Holy City Zoo

The Holy City Zoo was a small but influential comedy club in San Francisco that operated from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. It was considered the Cradle of Comedy Civilization for many comedians who passed through San Francisco during that era.

The Holy City Zoo was located at 408 Clement Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in San Francisco's Richmond District. It was a tiny dark cavern that had a maximum occupancy of 78. The bar sold beer, wine and soft drinks. There was a small stage set against the back wall. A few stairs stage left led to a small balcony known as "The Lincoln Booth." The office door was adjacent to the booth; the ceiling in the office was low, making it necessary for everyone over 5'2" to stoop while inside.

The club got its name from a sign the first owner, Robert Steger, picked up for free at a going-out-of-business sale at the local zoo in Holy City, California. He had stopped there to buy redwood tables and chairs for the club. [ [http://www.fripp.com/art.comedians.html Article: Get-Ahead Tips for Speakers, Comedians, Humorists ] ]

At that time, the Holy City Zoo was a folk music club. In 1975, Steger sold the business to Peter Reines. At first the "Zoo" continued to offer folk music five nights a week and was closed on Sundays. Reines was approached by San Francisco musician/comedian Jose Simon, who suggested adding stand-up comedy as another form of entertainment. A number of comedians were holding shows in the basement of a church and wanted more of a nightclub setting. Sundays became "open mike" nights. It promptly became a very popular event. Gradually, comedy was expanded to seven nights a week. Under the promotional and emceeing skills of Tony DePaul, the Zoo gained national and international recognition. The club's first official comedy producer/club manager was John Cantu, who often slept on the stage after the club had closed for the evening. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/14/BA246310.DTL&type=printable John Cantu - passionate voice for comics in S.F ] ]

Open-mike nights continually ran one or two nights a week throughout the club’s existence. Anyone could sign up for a five minute set, thus affording stage time to future stars, countless acts now forgotten, and no small number of the mentally unstable and socially misfit.

It continued as a full-time comedy club for nearly 20 years. The Zoo was a "clubhouse" of sorts for comedians; it was the destination for many after a gig to hang out, gossip, drink, kvetch about the business, and perhaps catch a glimpse of some big-time headliner working on new material. Rob Schneider could often be spotted hovering outside the club waiting to go onstage because he was underage. Due to a changing neighborhood and the lack of a full liquor license, the club was never financially solvent, and changed ownership many times. Among the various people who owned or co-owned the Zoo were Steger, Reines, Cantu, Jason Cristoble, Tom Sawyer, talent manager Bob Fisher, comedian Jim Samuels, and, at the end, Will Durst, Debi Durst, and Gilda and George Forrester (parents of the Zoo's last manager, Tracy Forrester).

The Zoo went out of business at least once in the 1980s, reopening briefly as the Ha-Ha-A-Go-Go (under Tom Sawyer), The Holy City Zoo finally closed for good in 1994. The final closing of the Zoo was a 24 hour "farewell marathon" hosted by Jeremy S. Kramer and ran from midnight August 29th to midnight August 30th. Artist/comedian Dan Wedeking drew a caricature-style mural of the many comedians who started out at the Zoo on the sheetrock wall that separated the bathrooms from the audience. The wall in its entirety was sawed from its moorings and is now in storage along with countless files, photos, furniture, and other memorabilia from the club. The site is currently occupied by an Irish bar called The Dog's Bollix.

Will and Debi Durst still own The Holy City Zoo trademark and logo.

Who Was There, and Where Are They Now

Rob Becker - Franchises his one-man show Defending the Caveman, which holds the record for the longest running solo play in the history of Broadway.

A. Whitney Brown

Larry Bubbles Brown

Franklin Burke

Joe Campaiolo (aka Dexter Madison)

Margaret Cho

Dana Carvey

Nora Dunn

Will Durst

Jim Earl (Lank and Earl)

Ralph Eno (aka Ral Pheno) - Died from burns, February 17, 1984, age 36. He poured five gallons of gas on his body and set himself on fire on a corner in the Sunset District [ [http://www.flyingsnail.com/200702.html flyingsnail.com: February 2007 Archive ] ] .

Charles Ezell

David Feldman

Mike Ferrucci - Former writer for "The Man Show" and "Air America Radio." Now lives in New York City.

Dana Gould

Jake Johannsen

Mike "Boats" Johnson

Randy Kagan

Miles "Doug" Kehoe

Jeremy S. Kramer

Barry Lank (Lank and Earl)

Kevin Meaney

Myron "the Moron"

Sue Murphy

Jim Nenopolous - Now a teacher in the Rikers Island prison system.

Steven Pearl

Kevin Pollak

Paula Poundstone

Michael Pritchard - Currently a corporate and motivational speaker.

Greg Proops

Bob Rubin

Jackie Sacks

Jim Samuels - Died July 6, 1990, from spinal meningitis, Age 41 [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0760475/bio Jim Samuels - Biography ] ] .

Rob Schneider

Bobby Slayton

Rebecca (Erwin) Spencer (former booker) - Works for Robin Williams.

Warren Thomas

Barry Sobel

Warren Spottswood - Died Dec. 16, 2006, age 51 [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819496/ Warren Spottswood ] ] .

Benjamin Stuart (born Benjamin Rodriquez)

Ken Tsumori - Died in a fire at his parents' home on April 10, 2004, age 43 [ [http://forums.firehouse.com/showthread.php?t=58926 San Francisco-Fatal Fire - Firehouse Forums - Firefighting Discussion ] ] .

Kurt Weitzmann.com

Robin Williams

References