Holy City Zoo
Encyclopedia
The Holy City Zoo was a small but influential comedy club in San Francisco that operated from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. It was considered the Cradle of Comedy Civilization for many comedians who passed through San Francisco during that era.
The Holy City Zoo was located at 408 Clement Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in San Francisco's Richmond District. It was a tiny dark cavern that had a maximum occupancy of 78. The bar sold beer, wine and soft drinks. There was a small stage set against the back wall. A few stairs stage left led to a small balcony known as "The Lincoln Booth."
The office door was adjacent to the booth; the ceiling in the office was low, making it necessary for everyone over 5'2" to stoop while inside.
The club got its name from a sign the first owner, Robert Steger, picked up for free at a going-out-of-business sale at the local zoo in Holy City, California
. He had stopped there to buy redwood tables and chairs for the club.
At that time, the Holy City Zoo was a folk music club. The first comedian to play the club on an open mike night was Jim Giovanni, an impressionist, circa 1971. There was no comedy scene at the time, and Giovanni stayed doing every comedy night for almost three years. Later, other comics looking for a venue found the Zoo and gradually crowded the folk music out.
In 1975, Steger sold the business to Peter Reines. At first the "Zoo" continued to offer folk music five nights a week and was closed on Sundays. Reines was approached by San Francisco musician/comedian Jose Simon
, who suggested adding stand-up comedy as another form of entertainment. A number of comedians were holding shows in the basement of a church and wanted more of a nightclub setting. Sundays became "open mike" nights. It promptly became a very popular event. Gradually, comedy was expanded to seven nights a week. Under the promotional and emceeing skills of Tony DePaul, the Zoo gained national and international recognition. The club's first official comedy producer/club manager was John Cantu, who often slept on the stage after the club had closed for the evening.
Open-mike nights continually ran one or two nights a week throughout the club’s existence. Anyone could sign up for a five minute set, thus affording stage time to future stars, countless acts now forgotten and no small number of the mentally unstable and socially misfit.
It continued as a full-time comedy club for nearly 20 years. The Zoo was a "clubhouse" of sorts for comedians; it was the destination for many after a gig to hang out, gossip, drink, kvetch about the business, and perhaps catch a glimpse of some big-time headliner working on new material. Rob Schneider
could often be spotted hovering outside the club waiting to go onstage because he was underage. Due to a changing neighborhood and the lack of a full liquor license, the club was never financially solvent, and changed ownership many times. Among the various people who owned or co-owned the Zoo were Steger, Reines, Cantu, Jason Cristoble, Tom Sawyer, talent manager Bob Fisher, comedian Jim Samuels, and, at the end, Will Durst, Debi Durst, and Gilda and George Forrester (parents of the Zoo's last manager, Tracy Forrester).
The Zoo went out of business at least once in the 1980s, reopening briefly as the Ha-Ha-A-Go-Go (under Tom Sawyer). The Holy City Zoo finally closed for good in 1994. The final closing of the Zoo was a 24 hour "farewell marathon" hosted by Jeremy S. Kramer and ran from midnight August 29 to midnight August 30. A The site was recently (2008) occupied by an Irish bar called The Dog's Bollix, but in October 2008 changed hands and is now operated under the name Dirty Trix Saloon.
On April 20, 2011, Bay Area comedy troupe Sylvan Productions began hosting a weekly stand up open mic at Dirty Trix Saloon, bringing comedy back to the historical location.
Will and Debi Durst still own The Holy City Zoo trademark and logo.
The Holy City Zoo was located at 408 Clement Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in San Francisco's Richmond District. It was a tiny dark cavern that had a maximum occupancy of 78. The bar sold beer, wine and soft drinks. There was a small stage set against the back wall. A few stairs stage left led to a small balcony known as "The Lincoln Booth."
The office door was adjacent to the booth; the ceiling in the office was low, making it necessary for everyone over 5'2" to stoop while inside.
The club got its name from a sign the first owner, Robert Steger, picked up for free at a going-out-of-business sale at the local zoo in Holy City, California
Holy City, California
Holy City is an unincorporated community in Santa Clara County, California. With only one permanent resident, it is arguably a ghost town. The town is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, off State Route 17 on Old Santa Cruz Highway, at . It is part of the Lexington Hills census-designated place...
. He had stopped there to buy redwood tables and chairs for the club.
