The Punch Line is San Francisco’s longest running comedy club.
The original Punch Line Comedy Club opened on the site of the Old Waldorf, a rock venue managed by Bill Graham Presents, who had been promoting rock shows there since the mid-seventies. When Bill Graham opened Wolfgang’s in 1983 (at 915 Columbus Ave., the current home of Cobb’s Comedy Club), the majority of the space used by the Old Waldorf was split off and the remainder was renamed the Punch Line and dedicated to presenting live comedy. It was so successful that in August 1986 a second Punch Line was opened in Walnut Creek (but closed in 1995.) The third Punch Line opened on New Year’s Eve 1991 and is still presenting shows 7 days a week in Sacramento

Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

, California.

All three clubs were owned and operated by Bill Graham Presents up until the death of Bill Graham in 1991. The company was taken over by a group of employees who later sold it to SFX Promotions. It was then sold to Clear Channel Entertainment. Eventually, Bill Graham Presents along with other independent promoters formed Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

, which is now the largest concert production & promotion company in the world.

Comics such as Robin Williams

Robin Williams

Robin 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...

, Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen 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....

, Rosie O'Donnell

Rosie O'Donnell

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...

, Drew Carey

Drew Carey

Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

, Chris Rock

Chris Rock

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...

 and Dana Carvey

Dana Carvey

Dana 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:...

 took their first comedic steps on the Punch Line stage. The Punch Line's dedication to comic tradition has earned it the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle's readers' choice award for the best comedy club. Today, the Punch Line is the only full-time comedy club in San Francisco, hosting comics Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle

David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...

, Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho

Margaret 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...

, Bobby Slayton

Bobby Slayton

Bobby 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...

, Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes is an American writer, stand-up comedian, actress, and voice artist. She earned the 1999 Emmy Award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show. In 2004 Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America...

, Greg Giraldo

Greg Giraldo

Greg Giraldo was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and retired lawyer. Giraldo was best known for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and...

, Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan

James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended one year at...

, Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....

, Zach Galifianakis

Zach Galifianakis

Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...

, Dave Attell

Dave Attell

Dave Attell is an American stand-up comedian and the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show with Dave Attell.-Stand-up beginning:...

, George Lopez

George Lopez

George Lopez is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including the Mexican American culture...

, David Cross

David Cross

David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...

, and Greg Proops

Greg Proops

Gregory 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?...

, among others.

External links

• The Punch Line San Francisco - Official Site