A History of Comedy at Carnegie Hall
From vaudeville slapstick to today’s most popular standup comedians, witty performers have been a part of Carnegie Hall’s history since the late 19th century. This timeline reflects highlights from a thrilling history of once-in-a-lifetime events, many of which have helped shape American culture.
1890s
Amateur Comedy Club
Founded in 1884, the Amateur Comedy Club is the second oldest community theater group in the United States behind only the Footlight Club of Boston (1877). The itinerant troupe had no home of its own until it began leasing Carnegie Lyceum (now Zankel Hall) on Carnegie Hall’s lower level in December 1895. The group remained until 1913, presenting several productions each season by popular playwrights of the day, such as comedies by Augustin Daly (A Night Off, or A Page from Balzac), and farces by Arthur Wing Pinero (Dandy Dick) and W. S. Gilbert (Engaged, which inspired Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest).
1920s
Will Rogers
Vaudeville performer and humorist Will Rogers brought his homespun brand of humor to Carnegie Hall on April 11, 1926, in a show that made jokes about everyone and everything from President Calvin Coolidge to flappers, Florida real estate, Prohibition, and New York City traffic. “The sedate auditorium of Carnegie Hall rang with unaccustomed peals of laughter and echoed to rounds of applause as hearty as ever greeted a symphony concert,” wrote The New York Times.
1940s
Victor Borge
Danish pianist and humorist Victor Borge, known as “The Clown Prince of Denmark” (among other nicknames), first delighted Carnegie Hall audiences with his US debut in 1945. He peppered his performances with wordplay, quips, and sight gags, including eating a sandwich while playing and interpolating “Happy Birthday” into music of Beethoven, Chopin, or Debussy.
Brother Theodore
Theodore Gottlieb, better known to audiences as Brother Theodore, was a German-born actor and comedian—and Holocaust survivor—who delivered dark, absurdist, stream-of-consciousness monologues of what he termed “sinister humor” or “standup tragedy.” In 1948, he launched a long-running series of midnight shows in Carnegie Recital Hall.
Ray Bourbon
In 1949, Ray Bourbon, who had enjoyed a successful career as a comedic female impersonator at gay nightclubs across the country, brought his one-man show Don’t Call Me Madam to Carnegie Recital Hall (now Weill Recital Hall) for three evenings. With his raunchy banter and outrageous songs like “Mr. Wong Has Got the Biggest Tong in China,” Bourbon’s act was akin to today’s over-the-top drag queens.
1950s
Anna Russell
English Canadian satirist Anna Russell brought her musical parody to Carnegie Hall in 1953 as part of a 37-city North American tour that cemented her success. Her signature routines included a send-up of Wagnerian operas called The Ring of the Nibelungs (An Analysis) and How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, and she also wrote her own song parodies, with titles like “I’d Be a Red-Hot Mama (If I Didn’t Have Varicose Veins).” She delighted audiences at Carnegie Hall nine times, including her New York farewell performance in 1984.
1960s
Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce took two days to make his way to Carnegie Hall from Miami in a raging blizzard, unsure if anyone would even show up to his set in the middle of the storm. They did show up: Nearly 3,000 people braved two feet of snow and a driving ban to witness two hours of his signature comedic improvisation. The live recording of his midnight set on February 4, 1961, is one of the fullest examples of the style and material for which he became known.
Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart’s signature brand of deadpan humor first brought him national recognition with the release of his debut comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart in 1960, which shot to the top of the charts and won him the first of his three Grammy Awards. The comedy legend never dreamed of a career in show business, actually starting out as an accountant. He joked, “The truth is, I look like an accountant, which was my trouble … My theory of accounting was that as long as you got within two or three bucks of it, you were all right.”
Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett
On March 5, 1962, comedy legends Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett filmed the musical comedy television special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, which was released on CBS later that year.
Dick Gregory
In the year before his Carnegie Hall debut on April 7, 1962, Dick Gregory quickly rose to prominence after his wry satire of bigotry and racism landed him his breakthrough gig at the Playboy Club in Chicago. It was there that he used a line about a visit to a restaurant in the segregated South that soon became one of his classics. The waitress told him, “We don’t serve colored people here,” to which he replied, “That’s all right, I don’t eat colored people. Just bring me a whole fried chicken.” Soon came a profile in TIME magazine and a guest spot on Tonight Starring Jack Paar. Later in 1962, Medgar Evers invited Gregory to participate in a voting rights rally in Mississippi; he never looked back, becoming a passionate advocate for social justice and devoting his life to the fight for civil rights. Gregory performed at Carnegie Hall 11 times between 1962 and 1992.
