History of Tempe Improv

Before we could take a look into the history of Tempe Improv, we needed to take a look into the history of Stand-Up Comedy and the history of The Improv Comedy Clubs. That why we first give you some information about those two subjects, before we tell you about the history of Tempe Improv.


History of Stand-Up Comedy

Stand-up comedy is a American invention for sure. It’s roots go back into the middle of the 1800s. The unintentional grand father of stand-up comedy was Thomas Dartmouth (Daddy) Rice. He inveted the minstrel shows. The Minstrel show was an entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface.



(Thomas D. Rice from sheet music cover of "Sich a Getting Up Stairs", 1830s )

The minstrel shows were probably one of the most ridiculous forms of entertainment ever. It was built on negative racial stereotypes, and the mockery of a race of people who were already subjugated. It started before the Civil War, and continued way too far into the 20th century. The long-term effects of minstrel shows are still visible in today’s market of “mainstream clubs,” and “black comedy clubs.”

More and more the minstrel shows became different. One big change that was made in the minstrel shows was that stump speeches got introduced. Stump speeches were satiric monologues that poked fun at contemporary lifes and political figures. This was the first time that something like stand-up comedy was presented in front of a live audience.

The next step was that comics during the shows started to do sketches, monologues, imitations and interactive shows, what is now knows as stand-up comedy.

Mass entertainment started to grow, like radio, film, television and music. Comedy became less popular because of that. The market for live music grew, and nightclubs popped up to fill this void. Comics, who were still hungry for live audiences, were forced to perform “between sets” at these clubs. This limited space, both in time and the physical size of the stage, meant that the comic had to stop being an all around entertainer, and needed to focus on what made him special, the comedy.

By the late 50’s there was a generation of comedic performers who “grew up” under these conditions. This first generation of “stand-ups” included; Lenny Bruce, Lord Buckley, Dick Gregory, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, and Mort Sahl. These stand-ups, and others too numerous to mention, took the lessons they learned from the class of Danny Thomas, Myron Cohen, and Bob Hope, modernized the craft, and passed it down to Richard Pryor, Freddie Prinze and Robert Klein. And they passed it down to the stand-up comedians of today.


History of Improv Comedy Club's

The Improv is a comedy club founded in 1963 in New York City. A second location was opened in 1974 at Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.

By now nearly every big name in show business has played The Improv, including Milton Berle, Drew Carey, George Carlin, Chevy Chase, Bill Cosby, Billy Crystal, Rodney Dangerfield,Jeff Dunham, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Freddie Prinze, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Lily Tomlin, Liza Minnelli, Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy.




The LA Improv was the original site for the A&E Network television series An Evening at the Improv, which ran from 1982 until 1996.

By now there are a lot of Improv Comedy Clubs in America, located in the following city’s:

Addison, TX
Brea, CA
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Denver, CO
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Hollywood, CA
Houston, TX
Irvine, CA
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Lake Tahoe, NV
Louisville, KY
Miami, FL
New York, NY Gotham
Ontario, CA
Palm Beach, FL
Pittsburgh, PA


History of Tempe Improv

Since the Tempe Improv was founded, the Tempe Improv became more and more famous. Today the Tempe Improv is a popular comedy club and dinner theater, wich is fully booked for four evenings weekly. The Tempe Improv is not only well known by the public, but also by the stand-up comedians. Great stand-up comedians performed at the Tempe Improv, like Bob Saget, Jamie Kennedy and Wayne Brady.