Jeff Silverman is the president of Yuk Yuk’s, Canada's largest chain of

comedy club A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquists, ...

s. He has also been a concert promoter, former promoter at Toronto's

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as ''The Horseshoe'', ''The 'Shoe'', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ...

as well as an author, publisher, business consultant, and graphic artist. Jeff is a graduate of the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He worked for four years as a Commercial Artist at TRP Studios in London and became accountant representative for

Benson & Hedges Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the ''Benson & Hedges'' name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British ...

, Milk and Rothman Cigarettes. In 1974, Jeff joined his brother operating Quasar Publisher Representative Company in New York, a company that produced restaurant reviews for ''

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

'', '' After Dark'' and ''

Penthouse Magazine ''Penthouse'' is a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione. It combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictures of women that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore pornographic pictures of women. Although Guccione was American, ...

'', and the ''Who’s Who In North American Restaurants''. Upon his move to Canada in 1976, Silverman promptly began his career in the entertainment industry operating three of Toronto's hottest venues; the 99 Cent Roxy repertory movie theatre, the New Yorker Theatre on Yonge at Bloor and the Horseshoe Tavern. For several years he and his partner Gary Topp introduced some of the most cutting-edge bands to the city, such as the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

and many more. In 1980-81, he created and produced Canada's first all night television show ''

The All-Night Show ''The All-Night Show'' is a television series starring Chas Lawther and produced by Jeff Silverman which ran from September 19, 1980 to August 29, 1981 on CFMT-TV in Toronto. The show was created and written by Errol Bruce, Chas Lawther, Michael ...

'' with "Chuck the Security Guard". This brought back old hit TV programs like '' Have Gun Will Travel'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' and '' Outer Limits'' as well as showcased new musical talent and produced over a 1,000 hours of live television. From 1983-1985, he produced the award winning series ''Concerts in the Park'' for CBC TV. The program highlighted Canadian talent -

The Good Brothers The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo). B ...

, Rough Trade,

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

, Manteca and

The Boss Brass Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 2 ...

to name a few. Jeff also produced, and later sold to CBC, a series of rock concerts called Rock Deluxe which brought international music acts like

Flock of Seagulls A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s. The ...

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...

and

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

to a national audience. He then was hired as the Molson representative for the concert series tour from 1986–1987 featuring acts like

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In 1989 Silverman was hired as the Account Director for the

O'Keefe Centre Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-le ...

(now called the Sony Centre) in Toronto, where he used his expertise to help market and promote some of the biggest shows in entertainment, including '' 42nd Street'', '' Westside Story'', ''

Sesame Street Live ''Sesame Street Live'' is a live touring show based on the children's television show ''Sesame Street'' produced by Feld Entertainment. History The VEE Corporation was started in March 1980 by founder Vincent Egan, who had an idea to produce a l ...

'', '' The Boyfriend'' and ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

''. In 1986, Jeff began working with Yuk Yuk’s Founder and CEO

Mark Breslin Mark Breslin, is a Canadian entrepreneur, producer, stand-up comedian and actor best known for being the co-founder (along with Joel Axler) of Yuk Yuk's, the largest chain of comedy clubs in Canada. On December 29, 2017, he was appointed a Me ...

as Vice President of Marketing and Promotions. In 1990, he became Mark’s partner and President of Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Clubs and Funny Business Talent Agency. To add to the success of the Yuk Yuk’s chain Jeff also acts as Executive Producer on many TV specials including the Yuk Yuk’s 25th Anniversary with

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. I ...

, The Peoples’ Comedy Festival with

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

and The Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off, Canada’s largest comedy contest. He is also the publisher of ''Welcome to Toronto'' a tourism magazine and website.

References

External links

Yuk Yuk's Comedy Clubs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Jeff Canadian television producers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)