Budd Friedman, a Broadway producer who established The Improv comedy club chain and launched the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy in Hollywood, died on Saturday in Los Angeles from heart failure. He was 90 years old.

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“The comedy world lost a giant today,” the Hollywood Improv statement read. “In 1963 he changed the world of comedy by creating the first comedy club for the masses to come together in laughter. In 1963 he changed the world. He went global. He was a pioneer. He was a gentleman. He was a luminary.”

The red brick walls of the Improv comedy club chain, which had 22 branches spread over 12 states before Friedman and business partner Mark Lonow sold it to Levity Entertainment Group in 2018, bear witness to Friedman’s legacy. In 1963, Friedman opened the first establishment of the brand in New York, which is still the chain’s flagship restaurant at West 44th Street and Ninth Avenue.

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The Improv in New York hosted its first on-stage comedian, Dave Astor, in 1964. The venue was first built as a gathering place for Broadway players to enjoy food, beverages, and music. The performance was a hit, and as more comedians followed suit, the club started hosting comedy events every night.

Who was Budd Friedman?

In addition to being an American actor and comedian, Budd M. Friedman was also the founder, first owner, and MC of the Improvisation Comedy Club, which opened in 1963 on West 44th Street near the SE corner of 9th Avenue in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood.

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Friedman was born Gerson M. Friedman on June 6, 1932. In addition to managing Bette Midler briefly at the beginning of her career, he helped launch the comedic careers of Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Lewis, Robert Klein, Jay Leno, Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze, Steve Landesberg, and Jimmie Walker. Ms. Midler’s first appearance on The Tonight Show was made possible thanks to Friedman’s assistance and direction.

He was both a producer and a performer. Friedman started improv clubs in other places, such as the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, California, and the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, on March 23, 2007, and in Los Angeles in 1975.

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Friedman was part of the Korean War as an infantryman in the American Army. On his first day of combat, in the summer of 1953, when his battalion was advancing on Pork Chop Hill, he was injured by an enemy grenade. He received the Purple Heart as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge. While he was still recovering in the hospital, the ceasefire began.

On November 12, 2022, Friedman died from heart failure at the age of 90.