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller was a 37-year-old homemaker who also had jobs in copywriting and promotions at California radio stations when she took up comedy. Her first professional booking at San Francisco’s Purple Onion started as a two-week engagement in 1955 that stretched to 89 weeks. By the time of her one and only Carnegie Hall appearance, Diller had made TV appearances on You Bet Your Life and The Ed Sullivan Show, made her film debut in Splendor in the Grass, and was releasing her third comedy album.
Her approach to humor was methodical. “My material was geared towards everyone of all ages and from different backgrounds, and I wanted to hit them right in the middle … I didn’t want giggles—I could get those with my looks —I wanted boffs, and I wanted people to get the joke at the same moment and laugh together. That way I could leave everything to my timing.”
Smothers Brothers
At the time of their Carnegie Hall debut, Tom and Dick Smothers were riding the wave of successful television appearances on Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1961), The Judy Garland Show (1963), and their most popular comedy recording to date, Curb Your Tongue, Knave!, which had been released the previous November and reached No. 13 on the Billboard pop albums chart. They launched The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS three years later, which became an instant hit—not only for their folk music talents and sibling banter (“Mom always liked you best!” was Tom’s signature line), but also in large part due to their gifted writing team, which included Steve Martin and Rob Reiner.
Peter Schickele
On February 12, 1966, composer and parodist Peter Schickele unleashed the music of P.D.Q. Bach (1807–1742) on Carnegie Hall for the first time. Under the guise of a slightly wacky, disheveled musicology professor from the University of Southern North Dakota (at Hoople), Schickele would typically arrive late (as planned), often swinging down to the stage from the First Tier boxes on a rope, delivering an erudite (sounding) mini musicological lecture, before his ensemble—The Royal P.D.Q. Bach Festival Orchestra in earlier years, later the New York Pick-Up Ensemble (staffed by some of the finest freelance musicians in New York who treated it as a coveted gig)—launched into farcical musical spoofs with titles such as Einstein on the Fritz, Fantasieshtick for Piano and Orchestra, Concerto for Horn and Hardart (a play on the old Horn & Hardart automat restaurants, now long gone), the “Howdy” Symphony in D Major, The Short-Tempered Clavier, and Variations on An Unusually Simple-Minded Theme.
The performances featured Dr. Seuss–like instruments of Schickele’s own invention, like the dill piccolo (for playing sour notes) and the tromboon (“a cross between a trombone and a bassoon, having all the disadvantages of both”); vocal works might be sung by a performer classified as a “bargain counter” tenor.
That first Carnegie Hall appearance was recorded live and released as An Hysteric Return: P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall on Vanguard Records. Schickele—whose well-regarded efforts as a composer of more than 100 “serious” symphonic, choral, and chamber works was often overshadowed by the P.D.Q. Bach parodies—brought his brand of madcap musical humor back to Carnegie Hall more than 75 times before his final concert, P.D.Q. Bach: The “1712” Overture and Other Outbreaks of Musical Violence, in 2000.
1970s
Moms Mabley
Moms Mabley, dubbed “the funniest woman in the world,” made her Carnegie Hall debut on June 2, 1962, in a midnight performance that also featured jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and singer Nancy Wilson. She performed her act under the persona of Moms, a character she first developed in the 1920s, who was an outspoken granny figure who “schooled” her audience on the facts of life, imparting her wisdom through observational humor and social commentary.
Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin went to college to study medicine, but her elective courses were all in theater arts. She moved to New York in 1965 and began making appearances at local comedy clubs, where she built a strong following. She went on to appear on The Garry Moore Show and The Merv Griffin Show before joining Laugh-In in 1969. Riding high on the success of her Grammy-winning 1971 debut album, This Is a Recording, Tomlin’s one and only performance at Carnegie Hall in 1972 featured material from her second album, And That’s the Truth, which focused on her character Edith Ann, “a precocious five-and-a-half-year-old girl who waxes philosophical on everyday life, either about life as a kid or things for which she feels she has the answers, although she is too young to fully understand.”
