Hey, remember the syndicated show An Evening at the Improv? It was on A&E and other channels forever and darn near everyone who was doing comedy in Los Angeles back then was on it at one time or another. Hulu has a whole mess of episodes available online and if one picks judiciously, as I have done for you here, one can see some pretty good stand-up acts.
Here — with occasional commercial interruption — is a show they say is from August 1, 1981, though I don't guarantee that date. The host is Billy Crystal, who was then known for his role on Soap. The comedians are Bill Kirchenbauer, Richard Lewis, Bill Maher and Fred Willard, plus Dottie Archibald and a musical performance by Amanda McBroom. There was a time when you could go to the Improv and see folks like that…sometimes even a lineup almost that strong. (More realistically, you'd see a Bill Kirchenbauer, then someone you'd never hear of again, then a Richard Lewis, then two guys you'd never hear of again, then a Bill Maher…)
To get the full Improv experience, go outside your home and wait on the street for 20 minutes to be let in, then cram yourself in around a tiny table with no room for your legs and have a disgruntled non-working actress serve you some overpriced drinks. Then watch the video and at some point, pause it, go into a tiny restroom and wait until Vic Dunlop finishes up at the urinal before you pee. Oh — and before you do any of this, either park your car eight blocks away or hand it over to a disgruntled non-working actor in a valet jacket.
But the comedy was almost always worth it…