At that time, the Holy City Zoo was a folk music club. The first comedian to play the club on an open mike night was Jim Giovanni, an impressionist, circa 1971. There was no comedy scene at the time, and Giovanni stayed doing every comedy night for almost three years. Later, other comics looking for a venue found the Zoo and gradually crowded the folk music out.
In 1975, Steger sold the business to Peter Reines. At first the "Zoo" continued to offer folk music five nights a week and was closed on Sundays. Reines was approached by San Francisco musician/comedian Jose Simon
Jose Simon
Jose Simon was an American comedian and musician who founded Comedy Day in San Francisco and aided that city's reemergence of stand-up comedy starting in the 1970s....
, who suggested adding stand-up comedy as another form of entertainment. A number of comedians were holding shows in the basement of a church and wanted more of a nightclub setting. Sundays became "open mike" nights. It promptly became a very popular event. Gradually, comedy was expanded to seven nights a week. Under the promotional and emceeing skills of Tony DePaul, the Zoo gained national and international recognition. The club's first official comedy producer/club manager was John Cantu, who often slept on the stage after the club had closed for the evening.
Open-mike nights continually ran one or two nights a week throughout the club’s existence. Anyone could sign up for a five minute set, thus affording stage time to future stars, countless acts now forgotten and no small number of the mentally unstable and socially misfit.
It continued as a full-time comedy club for nearly 20 years. The Zoo was a "clubhouse" of sorts for comedians; it was the destination for many after a gig to hang out, gossip, drink, kvetch about the business, and perhaps catch a glimpse of some big-time headliner working on new material. Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:...
could often be spotted hovering outside the club waiting to go onstage because he was underage. Due to a changing neighborhood and the lack of a full liquor license, the club was never financially solvent, and changed ownership many times. Among the various people who owned or co-owned the Zoo were Steger, Reines, Cantu, Jason Cristoble, Tom Sawyer, talent manager Bob Fisher, comedian Jim Samuels, and, at the end, Will Durst, Debi Durst, and Gilda and George Forrester (parents of the Zoo's last manager, Tracy Forrester).
The Zoo went out of business at least once in the 1980s, reopening briefly as the Ha-Ha-A-Go-Go (under Tom Sawyer). The Holy City Zoo finally closed for good in 1994. The final closing of the Zoo was a 24 hour "farewell marathon" hosted by Jeremy S. Kramer and ran from midnight August 29 to midnight August 30. A The site was recently (2008) occupied by an Irish bar called The Dog's Bollix, but in October 2008 changed hands and is now operated under the name Dirty Trix Saloon.
On April 20, 2011, Bay Area comedy troupe Sylvan Productions began hosting a weekly stand up open mic at Dirty Trix Saloon, bringing comedy back to the historical location.
Will and Debi Durst still own The Holy City Zoo trademark and logo.
Who Was There, and Where Are They Now
The following is a partial list of comedians and other performers who either got their start or had performances at the Holy City Zoo:- Rob Becker - Franchises his one-man show Defending the CavemanDefending the CavemanDefending the Caveman is a comedy written by American actor and comedian Rob Becker about the misunderstandings between men and women. Defending the Caveman has been seen in theaters around the world by more than eight million people in forty-five countries. It has been performed in over thirty...
, which holds the record for the longest running solo play in the history of Broadway. - A. Whitney BrownA. Whitney BrownAlan Whitney Brown is an Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian probably best known for his recurring appearances on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s opposite Dennis Miller in a biting satirical...
- Larry Bubbles BrownLarry Bubbles BrownLarry "Bubbles" Brown is a San Francisco based, dead pan, self-deprecating comedian and actor. He started doing stand up in San Francisco in the early 1980s. He began appearing on numerous TV shows such as Evening at the Improv, Make Me Laugh and others and made his first appearance on Late Night...
- Franklin Burke
- Joe Campaiolo (aka Dexter Madison)
- Dana CarveyDana CarveyDana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
- Gil ChristnerGil ChristnerGil Christner is an American actor, writer and comedian living and working in Los Angeles.-Early life:...
- Margaret ChoMargaret ChoMargaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
- Ellen DegeneresEllen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
- Nora DunnNora DunnNora Eloise Dunn is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
- Will DurstWill DurstWill Durst is an American political satirist; he considers himself a modern mix of Mort Sahl and Will Rogers....
