Idea Sparked

Scott Edwards 1:53

partner through my life uh as an entrepreneur, we'd already done a couple other businesses.

Lynn Stobener 1:59

Are you life partner?

Scott Edwards 2:00

Came on.

Lynn Stobener 2:01

Your life partner.

Scott Edwards 2:02

Yes, okay, came on as a partner in this as well, and I wanted uh Bob and I to share with the audience and you, Lynn, uh the experience we had back in August of 1980 of getting laughs unlimited going.

Bob Stobener 2:17

And we have to mention the others involved as well. We have we have Patty, we have Mac and Fawn. I'm getting ahead of the story, aren't I?

Scott Edwards 2:27

No, no, I would say let's explain. So Patty was my first wife.

Lynn Stobener 2:31

All right, let me let me let me just take control. Let me just take control. Wait a minute here.

unknown 2:36

Okay.

Lynn Stobener 2:37

All right. So you two men, young men, were born in uh Sacramento, different moms, different dads. And you met when did you meet?

Bob Stobener 2:46

Oh, we went to high school together. Christian Brother was so entertaining for me. I don't care. I want to know this, and you never talk to me unless I have a microphone. So um just just curious, we can edit this out, but like do you guys remember ever the first meeting?

Speaker 5 3:00

Oh, oh god. Well, Scott was kind of you just came

High School Origins And Friendship

Speaker 5 3:04

to the school. He was like the new guy on the in the school senior year.

Scott Edwards 3:07

I went to five high schools in four years, and I came in from Juvie or something. From Christian Brothers, and I was a total, and I wasn't even a nerd, I was just a geek, kind of a quiet, long-haired guy that stayed out of the way.

Lynn Stobener 3:21

What happened? I've never known you to be the quiet guy.

Scott Edwards 3:25

Yeah, I don't know, but I met Bob and then he introduced me to Mac, and then they introduced me to Jimmy, and and then there was Mark Irwin and Chris Andress, and it went on and on, and we ended up being a little click the last year and a half of uh high school. We had some fun, we were on the yearbook.

Lynn Stobener 3:42

I was gonna say, what was the first your first creative endeavor together?

Scott Edwards 3:46

Yearbook. Bob was actually a regular on the school yearbook. Yes. And I was able to finagle my way on in the senior year, but only so I could cut class. Because if you're on yearbook, they let you cut class thinking you're gonna go like tote, you know, do interviews.

Bob Stobener 4:01

You really want to say that on the air?

Lynn Stobener 4:03

Well, well. I think it's changed maybe.

Bob Stobener 4:04

Brother What's his bucket's gonna hear this?

Lynn Stobener 4:07

Made it out alive.

Bob Stobener 4:07

Anyway, we made it out alive. And we did uh we did work with George Lair. We had our music thing going. We were disc jockeys of of all.

Scott Edwards 4:14

Well, in that game, you've jumped ahead. Our very first company was taking over the story now. Okay.

Bob Stobener 4:18

Um no, you're right. We did the A Restriping We Stripe parking lots. Wait, which was first? ANA Restriping.

Scott Edwards 4:24

Restriping, yeah. We were like 18.

Bob Stobener 4:26

So I'm I'm sitting in my room at home, and Scott comes in, the room opens the door, Bob got this great idea. Which is this is a theme that happens in our relationship. Bob had this great idea. It's like you know the lines on the parking lot. So I met a guy at Holiday Inn

The Parking Lot Striping Business

Speaker 5 4:44

where you were working, night maintenance that that stripes parking lots, and he gets a dollar a line. And you know, a dollar a line in a hotel, that line that you know has different connotations, but he was talking about the parking lot stripes. And he said, you know, we could buy a machine, they cost about a thousand dollars, and we could stripe parking lots. Hey, Bob, you just got a thousand dollars from your your deceased uncle or godfather, you got an inheritance. Wouldn't it be swell if you gave me the thousand dollars and we strip parking lot lines?

Scott Edwards 5:16

How curious. My idea, your money. Did that ever happen again?

Speaker 5 5:19

I'm not sure. I think it might.

Scott Edwards 5:21

And what was so funny about it was that we had the machine and we had the idea, but we had no way to move the machine around. And then here comes Paul Lear, who app happened to own a van. We go, you know, the van would work to take the equipment around. Paul, you want to be a partner?

Speaker 3 5:35

It was really So you literally bought the machine before you thought, how should we get the machine around? I don't know.

Speaker 5 5:40

It was it was in the world. But it was very organic. Yes. You know, we reached out, we found another guy, and we brought him in.

Speaker 3 5:47

And that was very much like the This was back when uh striping park parking lots was not sexy, right?

Speaker 5 5:54

Yeah. It's changed a lot since you know.

Speaker 3 5:57

Because you guys made it a sexy thing, right?

Speaker 5 5:59

Well, they have those podcasts now all about striping parking lots. It's incredible, really, a lot of money.

Scott Edwards 6:05

And then we went into uh Sounds Good Music Productions and um Scott had an idea that we could go around and do weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Speaker 3 6:12

Were you working at the Holiday Inn and there was a dance?

Scott Edwards 6:15

No, it was something else. I was working as a bouncer at a nightclub. And I said, you know, if we could just, you know, get our own equipment, we could tour and do parties.

Speaker 5 6:24

I was very much let's put on a show, gang. Yeah, you know, Mickey Rooney here. Um he did, and then that's

DJ Gigs And Learning On The Fly

Speaker 5 6:30

how that one got going.

Scott Edwards 6:31

In that case, um I had the idea. Bob and uh Paul Lear's brother George Lear put in the money and we bought the equipment and went around and uh we were doing all kinds of schools and parties and weddings, and you name it.

Speaker 3 6:46

Yes, you did you actually I don't know if you remember, but you guys DJed my middle school dance.

Scott Edwards 6:50

I do remember that.

Speaker 3 6:51

And I was like so popular because I made the DJs.

Scott Edwards 6:56

That was uh that was the those were the days. You'd have seen it. So the couple years of A Navy Stripe, a couple years of uh that, and then I had this idea to do laughs unlimited, and I was did some research first, and I talked to some other club like that.

Speaker 5 7:09

Let me clarify.

Scott Edwards 7:10

Okay.

Speaker 5 7:11

Okay, so so here's my side of the story. All right. All right, so Scott and I are are driving on um I don't know, I think it was 80. We're writing, and he says, you

Deciding To Open A Comedy Club

Speaker 5 7:24

know, Patty had, you know, and you had just gone down to LA and you had been to the comedy store and you just had a great time, and Patty had said on the way back, we should I wish there was something like that in SAC, and all of a sudden there was this gigantic light bulb sitting right next to Scott. I was going zing, zing, zing, and that's how we started to throw together the ideas. So he's driving, Scott and I are driving on I-5, and he brings up to me the idea says, What would you think about opening a comedy club in Sacramento? And I swear this is like one of the only time, not the only times, but this was one time that I just in my head I said, Oh yeah, that would totally, totally work. That's completely a a great idea.

Scott Edwards 8:06

But that's the true how it started. Most of the businesses I you went in kicking and screaming, but the comedy club you thought was a good idea. But you also weren't involved initially. In fact, Lynn was the official first employee.

Speaker 5 8:18

I was there on day one. I just wasn't an employee. Yeah, I was just I had a real job. Well, that's that's my I I do not remember like like did you buy in at the beginning or know where you like I had to let's see, I think we started the club on $2,400 if I remember. I put in $400 because we needed, I think it was we had to get the PA or the lighting. Couldn't we put on the uh dance?

Scott Edwards 8:43

We made friends with Associated Sound and they helped us.

