Zanies Comedy Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chicago, Illinois
USA
- Metered street parking
- nearby parking garage
 Zanies of Nashville, Tennessee | |
 Interactive map of Zanies Comedy Club | |
| Address | 1548 N Wells St Chicago, Illinois USA |
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| Construction | |
| Opened | November 1978 |
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Zanies Comedy Club, located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in November 1978 by Rick Uchwat. Since then, other locations have been built in Nashville, Tennessee, and Rosemont, Illinois.
Rick Uchwat was born in Austria in 1947. At 4 years old he came to Chicago through refugee camps and Ellis Island. His father was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II and was held in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He attended DePaul University for a short time until eventually joining the US Marines. In 1968, Uchwat was sent to Vietnam and was badly injured during the Tet Offensive. Uchwat married Barbara Monahan in 1977. At the age of 64, May 12, 2011, Uchwat died of lung cancer.
History
Jay Leno describes the venue as "the perfect comedy club. Playing there in the 70s was like playing the Cavern Club in Liverpool".
In 1985, Zanies became "arguably the king of Chicago's comedy clubs".
"Drinks were ordered. The music stopped. A man walked to the stage. And then it started, the laughter. The blissful disease, so easily contagious."
In 1998, Zanies hosted the Chicago Comedy Festival.
In 2008, Zanies celebrated their 30th anniversary.
Zanies opened up a location in Rosemont, Illinois in July 2012.
Zanies Comedy Club hosted a tribute to Robin Williams in August 2014.
Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago celebrated their 40th anniversary and continues to deliver nationally touring headliners 7 nights out of the week.
Notable performers
Zanies played an influential part in the careers of many comedians including, Jay Leno, Lewis Black, Annie Rauwerda, Emo Philips, Richard Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Frank Caliendo, Kathy Griffin, Larry Reeb, John Caponera, Hal Sparks, Bobby Slayton, and Roseanne Barr.
Other notable performers include: Sebastian Maniscalco, Colin Jost, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Pardo, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, Tim Allen, Jeff Garlin, Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler, David Cross, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Daniel Tosh, Gilbert Gottfried, Kyle Kinane, Erik Griffin, Big Jay Oakerson, Mark Normand, Jared Freid, Andrew Schulz, Jermaine Fowler, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani, Vir Das, Ronny Chieng, Al Madrigal, Marc Maron, Tony Hinchcliffe, Dave Attell, and Pat McGann.