- Jim EarlJim EarlJim Earl is a stage and radio comedian, comedy writer, musician and cartoonist from California.Earl received a degree in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984, and then he began his comedy career in the stand-up comedy team of "Lank and Earl" with his high school friend...
(Lank and Earl) - Ralph Eno (aka Ral Pheno) - Died from burns, February 17, 1984, age 36. He poured five gallons of gas on his body and set himself afire on a corner in the Sunset District.
- Charles Ezell
- David FeldmanDavid FeldmanDavid Feldman may refer to:*David Feldman *David Feldman , author of the Imponderables series*David Feldman , Irish philatelist and chairman of Swiss philatelic auction company, David Feldman SA...
- Mike Ferrucci - Former writer for "The Man Show" and "Air America Radio." Now lives in New York City.
- Jim Giovanni
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Dr. Gonzo
- Dana GouldDana GouldDana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
- Linda Hill - now lives in New York City and has a country music band. Cantu called her "Hot Stuff"
- Monty Hoffman
- Billy Jaye
- Jake JohannsenJake JohannsenJake Johannsen is an American comedian.Johannsen attended Iowa State University in the early 1980s, originally majoring in veterinary medicine, and then later changing to chemical engineering. He left after three years in college and relocated to San Francisco, California in order to pursue a...
- Mike "Boats" Johnson
- Miles "Doug" Kehoe
- Jeremy S. Kramer
- Steve Kravitz
- Barry LankBarry LankBarry Lank is a comedian, journalist, and former writer at Air America Radio.Lank was born in Diamond Bar, California in June, 1960, the first person born there after the area converted from cattle ranchland to a residential development...
(Lank and Earl) - Andrea Leigh Levin
- Kevin MeaneyKevin MeaneyKevin Gerard Meaney is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has been involved in a number of television programs, having been featured on Dr. Katz, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Garfield and Friends, Rocko's Modern Life, London Underground, and Duckman, among others...
- Kevin BaconKevin BaconKevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
- Marc MaronMarc MaronMarc Maron is an American stand-up comedian and podcast host.He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically-oriented shows, produced under the auspices of Air America Media. He was also the host of Comedy Central's Short Attention...
- Lorenzo Matawaran (Buzz Belmondo)
- Mark Miller
- Myron "the Moron"
- Sue Murphy
- Jim Nenopolous - Now a teacher in the Rikers Island prison system.
- Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
- Steven Pearl
- Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
- Brian PosehnBrian PosehnBrian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
- Paula PoundstonePaula PoundstonePaula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian.- Early life :Poundstone was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and her family moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts. Poundstone attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, but dropped out to pursue a show business career...
- Michael Pritchard
- Greg ProopsGreg ProopsGregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
- Alex Reid - won an Emmy in 2001 for writing the “Bowling” episode of Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. - Peter G. Reines - Past 20 years with United Airlines
- Bob Rubin
- Jackie Sacks
- Jim Samuels - Died July 6, 1990, from spinal meningitis, age 41.
- Rob SchneiderRob SchneiderRobert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:...
- Bobby SlaytonBobby SlaytonBobby Slayton is an American stand-up comedian known as "The Pit Bull of Comedy" and Yid Vicious. Slayton, a native of Scarsdale, New York, is probably best known for a supporting role in the 2001 film Bandits, and as a frequent guest on The Adam Carolla Show.He played Joey Bishop in the 1998...
- Barry SobelBarry SobelBarry Sobel is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Sobel grew up in New York City. During the 1980s, he toured the comedy circuit heavily. His routine centered around rapping in a Beastie Boys style....
- Rebecca (Erwin) Spencer (former booker) - Works for Robin Williams.
- Warren Spottswood - Died December 16, 2006, age 61.
- Dan St. Paul
- Benjamin Stuart (born Benjamin Rodriquez)
- Warren ThomasWarren ThomasWarren Thomas was an African-American comedian. His greatest fame came during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he was a major figure in the San Francisco comedy scene and began appearing on HBO comedy specials. He won the San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 1987...
- Died September 2, 2005, age 46, in New York City. - Ken Tsumori - Died in a fire at his parents' home on April 10, 2004, age 43.
- Kurt Weitzmann
- Kurt Weldon - Animation writer and producer, most notably on Disney's Kim Possible
- Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
- Lizz Winstead
- Susan Healey