Zanies Comedy Club, located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in November 1978 by Rick Uchwat. Since then, three other locations have been built: Nashville, Tennessee, St.Charles, Illinois, and Rosemont, Illinois.

Rick Uchwat

Rick Uchwat was born in Austria in 1947. At 4 years old he came to Chicago through refugee camps and Ellis Island. His father was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II and was held in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He attended DePaul University for a short time until eventually joining the US Marines. In 1968, Uchwat was sent to Vietnam and was badly injured during the Tet Offensive. Uchwat married Barbara Monahan in 1977. At the age of 64, May 12, 2011, Uchwat died after a battle with lung cancer.

History

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

describes the venue as "the perfect comedy club. Playing there in the 70s was like playing the Cavern Club in Liverpool". In 1985, Zanies became "arguably the king of Chicago's comedy clubs". Comedy exploded during the last couple of years. "Drinks were ordered. The music stopped. A man walked to the stage. And then it started, the laughter. The blissful disease, so easily contagious." In 1998, Zanies hosted the Chicago Comedy Festival. July 2012, Zanies opens up a location in Rosemont, Illinois. In 2008, Zanies celebrates their 30th anniversary. August 2014, Zanies Comedy Club hosts a tribute to Robin Williams. Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago celebrates their 40th Anniversary and continues to deliver nationally touring headliners 7 nights out of the week.

Notable performers

Zanies played an influential part in the careers of many comedians including,

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

, Annie Rauwerda,

Emo Philips Emo Philips (born Philip Soltanec February 7, 1956) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer and producer. His stand-up comedy persona makes use of paraprosdokians spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice. The confused, childlike deli ...

Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner * Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer * Rich ...

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

Frank Caliendo Frank Caliendo Jr. (born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian, actor and impressionist, best known for his impersonations on the Fox Network television series ''MADtv'', and as the in-house prognosticator for ''Fox NFL Sunday''. In 2007 ...

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

Larry Reeb Larry Reeb (aka Uncle Lar) is a stand-up comedian from Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for his one-liners often followed by the catchphrase "That's a tip from your Uncle Lar". His earliest recorded and released performance was in 1987. Reeb i ...

John Caponera John Caponera (born 1959) is an American comedian and actor. He starred in the 1994 TV series '' The Good Life'' with Drew Carey as Caponera's co-star. (Carey recalls Caponera as "one of the nicest, funniest, and hardest-working guys I've ever kn ...

Hal Sparks Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, political commentator, television and radio host and television personality. He made contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s ''Talk Soup'', and ...

Bobby Slayton Robert Michael Slayton (born May 25, 1955) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Slayton is probably best known for a supporting role in the 2001 film '' Bandits'', and as a frequent guest on '' The Adam Carolla Show'' (2006-2009). Career S ...

, and

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

. Other notable performers include: Sebastian Maniscalco, Colin Jost, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Pardo, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, Tim Allen, