Comedians Pay - $2.00 and a Free Drink!?

     New young comedians are now paying to take the stage!  Certainly this must be a joke!  (Pun may be intended - it's your call.)

     As a new comedian, I was thrilled to perform.  I started at the Comedy Cottage in Rosemont, IL where comedians could perform for 5 minutes and receive $2 in pay, plus a free drink.  No one questioned the pay.  We were so happy to be on stage in a room that was "hot."

   The Comedy Cottage was an ideal size for stand up comedy and it had great acoustics.  It was a money making a machine!  Did I mention that the performers were paid $2.00?  Oh yes, I think I did.

  On both the east and west coasts, comedy was hot.  Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, David Letterman, Drew Carey were just a few of the comedians getting their start.  They performed at places like "Catch A Rising Star" in N.Y. and "The Comedy Store" in L.A.  Their pay - $5.  The club owner referred to it as "gas money."  The stand up comedy club scene was on fire.  The clubs were raking it in.  Did I mention that Jay Leno (who has always been a superior comedian) received $5.  Yep.  I think I did.

    Eventually the comics cried, "Enough is Enough!" and the comedy writers and performers went on strike.  They demanded to be paid.  They demanded respect.  They wanted to be appreciated.  I can personally tell you that while the writers strike was on, television entertainment was at an all new low.  I sure missed the talents of my incredibly funny peers.

  The result of the strike was a decent paycheck for services rendered.  Comedy is a business too.  Comedians need food and shelter and they need to be appreciated for their talents.  The strike made the world seem right again!  (More tomorrow on the comedy scene.)