Groucho Marx
Considered by many to be the greatest American comedian of all, Groucho Marx waited until age 81 to make his Carnegie Hall debut, following a seven-decade career that stretched from vaudeville to radio, television, and film. As The New York Times noted in his 1977 obituary, Marx “developed the insult into an art form,” brilliantly deflating overstuffed egos with a single quip.
The Carnegie Hall show opened with a medley of songs from Marx Brothers movies by pianist Marvin Hamlisch before Groucho was introduced by Dick Cavett. He told stories about his family and anecdotes from his career and sang songs from Marx Brothers stage shows and movies. The live recording of the performance stayed on the Billboard charts for 15 weeks.
Red Skelton
Groucho Marx once called Red Skelton “the logical successor to [Charlie] Chaplin”. Much like the older Marx, Skelton enjoyed a 70-year–long career in show business, honing his craft in vaudeville followed by radio, film, stage, and television. Skelton once said, “I just want to be known as a clown because to me that’s the height of my profession. It means you can do everything: sing, dance, and—above all—make people laugh.” He became known for the clown caricatures he painted and used to sign autographs.
Of Skelton’s Carnegie Hall debut in 1977, The New York Times said, “He is as hilariously rubbery as ever,” and remarked about how he could “convey, mostly in comedy but also in pathos, the sense of being in a mass meeting, of looking at a flower dying in a storm, of watching a dude riding a horse, or of going with a man as he walks up the Eiffel Tower, and much more.”
Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman’s unique brand of humor was as much performance art as it was standup comedy. He began performing in clubs in 1972; by 1975, he had appeared on the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live and made regular guest appearances until 1982. Already a staple on the television sitcom Taxi, Kaufman made his only Carnegie Hall appearance on April 26, 1979. The show was taped and released as Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall in 1980. Robin Williams made a cameo dressed as an old woman (Andy’s “grandmother”) and sat on stage for the performance, and Kaufman took the entire audience out for cookies and milk after the show.
1980s
Craig Russell
Actor and female-impersonator Craig Russell was well-known for his celebrity impersonations, including Judy Garland, Carol Channing, Mae West, and Barbra Streisand. He performed at Carnegie Hall in 1978 and 1980.
Joan Rivers
Known for her blunt, razor-sharp wit and self-deprecating humor, Joan Rivers was one of the first successful female standups, blazing a pathway for younger generations of comedians. Rivers honed her craft in the late 1950s and early ’60s in Greenwich Village clubs like The Bitter End and the Gaslight café, and as a member of Chicago’s famed Second City troupe. Her breakthrough came when she was as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1965, which landed her regular spots as a guest host of the show and led to many other television appearances. Her career was in full swing by the time of her two-show Carnegie Hall debut in February 1983.
1990s
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy career took off after his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1981. Eight years later, he teamed up with fellow comedian Larry David to create one of the most successful comedy series in the history of television: “the show about nothing,” Seinfeld. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with two shows on March 15, 1992. Seinfeld also returned to the Hall on October 18, 2023, for his wife Jessica’s Good+ Foundation charity gala, A Very Good+ Night of Comedy, that featured Kevin Hart, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, Ronny Chieng, and special guest D-Nice.
Ray Romano
Queens-native Ray Romano launched his career in the late 1980s with competition performances on the Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search and Star Search. An appearance on Late Show with David Letterman in 1995 led to the development of the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, which ran for more than 200 episodes over nine seasons and garnered nearly 70 Emmy nominations and 15 wins. Romano made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999 during the height of the TV show’s success. A live recording of the performance was released in 2001.
2000s
Jon Stewart
Like so many great comedians before him (and since), Jon Stewart got his start in New York clubs like The Bitter End and Comedy Cellar, where he became a regular in the late 1980s. Also like so many others of this period, an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in 1992 launched his career. After hosting his own talk show on MTV for two seasons and various film and television appearances, Stewart took over as host on The Daily Show on Comedy Central in 1998. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2000.
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho’s 2002 Carnegie Hall appearance capped off a 37-week run of her hugely successful one-woman show, Notorious C.H.O. A live recording of her performance at the Hall was released as a two-disc set.
Robin Williams
By the time of his Carnegie Hall headlining debut in 2002, Robin Williams was a veteran of more than 40 films, dozens of television appearances, a four-time Oscar nominee (and winner for Good Will Hunting), as well as the nominee and recipient of numerous Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and Grammy awards. If you look closely, you can also see him onstage in Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall (1980), where he sits unobtrusively in an easy chair off to the side disguised as Andy’s “grandmother.”