Speaker 5 8:46

So we had a local lighting company, a local ABC. So I remember we started with $2,400 and MacInfan put in, I think they put in $2,000. I think I put in $400. I don't again to your theme of you have the idea, everybody else puts in the money, which is really how you know that's how investments happen. Right. You know, then that's how we we kicked it off.

Scott Edwards 9:06

So going back to Bob's point, and Lynn, I know what you were asking is that the people involved in the beginning were my uh then wife, soon-to-be ex-wife, Patty, and she was around and helping, and then Bob came along and helped with uh artwork and the graphics and getting things going.

Speaker 3 9:22

Did did we did the club open up with the logo?

Scott Edwards 9:26

Uh-huh. Yes.

Speaker 3 9:27

Okay. Okay, I could remember like because I know Bob did the and

Naming, Logo, Partners, Legal Drama

Speaker 3 9:31

how did the logo, like how did the Joker come to be?

Scott Edwards 9:33

We were actually sitting around your mom's kitchen table talking about potential names. The I remembered this place called Turntables Unlimited on Fulton Avenue, and Patty says she blurted it out. I think I did.

Speaker 5 9:47

I distinctly remember, I distinctly remember Fawn Fawn.

Scott Edwards 9:50

So somebody yelled out Laughs Unlimited and it just stuck. Yeah. And then Bob started working on logos and the rest is history.

Speaker 3 9:58

Wasn't was it or was it folklore the name uh What Are You Laughing At? Was bounced around so that if you answered the phone, you'd be going, What are you laughing at?

Scott Edwards 10:07

Maybe that's just no, there was actually a brief moment before all my partners got involved that I almost became a partner in a company called Laugh Stop, which was a chain of clubs in Southern California, and we were gonna be one of their satellite locations. I not know I do remember that. And we even got to the point where they drew up contracts, and at the last minute, all the comics are saying, What are you doing? You don't need them, do it yourself. And I canceled the contract and opened without them, and they actually threatened to sue us and sent us legal notices and stuff. It was pretty dramatic for a uh young guy at the time, but uh I we made the right choice. And by the way, laugh stop did not last that much longer, maybe five, six years, but I mean we lasted now 40 years, so I I never heard that. Yeah, so I was trying to get all the names in. So then uh Mac and Fawn uh were a big part, and then we brought in uh Richie, who was the contractor, had the building experience, and what was amazing was everybody had a talent. I was good at sales and marketing, Bob was always the creative side, helped with recordings and artwork and advertising, marketing-wise, print-wise. Mac was always the guy that would pick up the comics, make sure the place was stocked, set the room. And then Richie came along and he was our builder, and it was amazing because he was so gifted, we'd just say, Oh, we need this, and a couple days later it would be exactly as we needed.

Speaker 5 11:34

Now, Paul was the one who actually built the big room originally, right? Paul, when we moved from the Firehouse Alley. So he put the that together. Do you is that your memory? No, but I'm old. Oh, okay. Paul Lear did the first soundbox.

Scott Edwards 11:50

Paul Lear did the first soundbox. Well, then we should give him credit. Paul needs Paul needs to get some.

Speaker 3 11:55

Because I remember uh that was my senior uh what is it when you like work experience? Uh I would work there in the afternoons helping him build it.

Speaker 5 12:02

No, Paul did that. But but Richie built the Fair Oaks. No, no, no. Citrus Heights. Citrus Heights rooms and he did a lot of work. Yeah, he did it.

Scott Edwards 12:10

But I was trying to lead up to, and of course, Cassie was involved. My now wife uh Jill was very involved, but we couldn't have done it. Oh, and Chris Braun, she was very important in those early days, but none of it would have gone as far as it did without the the love and the direction and the really the temperament of Sue Henderson.

Speaker 5 12:28

Oh yeah. Sue could keep it all together.

Scott Edwards 12:30

Sue came along a little later, but she brought the the mom slash boss into the whole thing. She was the adult in the room. Yes.

Speaker 3 12:38

Yes.

Scott Edwards 12:38

We were really just having fun like kids.

Speaker 3 12:41

Well, let me ask you this because uh please do um growing up, like I mean, what laughs ended up bringing to the both of you and every every one of us involved, the experiences we had. Um, but also like Bob, you never were trained in directing a TV show and or Scott, you never went to school for pr pr production and all that. So,

Skills Built By Necessity

Speaker 3 13:04

like what kind of name the stuff that you learned just by chance because of last. Like and what did you get to do? What special things did you get to do? Like, did you ever record an album?

Scott Edwards 13:18

Did you you know write a couple books?

Speaker 3 13:21

Right. Get sued by Disney. Come on.

Scott Edwards 13:25

We had a lot of experiences. Bob, I I could throw out a few. We we learned how to uh produce and direct uh television shows, we did the album, uh, we did a few concerts. Bob, what stands out in your mind?

Speaker 5 13:37

Oh, all that stuff. I mean the thing is when you go into something like what we did, it's like you don't know what you don't know. So you just you just do it. And you just and you don't have the uh you're not inhibited by what you think you should be doing. You're just doing it. So when we did the book, when we did our book on stand-up comedy, which was and on Amazon for a number of years, be a stand-up comic or just look like one. You can mail in at the anyway. It's on sale on my website. Silly little book, but it's kind of cool, it's kind of funny. But it started out as just uh uh we were gonna do a pamphlet or something, and then we said, okay, let's just stretch this out and make a book out of it, because we can make more money selling a book than we can a pamphlet. So I mean it's like necessity being mother of invention. In that's right, the inventions they live down the street. Uh so so yeah, so there's that, and it's like with the TV show, okay. So somebody wants to do a TV show. Some, you know, uh we had these um, and we were just talking about this the other night. This production company came in to do the show for us, and they were charging us like $10,000 for a half hour, which was crazy money for us. And I took it upon and I'm working with Scott, we did the we ended up doing the edits at home and then went into the studio with the edits, which is the way you should do it, do it offline, and we got a half hour done for like a thousand bucks, so like cut our costs way down. So I mean we just we you know that's how we learned how to do this stuff is because we had to or it wasn't gonna work.

Speaker 6 15:02

Right.

Scott Edwards 15:02

When it came to television, the first one was the Fox special, which was a one-hour show on the Fox Network, and they kind of guided it and and we watched a lot, and then when we did our own show, the series Laughs, and then almost live at Laughs Unlimited, those two series, we were 100% in control because we took everything we learned from the first show and and expanded in the others. But you make a good point, Lynn. Like we did several large concerts, whether it was Laughs in the Park or the Convention Center Theater, and we'd never done anything like that before, but we just did it.

Speaker 5 15:36

Yeah, right. Yeah, and the comics were really helpful. I mean, we watched the comics, we watched how they uh how they worked. Pick that up, some of those skills.

Scott Edwards 15:45

We had a lot of support.

Speaker 3 15:46

I I feel like I've kind of done this out of order because again, first time I'm here. So um but so I'm gonna I'm gonna go back and Scott, you can have fun editing this. This is kind of a test for you. Anywho, so when did Bob and how did you convince Bob, or did you have to convince Bob to come on full time? Like when did he leave his day job?

Speaker 5 16:07

I was working at a uh Do we have a year on this? This is 1982? 82-ish or 83. But I it was a job that I'd had for like eight years. And I decided, because we knew the person at this other company,

Going Full Time And Building A Work Family

Speaker 5 16:23

it was a software company, and he came to Laps and Limit a lot, and he said, Hey Bob, why don't you come work for me? And I said, Oh, okay, I can do that. And went there and that only lasted three months. And so I found myself without a job. And I said, Yeah, that's right. I said, Jobs, I've had it with you. But but uh I didn't have a job, and then I just went to Sky and says, Do you think I can just hang here for a while? And you said, sure. That's pretty much my.

