A large percentage of folks who've made their living as comedians over the last several decades owe an immense debt to Budd Friedman. Budd was the head honcho and chief owner of the Improv, first in New York and then out here in Hollywood. As such, he was part of a rare breed: People who have run successful comedy clubs. He was one of the first and one of the best.
Like most who succeeded, he knew a lot about how to run that kind of business…and a little (less than he thought) about comedy. And like too many, he couldn't resist taking the stage himself — sometimes, several times an evening — to introduce comics and to do what everyone behind his back called "the warm-down." At his funniest, he wasn't someone Budd Friedman would have ever let on his stage. But he knew when the audiences were laughing and who they were laughing at…and he gave the good ones ample opportunity to showcase for friends, family and (most importantly) people who could hire them.
Andy Kaufman might never happened if not for Budd Friedman. And folks like Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Lewis, Robert Klein, Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze, Steve Landesberg, Jimmie Walker and Bette Midler might not have become stars as soon as they did. I remember seeing Leno there — and Bill Maher and Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Meaney and Jerry Seinfeld and Norm Macdonald and…well, it's a very long list.
I saw Budd almost every time I was there. He was brusque and unfriendly to all but the famous and important…and I didn't particularly like him. Later, I got to know him when he was largely retired and he was much friendlier and quite eager to talk about all the stars he'd helped. Just a fascinating man.
The stars had helped him, too. In 1979 during the infamous Comedy Store strike, the Improv was firebombed and half the club was destroyed. Comedians from all over pitched in, not just to do benefits but to literally rebuild the place — hammers, nails, lumber, the works. The Improv survived and Budd showed his gratitude in many ways. I'm sure in the next few days, you'll be seeing a lot of them speak well of the man. He was 90 years old.