I never set foot in the place but I always heard about the legendary nightclub, the hungry i in San Francisco. It was always typed that way — in all lower case — and it was located at 599 Jackson Street in the North Beach district. A stunning number of famous acts — comedians mostly but also musicians — either got their start there or got famous performing there. The list includes Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Barbra Streisand, Jonathan Winters, Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge. No one has ever done an official tally but I suspect that more "live" performance record albums were recorded at the hungry i than at any other performing venue in the country. Tom Lehrer's last album was done there. The Limeliters did their biggest album there and The Kingston Trio did several. So did Mort Sahl, so did The Smothers Brothers…and so on. For most of its existence, the hungry i was owned and operated by a flamboyant gent named Enrico Banducci, whose real name was not Enrico Banducci but rather something more Jewish and less colorful.
Earlier this evening, I was at a gathering of what might politely be called "older comedians" and it was announced that Enrico Banducci died this morning. Almost everyone in the group had either worked for him or dealt with him in some professional capacity. Not one of them had anything but praise for his ability to spot talent and his honest business policies.
For comedians to feel that way about a club owner…that's unheard of. And a fine tribute to Mr. Banducci.