The Comedy Store may be closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but they haven't forgotten the talent who've graced their stage who are now struggling to make ends meet.
The famous Los Angeles stand-up comedy venue hosted a live three-part podcast benefit on Tuesday that raised more than $100,000 with the help of some of the biggest comedians in the industry.
Dave Chappelle, who is quarantined at his home in Ohio, was the surprise guest in the show's final segment hosted by Neal Brennan and also featured Bill Burr and Chappelle's Show alum Donnell Rawlings. Chappelle and his cohorts reminisced about touring life, working with the late Charlie Murphy, and what it was like behind-the-scenes of the Comedy Central series—while taking plenty of breaks to trash talk one another.
Earlier segments featured conversations with Tom Segura, Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia, and Andrew Santino.
The Comedy Store was one of many businesses forced to close its doors due to the pandemic. A statement released on April 16 said they're continuing to pay their staff and regular comedians for the foreseeable future. It is as yet unknown when Los Angeles County, where the venue is located, will begin allowing businesses to reopen.
Chappelle's segment in the video above begins at the 2:45:25 mark.
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Godofthunder818 on April 26th, 2020 at 23:30 UTC »
Horribly written article. Chappelle barely said anything during their segment. No mention of Joey Diaz showing his balls on camera. That alone was probably more responsible for raising the most amount of money. The money raised wasn’t just for struggling comics. It was for the entire Comedy Store staff, waitresses, waiters and others.
Sirnando138 on April 26th, 2020 at 23:22 UTC »
He and the other big headliners from The Comedy Store and The Improv are taking turns doing this every week to make sure the everyone is taken care of. It’s not just the working comics that are out of income but also the bartenders and wait staff. They know they are the fortunate ones with large savings while most middlers and openers are living show to show.
Thammythotha on April 26th, 2020 at 23:20 UTC »
Road comics are absolutely fucked.