Scott Edwards 16:44

And then he got a salary, and then Mac got laid off at United. So we gave him a job. Uh, I think Richie had a similar situation. In other words, to me, Laughs Unlimited was always a family. And Lynn, you were the beginning of that. And there was so many people that came to work for us in those first five years, especially, that everybody knew everybody. It wasn't a lot of, I mean, there were some, but it wasn't a lot of outside strangers. It was, hey, Jazz Festival, we need some help. Let's call Bob Melody and Chris Andrus, and they came down and bartended. They didn't know how to bartend, all they had to do was pour a beer. We showed them how to do that. Boom, they're bartenders for Jazz Festival. I mean, a lot of friends.

Speaker 3 17:24

You forgot to tell the one guy that you have to check the ID.

Scott Edwards 17:28

Yeah, Chris Andrus got busted by uh alcohol beverage control for not checking IDs. I will say he was distracted because his girlfriend, soon-to-be wife, was there uh snuggling him at the time.

Speaker 3 17:40

Well, that would hold up in a court of law, I'm pretty sure.

Speaker 5 17:42

Mac did go to bartending school in Old Sack. Did he? There was a bartending school where we ended up putting the cartoon shop.

Scott Edwards 17:48

Yep.

Speaker 5 17:49

That was a bartending school.

Scott Edwards 17:51

So Mac went to bartending school. Jill, you and a lot of the people started off as hostesses and worked your way up, kitchen manager, restaurant manager, club manager. It there was a lot of growth for all of us going through this process. Because I, for one, didn't have a clue in how to run a club and then restaurants and this and that. It was all seat of the pants.

Speaker 5 18:14

You had to. I mean, there was I mean, your experience of when we were about ready to lose the room and at the Delta Queen, the little honky restaurant over there, and losing that and and almost losing your business and having to go down the street and have that all happen in the background while they were preparing to kick you out. I mean, that was that was a pretty cool story. Yeah, you you made that.

Speaker 3 18:35

Yeah, I wish because I was like five probably, you know. I didn't, yeah. Uh but let's go back. Let's go back. Oh, we've been back. I know, no, but we're going back again. Um okay, Scott, first, what is your strongest memory of the Delta Queen room? It could be uh a show, a set, a comic, the the structure, whatever.

Scott Edwards 18:55

So I'll always have a little place in my heart for the original room. We were in the basement of a del uh restaurant called the Delta Queen, and uh there was a banquet room, and I made a deal with the owner that if he let me use the room for

Delta Queen Basement And The Quick Move

Scott Edwards 19:10

free, I would set up for his banquets for the next day, and he would get the food and drink money and I would get the door money. That's how I started. And so every day I had to go in and break down the banquet room, set up my comedy club, we would do the show with your help and your friends of your help and friends of yours help. And then after the show, I would stay late and tear down the comedy club so they could set up for another banquet the next day. And that went on every day for uh a couple years. Uh and then as Bob alluded to, they realized I was making money, and the staff, the wait staff that really liked me, told me that the owners were planning to boot me out without any notice and take over. And so, unbeknownst to them, I went and made a deal at a different location, and we actually shut down on a Tuesday and opened up on a Thursday in the new location, and they had no clue we were doing it. They continued to try to run a comedy club and they brought in White.

Speaker 5 20:07

Jesse White.

Scott Edwards 20:08

Jesse White The Maytag Man.

Speaker 5 20:10

The Maytag Man. He wasn't actually, I mean a big name. I he was he just isn't a stand-up comic, and especially not a stand-up comic to this generation that we were that we were playing to, right? Yeah. But I mean he had I mean he worked with Stan Freeberg. He he was a character actor from all kinds of television, but there was just no way that they were they were gonna play.

Scott Edwards 20:28

It was an old Catskills. He was acting, and he came in and insulted everybody and wasn't funny. And they stayed open, I think, three weeks and then they gave up. And we were already open and off and running. Yeah. And the Firehouse Alley location, which turned out to be, in my mind, our best club ever.

Speaker 5 20:44

Yeah, it was a good room. Yes. I mean the club the comics loved it because it had the low ceiling and just the laughs sounded just overpowering in that room.

Speaker 3 20:51

Oh yes, they echoed and they echoed.

Speaker 5 20:52

Yeah, they loved that.

Speaker 3 20:54

Bob, do you have any uh memories about first first uh the Delta Queen? Any shows? Any particular?

Speaker 5 21:01

I got really drunk there one night. I really did. I had like three Long Island ice teas when I thought they were just ice teas. I do remember that. But really, yeah, yeah. But but other than that, as far as a comedy room, I thought it was exciting because it was our first room, you know, and and uh the green room was just in the electrician's room. I mean there was all kinds of it was terrible, but it was like it was really a grassroots effort. Just something to get started with.

Scott Edwards 21:27

It was a grassroots effort. And just for those of you out there that have been to a real comedy club, we got a brick stage and a and a professional stage and lighting. We had a little riser that was maybe six by eight. We had a couple theatrical lights. The green room, as Bob said, was actually the electrical room for the uh um whole restaurant. It was maybe four feet wide and and maybe six feet long, and and famous, famous people would hang out in this little space and then come out. Uh that's right.

Speaker 5 21:57

You know what? I mean, that was the room. That we had the Bosom Buddies guy in the Tom Hanks. The Bosom Buddies guy. Sorry, isn't that funny? I came to uh Bosom Buddies. Tom Hanks. Oh, yeah. Tom Hanks. That's true. Tom Hanks worked for us on that stage. But you know, he worked for us. But he was there. That's an interesting story because he was obviously the star of that show. Sagitt was the open was the uh warm-up act for the audience, and he happened to be on the show, actually. And uh for one episode, Hanks was about to do the punchline movie and he needed some stand-up experience, and so that's how he came up with with Bob, because we had Bob in the room that week. And he was there for the whole weekend with his wife and Colin Hanks, who was just a baby. And uh we just hung out with them.

Scott Edwards 22:49

Sack state. In one of the earlier podcasts, I said Davis and I got verbally amused. Oh it was Sack State. Oh, yeah. George Wallace, who you can hear on another podcast, but he was uh also a very popular act doing a lot of TV at the time. He was our very first headliner. The opening act has been said mentioned uh been mentioned several times, but was Gary Shanling. Not a bad way to start off the history of a club.

Speaker 3 23:19

I want to know like how long was it before you thought, wow, we really we can really do this.

Scott Edwards 23:25

This is it was pretty immediate. Well, financially it took me almost uh I mean actually a full six months to get into the black.

Speaker 5 23:33

Well, that's I mean critically it you know we got some great reviews. We got great press for the first crowd size-wise.

Scott Edwards 23:40

Well, it was only the room only held about 80 people, I think. It was pretty small.

Speaker 5 23:44

Yeah, it was pretty small. I I remember polls.

Scott Edwards 23:46

Remember polls right in the middle of the room and the comics would you know there's he's trying to do a bit and there's a poll right in front of him. And chandeliers. Yes.

Speaker 3 23:55

I just remember in my memory, things were selling out on the weekend pretty darn quick.

Speaker 5 24:00

It was pretty much.

Speaker 3 24:10

Right. I mean, you were yes, definitely. And they're not I mean, Sacramento didn't have that much going on, but they obviously wanted it, and we had great crowds.

Scott Edwards 24:23

We hit the perfect time. When we opened Laughs Unlimited, it was like the 12th club in the entire country that was doing pure comedy. There was, you know, later on there were discos that converted to comedy, and before us there were some jazz clubs that would throw up a comic between acts, and comedy, a lot of times, a lot of people don't realize, got its start as they break for the strippers at strip clubs. They'd throw a comic up just while the girls were changing her their costumes or whatever. And so a lot of comics before the 80s were performing as break acts in jazz and strip clubs. And then the comedy craze hit, and we hit it really on time.

