Catch A Rising Star

In the mid 70’s, the Upper East Side of Manhattan was the place to be. Singles bars, great restaurants and two of the only three comedy clubs in the city- long before there were comedy clubs in every city. Catch a Rising Star was the brainchild of Rick Newman- club owner and entrepreneur.
 I had recently moved to New York and was living with my sister on East 79th street off of First Avenue. My sister had been to Catch a few times, since it was a few blocks from her apartment. Monday nights were generally the slow nights for the club, and it was also audition night. Those who wanted to win a coveted spot had to line up in the late afternoon and draw a number. Then we were asked to come back for the first show.
When you walked into the front door of Catch there was a large bar and waiting area, where people gathered to be seated for the shows. Beyond that was the show room which was a large, casual room with tables for eating and a stage for the performers.
The evenings would start at around 8:00 with the MC doing a warm up set. On this particular night, David Sayh was the MC. When it was my turn to sing, I went up and did a song with the trio.  After I left the stage, David asked me if I would like to come back Tuesday night so that Rick Newman could hear me. Of course, I said “Yes!” From that point on, I was asked to work the Tuesday and Thursday night slots. I was thrilled. Thus began my relationship with the club. I worked there on the off nights and eventually worked my way up to the weekend spots, usually doing both the first and second sets.
 During those years, there were only a handful of comedy clubs in the city- long before the “comedy club boom” happened (a comedy club in every city). There was Catch, The Comic Strip and The Improv, the city’s first comedy club which was located in Hells’ Kitchen. Most nights, most of us would go from Catch over to the Comic Strip, then down to The Improv to do a set, then back uptown to do the second set at Catch, etc. I think we made something like $5 for a set at each place (not enough to pay the rent, but enough for cab fare at the time.)
Of all three clubs, Catch was always my home. I cut my teeth there, got some great reviews there and made my first New York friend sitting at the bar there (Buddy Mantia, who at the time was part of a comedy sketch trio called “The Untouchables”. Forty years later, we’re sill friends!). Some incredible people moved through that club. Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Freddy Prinze, Billy Crystal, Bill Maher and dozens of now recognizable names. Although I never worked with any of those incredible people, I did share the stage with Larry David, Joy Behar, Susie Essman, Ray Romano, Larry Amaros (one of the most hilarious humans on the planet who did stand up at the time, but eventually went on to write for Joan Rivers), Gilbert Gottfried, Pat Benatar (when she was going by “Patty”) and a very, very young Chris Rock, who was just starting out. Catch was also a place where the Tonight Show (then with Johnny Carson) would go to scout out new talent, and where talent would go to work out their routines before they appeared on the show. Catch was as much a family as it was a club. When we weren’t on stage, we were either checking out each other’s acts or hanging at the bar. It was a great place to work out material, cut your teeth, learn how to work an audience and grow some pretty thick skin when needed.
Careers were developed there, friendships were formed there and many, many memories were made there. Oh, the stories I could tell… 😉