No funny business

The comedy store. Photo / Supplied

Have you heard the one about the comedy club that launched the careers of David Letterman, Jim Carrey, Johnny Carson, and almost 40 years' worth of Hollywood legends? It's a rollicking good yarn, but no one seems to be laughing at the ending. Except, perhaps, a few firms of showbusiness lawyers.

The future of The Comedy Store in Hollywood, one of the world's most famous and influential stand-up venues, has been cast into confusion after the two sons of its owner, Mitzi Shore, became involved in a snowballing legal battle over their ailing 79-year-old mother, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.

In a lawsuit filed at Los Angeles Superior Court, Pauly Shore, an actor and comedian, claims to have been improperly removed from the club's board of directors after his brother Peter began exerting "improper influence" over the still legendary Mitzi.

Parts of the dispute seem almost comically petty (in industry circles, it's being described as "this year's Jewishest court case"). But the family feud now threatens the long-term survival of the venue on Sunset Boulevard, where everyone from Jay Leno and Roseanne Barr to Richard Pryor, John Belushi and Robin Williams cut their professional teeth.

Neither brother has commented publicly on the row but Pauly's lawsuit claims that after years of running the Comedy Store in collaboration, Peter recently "took unfair advantage of his filial relationship" with Mitzi to fire him from the board. It adds that he has since failed to hand over documents about the state of the company's finances.

The suit, filed just before Christmas, notes Mitzi is the sole shareholder in the club, which occupies a valuable piece of real estate on one of LA's busiest tourist areas. Pauly claims to be concerned his brother has carried out "abuses regarding Mrs Shore's ongoing physical and financial wellbeing."

Unless the dispute can be amicably resolved - an outcome that seems somewhat unlikely - the future of the club's day-to-day operations may lie in an expensive inheritance battle, rather than in the business that contributed to its fame: making people laugh.

Mitzi's ex-husband co-founded the Comedy Store in 1972, just as the alternative comedy scene was taking off. After they divorced, she was responsible for turning it into the West Coast of America's pre-eminent stand-up venue, where budding comic performers and writers would hone their skills, and Hollywood agents would scout for talent.

- INDEPENDENT