Speaker 3 25:05

But you guys, but it all it was also, I mean, you guys did a great job of taking care of uh the comics, the staff, and the audience.

Speaker 5 25:13

I mean, you know, well, we loved what we did. I did.

Speaker 3 25:15

I did too.

Speaker 5 25:16

I mean, I I was it was a very exciting time.

Speaker 3 25:19

Well, let's go, let's go to some of the favorites and worse. Uh let me get here some of your favorite comics.

Speaker 5 25:26

Well, go, Scott.

Scott Edwards 25:27

So I think some of the uh people that impressed me the most. These aren't my I have some really good friends from the industry I'd like to share, but the people that really stood out in my mind that were fun to bring to the club were were some of the old school guys that we had more love for than maybe our audience did. But Graham Chapman from Monty Python. We had Soupy

Favorite Comics And Early Breakthroughs

Scott Edwards 25:47

Sales, Pat Paulson. I mean, uh there were some incredible people. But if you go to who I bonded with the most and who I felt I really garnered good relationships with, it was Harry Anderson, Dana Carvey, Pat Paulson and I got to be really close. I got invited to his ranch and spent weeks there. I mean, it was a lot of things. Uh Jerry Leno was uh very down-to-earth and easy to talk to at the time. But we should plug the two comics that really helped get the club going, Dave Couillet and Bob Sagitt. Just gave us so much information to help us succeed.

Speaker 5 26:23

Very nice.

Scott Edwards 26:24

And you just basically met him by walking up to him when you guys were at the well they would all they would all recommend, you know, their friends, and they would just, I mean, because No, but I mean initially, like how did you initially I had gone to the comedy store uh in Westwood, which is an offshoot satellite of the uh Sunrise Club next to the college down there, UCLA, and one of the acts was Dave Couillet. And I went up after the show and introduced myself and the that and it went from there, blossomed from there. And he just he introduced me to Sagitt. They introduced us to George Wallace, who introduced us to Seinfeld, it just goes on and on. Larry Miller, Mark Schiff. It was incredible. We connected the right way.

Speaker 3 27:03

Bob, do you have any favorites? I know you do.

Speaker 5 27:06

Um, well, all those people that Scott mentioned, I mean, um, we were uh we were I think you you'd probably said this on another podcast, but Carvey, I think we gave him uh his first headlining spot.

Scott Edwards 27:18

Uh yeah, him and uh actually Will Durst. In fact, when uh Gary Shanling went on stage.

Speaker 3 27:24

Yeah Paula Poundstone.

Scott Edwards 27:25

Uh Paula Poundstone, when uh Shanling came out from Phoenix, we were his first road gig.

Speaker 5 27:31

Oh yeah.

Scott Edwards 27:31

Um remember that. Yeah, but uh Yaakov Smirnov was still speaking mostly Russian when I first met him. I mean, there's been a lot of people that uh were totally not famous at the time that ended up having uh really huge careers.

Speaker 5 27:46

Well, I've brought along today, and you can't see this, you radio listeners at home, but I've brought along He's got props. I've uh it's a prop. It is the official Laughs Unlimited scrapbook without the S, so it's the crap book. Which um which many of the comics in our very early years signed the crap book, and some of which made some very meaningful, uh uh very heartfelt. Let's share some of those one. Well, let me read one to right now. Let me share with you. This is one from you mentioned favorite comics. I think Larry

The Scrapbook Notes That Tell All

Speaker 5 28:17

Miller is among my favorite comics. And and certainly I think that's true of all of us, and we all love Larry, who was like the prototype for George on Seinfeld, by the way. That's kind of one of his many uh claims to fame. But anyway, he wrote a nice note to Scott here, and I think this is real touching. And this is around 1981, I think. I think the first time I think the first time of his first week, anyway, and he addressed it to Scott, even though it's it was my book, but that's okay. He said, Larry writes, thank you for having me here in Sacramento. It has been a wonderful week, and both the on stage and offstage time has been fun. The club is fine, is a fine idea, and I believe it will succeed. It deserves to, as do you. I will remember the pinball and the chili cheeseburgers for some time to come. I hope you will be as happy to have me return as I will be. The whole experience will be a fun chapter in my adventures. But if you think I'm going to invest any of my hard-earned money in this shithole, you're out of your fucking mind, you swine. Love Larry Miller. That's exactly what it says. And he says, P.S. just for spite, I'm going to keep your piece of shit belt, and I don't even like it. Now, the thing that's funny about this thing is Larry, the next time he came back, the following year, he said, Bob, where's the crap book? I want to read what I wrote. Because it was so easy, he was so he was so proud of this. Oh, it's funny. Yeah, so anyway, that's just that's just one of many.

Scott Edwards 29:56

Larry Miller was one of those guys.

Speaker 5 29:57

Scott, we should print this book and sell it.

Scott Edwards 30:00

Yeah. Larry Miller was definitely one of the uh uh great acts that we had in the club and a great, great comic. Uh but we were really lucky. Kevin Pollack uh came through, he's a huge movie star now, but used to do great impressions on stage. Uh ventriloquist Jay Johnson, you know, got a monkey joke. Remember that? Paul Riser and uh Will Shriner, all those guys. Lots of guys.

Speaker 5 30:24

Lots of and and the women of comedy, Lois Bromfield.

Scott Edwards 30:27

Ellen DeGeneres worked our club as a feature act.

Speaker 5 30:31

That I don't remember. Yeah. I have no memory of that. Is that true?

Scott Edwards 30:35

Well, we heard that she was coming and we asked you to take a week off. No, it's true. Ellen DeGeneres was a feature act that laughs. Don't deny it. But I don't remember.

Speaker 5 30:45

I uh she closed for you, didn't she?

Speaker 3 30:47

She closed for me, I mean.

Speaker 5 30:48

She closed for you in Stockton, I think.

Speaker 3 30:49

Yes, not the club, though, the college.

Speaker 5 30:51

No. No, yeah. And she closed for you. Who else closed for you? You did you do you there were some other acts supporting you?

Speaker 3 30:58

Uh wasn't there?

Speaker 5 30:59

Yeah, I didn't.

Speaker 3 31:00

Uh Carvey guy. Yeah.

Speaker 5 31:02

He's he closed for you.

Speaker 3 31:03

I gave him the whole church lady thing.

Speaker 5 31:04

Yes.

Speaker 3 31:04

You'll probably deny it because it's of course, of course. I'm not even yeah, it's but you know, it's memories.

Speaker 5 31:09

Yeah, you know, foggy memories.

Scott Edwards 31:10

As long as we're name-dropping, I have some a list I'd like to share. No, I think you've had enough. Okay.

Speaker 3 31:15

No, I want to hear his list.

Scott Edwards 31:16

No, these are comics that I think had a lot to do with our success and became part of the Laughs Unlimited family. And you tell me if you disagree. Bob Worley, Del Van Dyke, Ken Garr, Milt Abel, Diane Nichols, Steve Bruner.

Speaker 5 31:32

Those are like our regulars.

Scott Edwards 31:33

Carlos Alasraki, Sam Gutman, and Bruce Smirnoff. These guys were all, like you said, regular, regular acts that came a lot, did a really good job with our audiences, and well, Paul Robbins. Definitely. But I just met part of the that I remember being such regulars at the club. They really were part of the family. They'd go to bowling night with us, out on the boat with us.

Speaker 3 31:55

That's what I I also want to uh ask about because I think it's very cool that not only did the the comics work for you guys, but we also made them a part of our own personal lives, our families. And so, what are some of your out-of-the-club experiences that you remember? What hey, hey, this is a family show. It is, and that's what I'm saying. And I don't even know what you're talking about.