David Sedaris
Humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris made his Carnegie Hall debut on October 22, 2002. The recording of the performance—David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall—received two Grammy nominations.
Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin began her career in comedy in the early 1990s in Los Angeles as a member of the improvisational troupe The Groundlings. She became established through regular guest spots on TV and a supporting role in the show Suddenly Susan (1996–2000). She referenced her 2007 Carnegie Hall debut on Episode 1 (“Suddenly Single”) of the third season of her Emmy Award–winning reality television series, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. She has appeared at the Hall six times, most recently in 2024.
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman got her start in comedy with a brief stint on Saturday Night Live (1993–1994), followed by two years on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show and her network television standup comedy debut on Late Show with David Letterman in 1997. Following in the footsteps of her personal hero and friend Joan Rivers, Silverman made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2007, amid the success of the first season of her sitcom The Sarah Silverman Program, which was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Family Guy Sings!
Seth MacFarlane brought the cast of his hit Fox animated sitcom Family Guy—including Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mike Henry, Mila Kunis, Danny Smith, and John Viener—to Carnegie Hall in November 2008. Backed by a 40-piece orchestra, they performed “obscene parodies of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ and ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,’ according to The New York Times. MacFarlane surprised the audience with a sneak peek at The Cleveland Show, a Family Guy spinoff series that would premiere the following year on Fox.
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler’s sold-out 2009 Carnegie Hall debut was one of a series of standup appearances she made while taping the second season of her late-night comedy talk show Chelsea Lately.
Ricky Gervais
When British comedian Ricky Gervais brought his brand of outrageously dark humor to Carnegie Hall in 2009, his debut featured an encore duet of the song “New York, New York” with Sesame Street’s Elmo.
2010s
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson’s two-show debut at Carnegie Hall in 2010 took place a few months after The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson won a Peabody Award for his interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Joel McHale
Actor and comedian Joel McHale’s Carnegie Hall debut came during the middle of his 11-year stint hosting the satirical pop culture commentary show The Soup.
Mike Birbiglia
Shortly after moving to New York in 2000, Mike Birbiglia saw Jon Stewart perform at Carnegie Hall, and he vowed that one day he would do the same. The comedian made his dream come true 13 years later, when he wrapped up a 70-city tour of his solo show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, with a performance at the Hall.
Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer made her Carnegie Hall headlining debut in November 2014 between the second and third seasons of her Peabody- and Emmy-winning sketch comedy television show Inside Amy Schumer.
John Mulaney
John Mulaney’s debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2015 was part of his Kid Gorgeous tour with Fred Armisen. He described this significant moment as “really, legitimately fun while it was happening.”
Judd Apatow & Friends
Judd Apatow, Mike Birbiglia, and Adam Sandler performed at Carnegie Hall on November 14, 2015, as part of the New York Comedy Festival. The audience included Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller, and Danny DeVito, according to Page Six.
Tracy Morgan
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan returned to Carnegie Hall for his second appearance on November 5, 2016—18 months after he was nearly killed in a car accident that left him in a coma for two weeks.
Tig Notaro
Tig Notaro’s Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 featured a surprise appearance by the Indigo Girls. According to a review in The Guardian, after introducing the folk-rock duo to big cheers, Notaro followed up with “nearly 15 minutes of fake-outs and false intros for the band, with Notaro repeatedly exiting and entering the stage, occasionally polling the audience on whether or not they thought the Indigo Girls were actually backstage. It was goofy but effective, creating a feeling of intimacy in the room.”
Hasan Minhaj
Hasan Minhaj first gained recognition as a correspondent on the late-night talk and news satire television program The Daily Show beginning in 2014. He made his Carnegie Hall debut shortly after his departure from the show in 2018.
History Continues to Be Made
Comedy at Carnegie Hall is a story still being written as new voices join the long line of legends. The Hall remains a place where humor radiates, careers ignite, and unforgettable moments take shape. Its legacy extends far beyond the artists highlighted here. Performers such as Fred Armisen, Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Hart, Maya Rudolph, Sandra Bernhard, Michael Che, and Trevor Noah have also left their mark on these stages through benefit and special events. Together, they continue to bring laughter to Carnegie Hall.
Photography: Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Rose Archives.
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