New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of people who work in show business. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, in the historic Martin Erdmann House, now known as the Monastery.[2][3]
History[edit]
Early years: 1904–1950[edit]
The organization traces its roots to 1904, when representatives of the Broadway theaters working with New York publicists organized the Press Agents' Association to exchange lists of people who were fraudulently receiving complimentary passes to shows. The group regularly met at Browne's Chop House.[4] Shortly thereafter it began its tribute dinners to theatrical celebrities, the first being Clyde Fitch.[4] The impresario Oscar Hammerstein was toasted in 1908, the year in which the Friars moved into a clubhouse at 107 West 47th Street.[5]
The first Friars Frolics were held in 1911, with Abbot George M. Cohan working with Will Rogers, Irving Berlin, who wrote "Alexander's Ragtime Band" for the event, and Victor Herbert. The money generated by the Frolics enabled them to purchase 106-108-110 West 48th Street.[5] Under Abbot Cohan, they laid a cornerstone on the building in 1915.[4] In 1924, Walter Donaldson wrote the music for "My Blue Heaven" one afternoon while waiting in the club for his turn at the billiard table.[6]
Roasting: 1950–present[edit]
In 1950, Sam Levenson and fellow comedian Joe E. Lewis were the first members of the New York Friars Club to be roasted. The club has roasted a member every year since the inaugural roasting.[7] Friars Club roasts were first televised in the late 1960s, first as part of the Kraft Music Hall series. From 1998 to 2002, Comedy Central broadcast the roasts.[8] Comedy Central then began organizing its own annual roasts.[8]
Organization[edit]
Frederick F. Schrader is credited with suggesting "Friars" as the organization's name.[5] Following the theme, their monthly newsletter is the Epistle. Officers of the Club, as distinct from the Friars Foundation,[15] are given monastic titles:[5] In 2006, Larry King was the dean, Freddie Roman was the Dean Emeritus. Jerry Lewis was the Abbot, named during a roast in New York City. Previous abbots have included Alan King, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan and George M. Cohan.[16]
Friars, Lambs, Players[edit]
In the 1960s, the Friars Club, the Lambs Club, and the Players Club were often confused. The columnist Earl Wilson put it this way in 1964: "Long ago a New Yorker asked the difference between the Lambs, Friars, and Players, since the membership was, at the time, predominantly from Broadway." It was left to "a wit believed to have been George S. Kaufman" to draw the distinction: "The Players are gentlemen trying to be actors, the Lambs are actors trying to be gentlemen, and the Friars are neither trying to be both."[17]
Documentary[edit]
In 1999, Cinemax aired Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars Club[35][36] directed by Dean Ward.[37] It featured previously unseen footage of roasts and interviews with Friars such as Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, Henny Youngman, Jeffrey Ross, Larry King, Ed McMahon, and Phyllis Diller.[38][39] It revealed that after comic Parkyakarkus (Harry Einstein) collapsed and died at a 1958 roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, singer Tony Martin decided to sing "There's No Tomorrow" while Einstein was being carried off stage.
Stand-up comedy competition[edit]
In 2008, the Friars Club began a stand-up comedy competition, "So You Think You Can Roast!?".[40] On October 24 of that year, the winner performed at the Friars Club roast of Matt Lauer.
Friars Club Comedy Film Festival[edit]
The inaugural Friars Club Comedy Film Festival was held in September 2009, opening with the American premiere of the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man.
In its debut year, the festival featured the US premiere of the Coen brothers’ Academy Award–nominated film A Serious Man.[41] Other festival highlights include screenings of Christopher Morris’s Four Lions, and the Oscar-winning short God of Love.[42] In 2011, Jerry Lewis and Russel Simmons presented a comedy achievement award to Brett Ratner.[43]
In 2012, the festival hosted America Ferrera and David Cross, stars of the opening film It's a Disaster. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The festival has quietly become one of the city's most sharply curated cinema gatherings. It takes the funny business seriously."[44]