Scott Edwards 32:19

How about when yeah we're on the boat with Paula Poundstone and you made a joke and she repeated it and it stuck.

Speaker 3 32:25

Yeah, put on the hat.

Scott Edwards 32:26

Put the hat on.

Speaker 3 32:27

Yes.

Scott Edwards 32:28

We were on the boat and my hat blew off, and my hair, of course, looked like crap because we've been out on the river all day.

Comics Offstage And Real Friendships

Scott Edwards 32:33

Paula Poundstone sitting there, and Lynn actually said, put your hat on. But I didn't hear her. And Paula thought it was so funny. Paula repeated it much louder. Scott, put the hat on.

Speaker 3 32:44

I don't know. It really wasn't that funny, but she thought it tickled her.

Scott Edwards 32:48

Yeah, she thought it was hilarious. Was Ellen degenerate on the boat with us? No.

Speaker 3 32:53

No, she was skiing behind the boat. Okay. Uh Paula did actually, though, try to swim upstream of the river for a very long time before we told her.

Speaker 33:02

Without really moving.

Speaker 3 33:02

Yes, because she makes no headway at all.

Speaker 33:05

That was a little scary. I remember that.

Speaker 3 33:07

Do you remember any bowling nights?

Speaker 5 33:09

Do remember the bowling nights. We have uh we have actually one of the videos you just brought out. We have a bowling night on video with Dave.

Scott Edwards 33:21

We took Diane Nichols to the California State Fair. Oh, I do have a picture. I have a picture.

Speaker 5 33:27

Don't think Jerry did. Jerry did not, because Jerry was going back to the condo the night we went bowling, if I remember correctly.

Speaker 3 33:33

Afraid of a little 10 pin, was he?

Speaker 5 33:35

A little bit.

Scott Edwards 33:36

One of my great back to the Marina Inn treats was we went antiquing with Harry Anderson. He was in town, he loved antiques, and he goes, You guys have any good antique stores?

Speaker 5 33:48

And I go, Yeah, there's working in one. He was literally working in an antique store. I mean, old sack. I mean, it's full of antique stores.

Scott Edwards 33:55

No, but he I I don't know. But so I drove him around, we went to the antique alley and a couple places, and he found those punch boards that were famous back in the day where they would sell cigarettes and give away prizes. And he bought one of the boards and he made us pay to punch. And I paid him like 50 cents, and then I punched it, and I got the grand prize, which I think was $15 or something. And and and I said, Well, you made me pay, so I get my prize. So he autographed it to me, and that was it. He wouldn't give me any money. He took my money, but he wouldn't give me the prize money. Oh, that's good. But that was that was fun. That's good.

Speaker 3 34:31

Um, what about like uh I know we would uh I remember an experience with Dana Carvey, Dave Coulier.

Scott Edwards 34:37

Would you guys uh have any memories uh out on the well we were if you rem I don't know if you remember, but I was um the day Dana got the call from Saturday Night Live, we all got in a jacuzzi uh together, and that was interesting because he was excited and nervous at the same time, and he knew his life was gonna change.

Speaker 3 34:57

Had he not been in a jacuzzi before?

Scott Edwards 34:59

Not with Dana Carvey. No, that was unusual.

Speaker 5 35:01

No, I mean I think Dana had never been in a jacuzzi before.

Scott Edwards 35:04

Not with a couple of years.

Speaker 5 35:05

I think well, not with Scott. I mean, there were some extra bubbles in there, that's all I'm saying.

Scott Edwards 35:10

But there were there was other moments. Let me share uh one that I think uh nobody knows the stories, this will be the first time it's told. Tommy Chong got booked. We booked Tommy Chong a couple times.

Speaker 5 35:21

As a performer in the club, not oh this is a podcast.

Scott Edwards 35:25

This is a comedy podcast, isn't it? I thought I read some. Where's the rib shot? So uh I uh There you go.

Speaker 3 35:32

Those are birds.

Scott Edwards 35:34

So uh no, no. What I was gonna share is that we booked Tommy Chong. I was very excited. We were huge you know Cheech and Chong fans. We got Tommy

Tommy Chong And Robin Williams Stories

Scott Edwards 35:43

to the club, and I was backstage getting ready for the end of his show, and I was MCing, of course. And you guys don't remember, but in the uh Firehouse Alley, there was a little brick entryway, right, that you go through a curtain onto the stage, and I'm standing right there, and Tommy, this was the first time, he ended up working for us a couple times, but his very first show, he breaks out the guitar and goes right into Earache My Eye, which is a really hard bah, you know, rock and roll song. And I was so excited, I jumped up and just cracked my head open so bad it bled a little. It really shook me. I had to go and sit down. But it was, and nobody knows it happened. But it was so exciting to hear that song live on stage by Tommy Chong on you know, on my stage. I was just so excited I jumped up and almost killed myself.

Speaker 3 36:38

Well, speaking of very special, cool, can't believe this is happening moments. Let's hear a couple more of those, Bob. What do you ever have like what is like a what has Scott not told?

Speaker 5 36:48

I mean, I'm I'm sure you by now you've told everything. You've told the Robin Williams story? No. Oh, okay. So uh Robin Williams is doing a concert in Sacramento, which uh myself and a and a friend attended. And we had the idea. I'm sure Scott was ahead way ahead of it, but he booked Jeremy Kramer for that week at the club. So knowing that Robin and Jeremy were good friends, we thought there might be a good idea that Robin would come over after the show and do a set of.

Scott Edwards 37:16

It was the San Francisco connection.

Speaker 5 37:18

Yeah, uh yeah, because he was a San Francisco comic. So sure enough, we're you know, my friend and I are going to laughs after the show, and sure enough, Robin shows up and he wants to go on stage, and he must have done 40 minutes. I mean, I remembered Oh, it was nonstop. It was it was just and he was just on on and then so that was a very obviously special night, and Scott went up there to introduce him, and he just had so much pride in his voice. He says, Ladies and gentlemen, Robin Williams. And the crowd just, you know, it was a small room of maybe 50 people.

Speaker 3 37:46

Yeah, no, I remember that night. There was not 50 people. Yeah, it was.

Speaker 5 37:49

Well, it wasn't the that was very slow, it may be 20, 30. Yeah.

Speaker 3 37:52

And I do you remember when the lady stood up in the audience and just started like thanking him so much for coming to the club?

Speaker 5 37:58

Well, yeah, I mean the crowd was just astounded. Yeah. And and so Robin does a set, and you know, we we sh shoo the audience out, and then we uh close the room and we go back to the comedy condo, and Robin's just hanging out with us for the night. And um I've it was kind of cool for me because I got to help him, you know, show him the way out of town. He followed my car. Wow. But uh um anyway. Anyway, no, it was it was great to and I don't know, and it was it were you you were there that night, right? It was it was weird in that you know the comics were like on one side of the room, and then the our team was like on the other side of the room, and it was like there were two little normally we're all just hanging around together, but this particular night it seemed like the comics were in a world with with Robin, and we were over here in the kitchen, you know, talking about whatever normal people talk about. And but Robin would go back and forth. So he'd spend some time over there with them, and then he'd come back, and then we would hang out and just talk about whatever we were talking about, and then he'd go back and hang with the comics.

Scott Edwards 39:08

He was a comics comic. He liked hanging.

Speaker 5 39:10

But I think he was he was aware of everybody. Oh, yeah, but really generously.

Scott Edwards 39:16

Sadly there weren't cell phones, so we didn't get any good pictures. But it was a real special moment we'll never forget.

Speaker 5 39:22

Yeah, that was very, very cool.

Speaker 3 39:24

Uh well, okay, those are special moments. I don't know. Um Do you have any like going horribly wrong moments or worse moment, or was there like uh It's not a bad moment.

Scott Edwards 39:34

Well, there was the time you put your finger in the fan and almost cut your hand finger off. Well, that kept it. And then there was the time the customer cold cocked you in the hallway as he was leaving.

Speaker 5 39:42

Oh, yeah, I did get belted.

Scott Edwards 39:44

Which was made no sense because there was no rhyme or reason.

Speaker 5 39:48

Oh he was upset.

Scott Edwards 39:49

We all we all as you see what's funny is

Fights, Vomit Patrol, And Condo Weirdness

Scott Edwards 39:52

that we remember the good things the comics, the people, the interacting with the positive audience. But in reality, as the club owners, we're also the bouncers. And uh, you know, how many yuck patrols do we clean up, Lynn?

Speaker 3 40:05

Oh, I forgot that term. Oh my god. Yuck Patrol Patrol. That for you kids live listening at home, that is a vomit.

Scott Edwards 40:12

Yes, you know, and it was and I would dig in just like the staff to help clean up. It was there was nobody that was better than another person. It was something that we all had to deal with. But uh uh so there was a lot of challenging times. I mean, as much as the club was a success, there was a lot of times that we didn't get a paycheck in order so that we could cover the comics checks on the city. And the employees. And the employees' checks. I mean, it was not a big financial success, mostly because the guy running the show was horrible with money. Yeah.

Speaker 5 40:43

You kids at home want to start up your own business, you know, get an adult to handle the money for you. Um I have a bizarre story, and I don't even know the comics name, so it this probably doesn't make any sense to you, but it's one of the truly bizarre moments in my tenure in the comedy room. So I'm I'm bringing the headliner comic back to the condo, and I can't even remember the names. But we're walking, and this is when we're at Governor's Square, you know, the governor's, which is another story that's kind of interesting.

Speaker 3 41:09

That's where Stan Atkinson lived.

Speaker 5 41:11

Yeah, Stan, Stan lived there. But we're open, I'm opening up the door, letting the comic in, and you open the door, and here is this naked opening act lying on the floor spread out. It's just naked as a jayword. It's just, and he's the opening act.

Speaker 3 41:24

And and he was the middle act?

Speaker 5 41:27

I I don't think I would have, I think I would have noticed him more. But but yes, there he was, just right on the floor, and we just stepped over him and said, Well, that's your opening act. And he went, Oh, okay, great. We just walked right by. Anyway, it's it was just you know, you have to have that mental picture. This naked man just lying on the floor, and he was perfectly fine. He had just passed out from God knows what.

Scott Edwards 41:48

Oh. Well, this was the age of uh drugs, and uh which we didn't partake in, at least I didn't. Lynn?

Speaker 3 41:57

No, no, I mean Bob?

Speaker 5 41:58

No, I've no, I heard some stories. No, no.

Speaker 3 42:02

No, no, no, we were actually a pretty square uh group for club or something.

Speaker 5 42:07

And I think that might be one of the reasons why the comics kind of like this. And a few of them said that is because because they were all from most of them were from LA, and it was very LA-ish, and it was like you, you know, very competitive, and there was a lot of drugs, and it was a lot, you know, it wasn't a great scene.

Speaker 42:22

Well, they're gonna be a good thing.

Speaker 5 42:23

But they came back to us and they came up here and it was like, oh man, this is like semi-normal. This is like I mean this is like my town I grew up in. I remember I can breathe here a little bit.

Speaker 3 42:31

Having a couple of comics to mom's house for you know, like Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, that was just so cool.

Scott Edwards 42:36

Yeah. So, Lynn, who did you really enjoy seeing or working with? Besides us.

Speaker 3 42:41

Besides um I mean, everybody that you really mentioned, and um, you know nobody stood out?

Scott Edwards 42:48

Uh Jack Gallagher.

Speaker 3 42:50

I was just about to say, uh always loved Jack, um, always loved um Dana Garvey, and I always uh loved Jay Johnson, and I had a big crush on Jay Johnson. And uh I love working with Carla, I love working with Paula, I love I mean, yeah, there's a there's a ton, and there's a ton that you know no people might not necessarily know that good lord we still quote uh Cody Blaine's bits on the uh Mango. Get it off me, get it off me.

Scott Edwards 43:23

Well, well, I'll mention a couple acts that you guys could maybe comment on that were different, unique. One was Amazing Jonathan.

Speaker 3 43:30

Yes, who has a have you seen, he's got a documentary.

Scott Edwards 43:33

Well, I'm just saying he was a little out of his mind. And then remember Joel Hodgson working for us, and then he got mystery science theater after his job with Mattel. And just his career, you know, he was really into toys, he was really fun and creative on stage. Not really a great comic. Oh, I thought Joel was hilarious.

Speaker 5 43:53

He just had an off center time. He was off center. Yeah, it was very funny.

Scott Edwards 43:57

No, I liked him too. I'm just saying that he wasn't as popular. With the audiences as other people, and yet because of his love of toys and and had this childlike attitude, he got a job in the toy industry which immediately got him into mystery science theater 2000.

Speaker 5 44:12

I think I think he created it.

Scott Edwards 44:14

Well, I'm saying, but I mean one thing led to another, yeah. Did great. But amazing Jonathan uh was another guy that was right on the verge of crazy, but really, really funny. Yeah. And very animated.

Speaker 5 44:27

I have another reading. Oh, another another reading from the crap book. From the crap book. From the crap book. To Bob. Thanks for having my dress cleaned. And thanks for making me sore. You're a great guy, Gary Shanling.

Speaker 3 44:41

Oh. God, that warms my heart.

Scott Edwards 44:44

Yeah, doesn't it?

Speaker 3 44:45

Is there anything else in this book?

Scott Edwards 44:46

That's very touching.

Speaker 3 44:47

Crap book, by the way, listening audience of millions. Uh I am Bob's sister, and I worked at Laughs from the beginning, and I have never heard or seen this book before. Until tonight.

Speaker 5 45:00

Isn't that incredible?

Speaker 3 45:01

So I don't even know who he is.

Speaker 5 45:02

Bruce Baum writes, never suck on a goat.

Speaker 3 45:06

Well, good advice.

Speaker 5 45:07

Which now he tells me, you know, because who knew?

Speaker 3 45:10

Mom used to say that, but yeah.

Scott Edwards 45:12

But let's uh another uh act that might be fun to bring up. Comic ventriloquist Dave Strassman, always very creative, but remember when he was able to take his ventriloquical figure, he's doing this whole act, a normal ventriloquical bit where him and the character, I don't remember the name, would argue. Chuck. Chuck!

Speaker 4 45:30

It was Chuck Wood, Chuck Wood.

Scott Edwards 45:32

Chuck Wood. He and then he would leave the stage, and there he had the perfect

Strange Acts And Unforgettable Bits

Scott Edwards 45:37

pregnant pause, and then Chuck Wood.

Speaker 3 45:39

It was just the doll was sitting up like we have video of it on video. I just looking straight ahead.

Scott Edwards 45:46

And then all of a sudden it moves its eyes, and the audience always screamed. And of course, they thinking of Chucky, but this thing would come to life and then he would talk through it even though he's not there. I thought that was genius.

Speaker 3 45:58

Yes.

Scott Edwards 45:59

One of the greatest things we ever saw.

Speaker 3 46:01

Do you guys remember uh Kevin Nealan's bit he used to do? I remember when he used to bring uh a girl on stage to do her charcoal drawing. Do you remember that? Oh yeah. Yeah. I am I always wondered if that was gonna ever go way south, but it never did.

Scott Edwards 46:19

But he was so funny we never mentioned Kevin Nealan.

Speaker 3 46:23

I I first Kevin Nealan, but he's actually one of the w you know, when you see people in talent and sometimes you try to guess who you think's gonna make it and who you don't think is gonna make it.

Scott Edwards 46:32

You didn't think Kevin was gonna make it.

Speaker 3 46:33

Well, I just I didn't no, I I was surprised happily surprised, but I I just He was different.

Scott Edwards 46:39

He wasn't a straight chronologist.

Speaker 3 46:40

I mean he I'm sure he did a lot of other stuff. Yeah, he was very funny, but I guess I just you know He's a great comic.

Speaker 5 46:45

I mean he's a great comic actor. I mean he has a lot of skills. But have you seen his pod or heard his podcast? Or seen his podcast?

Speaker 3 46:52

Yeah, the YouTube, the hiking one.

Speaker 5 46:54

Yeah, it's really cool.

Speaker 3 46:54

Yeah.

Speaker 5 46:55

Go Kevin, that's awesome. You gotta try to get away.

Speaker 3 46:59

Get Kevin on the show. Uh don't tell him I said that though.

Speaker 5 47:02

Another act is podcast for the people who are listening.

Scott Edwards 47:06

The another act that was really different, really unusual, and made us laugh, I think, even more than the audience. Peter Gaulke.

Speaker 5 47:13

Oh, Gaulkey.

Scott Edwards 47:15

He was so funny. The two bits that I'll never forget was he'd get a volunteer on stage and he'd lay across some chairs, and then he'd have the volunteer, usually a woman, and he goes, I'm gonna levitate. And they'd pull the chair away, and he would slap down on the ground as hard as could be, and then they'd pull his feet out, and the feet would slam down, and he goes, Okay, I'm levitating right now.

Speaker 47:40

It's it's just centimeters, but I'm off the ground. It's hilarious.

Scott Edwards 47:45

And then the other one is he was doing a bit, and he pulls out a rope and he threw it out the middle aisle of the club, and it would pretend to repel into the audience. He would grab some girl and climb back up on the stage.

Speaker 48:00

You remember that? Yeah.

Speaker 3 48:02

I thought you were gonna mention torso man. Oh, well, that's which I actually did when I worked for the the blood bank. I did it at a mobile blood drug. Did you really? You stole his bit? I gave him credit.

Scott Edwards 48:15

So tell him about the bit.

Speaker 3 48:17

He just he would uh he had a very long shirt on, and then he had like uh you know bendy stretchy elasticky pants, and he would do this thing where he pulled the pants down a little bit. All the way to his knees, all the way to his knees, and he'd put a pillow in the rear part, yeah, and then with the long shirt, so it made him look like he was like, you know, three-quarters torso, so he was torso man, and you know, he the way that he'd walk, it would make the his little butt kind of wiggle, and it was really funny, it was very, very funny. It was hilarious and very visual. It's totally a visual, it's a very visual bit. Yeah, but if you want to write into Scott, we can give you some directions, we can send you a PDF or something, maybe.

Scott Edwards 48:52

You know, I don't think we have torso man on tape, but that would have been uh uh one to have.

Speaker 5 48:56

Emo Phillips was another favorite.

Scott Edwards 48:58

Oh, gosh, yeah. Emo Phillips. And we had him a few more than a few times. He was a good one. Yeah, he was really strange, but people loved him.

Speaker 5 49:05

Yeah, just such a unique timing, and his material was just perfect. It was great.

Scott Edwards 49:10

How about the regurgitator? Yeah, the regurgitator. He was actually on America's Funniest uh America's Got Talent and and did well. I think he made it to the finals. But he was in our club several times where he would swallow light bulbs and goldfish and then cough them back up. It was so disgusting, but uh really wowed the audiences.

Speaker 3 49:29

Well, yeah, and to this day I still don't know w how he does it because we went to Fridays, TGA Fridays after the show, and he ate and brought back up the salt and pepper shaker in front of us. And we didn't know it it's but he's an amazing also magician, so I don't know.

Scott Edwards 49:45

Yeah, I don't know. I don't trust him. Well, great magicians. We were very lucky to have uh John Carney, who is one of the greatest close-up comics ever to live, not famous, but an amazing close-up comic. And then, of course, uh Martin Lewis and Great Scott. I mean, you can't listen to a um certain album. Well, I'm having a brain fart.

Speaker 5 50:07

Santana Braxis, he used the first side of that um yeah, the first three songs of that album. And yes, you can't hear that without seeing his act. Great Scott. You also can't you also can't listen to I Get Around by the Beach Voice without expecting to scratch and from the opening of the club. I mean, it's just funny story.

Scott Edwards 50:26

Everybody out there that's with PETA, turn off your radio. But there was one time that Great Scott had to delay his set, and during Abraxa Santana song, he would make about 20 birds appear and then make them disappear. And he did it every night. And we all kind of knew how he did it, the secrets of magic, we won't share. But on one particular night, because uh, I think it was Yakov refused to split his act up or go

Magic Mishaps And Dark Club Lore

Scott Edwards 50:51

first, he went out and did it, and he kept appearing dead birds or hyperventilated.

Speaker 3 50:57

Right, he'd because he would generally, when they were well, you know, oxygenated, they would get in the cage on their perch after they then appeared. Oh, I'm happy, I'm a bird, yep, yep, true. These he had to kind of just prop up and lean against the side of the cage.

Speaker 51:12

Well, he just put the bottom, the poor dead pigeon. It was so sad and it's hysterical at the same time because he didn't change his act. No, he just kept going and dead bird after dead bird.

Speaker 5 51:26

Improvisation for Scott was not a thing. He couldn't, yeah, it has to roll away its program.

Speaker 51:32

So what he was doing.

Speaker 5 51:33

The first animatronic magician.

Scott Edwards 51:35

It was dark humor because everybody felt, I mean, the people in the audience were horrified.

Speaker 51:41

Yeah. These dead birds kept coming out. But poor Scott, he didn't have a choice.

Speaker 5 51:45

He didn't have a choice anyway.

Scott Edwards 51:46

He was helping him get out and getting fresh air.

Speaker 3 51:48

He was like flicking the wings so it looked like it was alive.

Scott Edwards 51:52

I don't know. Well, I remember I don't know if any of them actually died. I think a couple did, but it was just a Vegas. Yeah.

Speaker 3 52:04

Well, I I'll you know, we it was in Citrus Heights, and uh it was uh a magician, and I think his girlfriend was his assistant, and he was just a dick. I don't know. We only had him one time. And he did this thing where he made a cat appear, and it had to do with so she was a jerk. Yeah, I'm gonna say it. But you know, he had a sack on the back on his back that he makes the cat appear. But um, and I was MCing, so I brought him up, so I was still backstage, and all I hear is the beginning of the you know, his acnes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna and you hear thud, and just it had fallen out of the sack. The sack had fallen, and the cat's in there.

Speaker 52:48

I wasn't there for that.

Speaker 3 52:49

No, but it was one of those couldn't have happened to a nicer guy kind of thing.

Scott Edwards 52:52

So we had great comics. I think we've expressed that. I think we had really good audiences. I I really forgot that.

Speaker 5 52:59

I know we had great audiences.

Scott Edwards 53:00

Well, I want to share a story that one time I was I had did my bit and MCing and a little bit of comedy if I thought it was funny. And we got done, and this very tall, and all I could see was this tall woman, was just standing up and applauding and plotting, oh Scott, oh Scott, and kind of a feminine voice. And as I got closer, it turned out, of course, it was a transvestite, and she wanted to give me a room key. So that was a little weird. Magic night for you, huh? Yeah. But you know, that was a unique audience experience. And I I put him down very gently. It's oh thank you.

Speaker 3 53:35

But I, you know I got a room key offer too, but he was a successful comedian. Who was that?

Scott Edwards 53:43

Uh Richard Jenny, who Richard Jenny offered you a room key?

Speaker 3 53:47

He's the one that I had uh taken him back to the hotel uh to drop him off. And he got out of the car and I said, Oh, Richard, wait, here's your you forgot your key. And he's like, take a hint. And I'm like, nah, I'm okay. And then the next night when he had to be picked up, I sent Bentoni because I didn't want to do it. And uh he answered the door in his robe.

Scott Edwards 54:10

Ooh, I don't remember that. Richard Jenny was a little I I just saw him in a movie. He's in the mask as uh the sidekick for the star of the movie who is Richard Jenny is his uh co-star in that. Uh I did not know that he showed up in his robe the next day. Uh that's no, he did not show up.

Speaker 3 54:31

I mean, he answered the answer the door.

Scott Edwards 54:33

Well, how about uh you want to share your um Pat Paulson backstage story? Well, it wasn't Pat Paul uh I think I already invited us backstage. Well, for this audience, real quick version.

Speaker 3 54:45

Well, we went up up to Tahoe because Pat Paulson was there and you were were friends with him, and he had opened up for the Smothers brothers.

Scott Edwards 54:53

He invited us backstage.

Speaker 3 54:56

And I was thinking, oh, this is cool because I was just not so much for me, but I was even thinking, I don't know why I thought, oh, my this is my dad's era, but it's not, it was never. Um but um I just thought it was cool that I was meeting, uh, you know, meeting Tommy Smothers, but uh Tommy like romantic Smithers. Yeah, but yeah, it was yeah, he was there, but but Tommy was the one who actually he kind of sat me down, like he grabbed my shoulders and he sat me down on the couch, and then he kind of laid me on the couch down, and then like he crawled on top of me, and I'm like, you know, it's everybody's kind of laughing nervously and uh I didn't know what to do.

Scott Edwards 55:31

Um but it was Pat Paulson yells out, what are you, dry hump? He said something really disgusting.

Speaker 3 55:37

Meanwhile, the guy uh classical gas guy was playing the piano. Um Mason Williams.

Speaker 55:41

Yeah, Mason Williams.

Speaker 3 55:42

So it's a very cool, um, inappropriate experience.

Speaker 55:44

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 55:45

But that's your Me Too movement. Oh no, Pat Paulson makes it.

Speaker 3 55:48

Yes, it was my Me Too moment. I tried to start it back then, no one hit.

Scott Edwards 55:52

Pat Paulson started yelling, Tommy's got a boner, Tommy's got a boner. And it was really awkward for me because, like you said, these are big celebrities and big things, and I and yet I brought you up there, and you're like my little sister, and I'm all of a sudden he's on top of you, and I'm like, uh, Tommy. Uh come on. Yeah, ha ha ha ha ha funny. Come on, get off. You know, I mean it was weird.

Speaker 3 56:12

Excuse me, Mr. Smothers up, put it away.

Scott Edwards 56:16

It was a weird moment.

Speaker 5 56:18

Well, it was a different era.

Scott Edwards 56:19

It was. So we had a lot of fun. I Lynn, how would you like to wrap this up?

Speaker 3 56:24

Um, well, I do you know, as host of this podcast, I've been I've been a host for about 40, no, 57 minutes now. Uh I just want to say thank you for letting me be a part of it and as well as uh letting me be a part of the Laughs Unlimited Club and family. And uh uh do you have any uh uh

Pride, Gratitude, And 40 Years

Speaker 3 56:46

Well I'd like to say something.

Speaker 5 56:49

And it's without your book? No, this is uh I think we should be extremely proud. I don't know if anybody in Sacramento even understands this, but I think Laughs Unlimited, and it's still running, they're doing everything they can to keep it going. But they've been going straight for 40 years now. It has to be the longest running live show, continuous live show in Sacramento history. I can't think of anything that's that's lasted longer. Can you think of I mean music circuits is seasonal? I'm very proud of it. Oh, I'm extremely proud of it. And I'm not just saying that because I was a part of it, but I just think we we, you know, the club brought a lot of historical level talent to to this community that they wouldn't have seen at that level if we if this hadn't appeared.

Scott Edwards 57:36

I mean, and luckily Sacramento was a little starstruck.

Speaker 5 57:39

They love the fact that we're bringing in, and I'm not sure they still do, but they they appreciated talent when they saw it. And and the people that we had come through, a lot of the name dropping we did tonight. Uh, but you know, not even people that were really necessarily going to make it in comedy. I mean, I'm thinking of somebody like Denny Johnson, who does who's got a wonderful set, he's a great, he's a great he was a great actor. If he's listening to this, I know I'm following him on Facebook, you might hear this. Denny was a fantastic comic, but he he never got to the level that you people would know about. Oh, Diane Nichols. Well, yeah, I mean, there's hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of people that we worked with who had a lot of talent. You know, more than you would, you know, you would you would expect to see.

Scott Edwards 58:21

More than some people that are famous.

Speaker 5 58:22

More than some people that are famous.

Scott Edwards 58:24

I just imagine it just shows that some people make it, some don't, and it's just a uh lucky moment.

Speaker 5 58:29

I think I'm appreciate I almost appreciate those comics more than the ones that did make it because w, you know, we got to see them, you know, and and nobody else would.

Speaker 3 58:38

Well, I I always thought of I take pride in the fact that the comics loved working the club.

Speaker 5 58:45

Yeah.

Speaker 3 58:46

And that has everything to do with you two and the other owners, and then the Sacramento crowd, because the city.

Speaker 5 58:51

Richie, McMillie, Mac, Fawn, Patty.

Speaker 3 58:53

We made their uh it wasn't another just another road gig for them. You know, a lot of road gigs can be horrible because a lot of comics they just go in there, then they go back to either a disgusting uh condo or a hotel, and it's very impersonal, and it's just, you know, they don't there's not any interaction between the stage, you know, comic goes into town, gets on stage, and then you know it's a very l lonely job being a stand-up comic on the road, and we made it a little less lonely.

Scott Edwards 59:24

Right. In fact, you played touch football with Dave Couillet.

Speaker 3 59:28

Uh it was mud football.

Scott Edwards 59:30

And it was part of I heard there was some touching too.

Speaker 3 59:34

We wanted to, you know, the the the the point was to see how disgustingly muddy we can get. And we did. That sounds wrong, but no, that was very well.

Scott Edwards 59:42

I uh thank you for hosting my podcast.

Speaker 3 59:46

Sorry.

Scott Edwards 59:47

And um shouldn't you have hit the record button? Oh we had a chance to do a lot of name dropping, and I really appreciate that you, Lynn, were willing to host this. Bob is the first time I've gotten you on mic, even though I've mentioned you a dozen times in the previous podcast. But for us to come together on this, the anniversary time, our 40th anniversary of the club, again, uh it wouldn't have happened without us as a family, and it wouldn't have uh and everything we did, I'm very proud of. Me too.

Speaker 3 1:00:17

I I I would have to concur with your findings.

Scott Edwards 1:00:22

And with that, we'll end it.

Speaker 3 1:00:24

Peace out, people!

Speaker 5 1:00:26

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Happy birthday, Laughs Unlimited. Why don't we play the Laughs Unlimited theme song by Robert Aguaio? It's been heard, but we can't.

Scott Edwards 1:00:37

Why don't we play it again?

Speaker 5 1:00:38

Okay, here he comes.

Speaker 3 1:00:40

All right, you the record player.

Speaker 2 1:00:47

Hi everybody, it's Uncle Bob, the comedy mariachi. These laughs are your laps, these laps are my laps, your memento, from sacramento, your inhibitant, my laps inhibited, these laps. Come on, help an old man out.

Speaker 5 1:01:50

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 www.standupyourhost and mc.com. Look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near you.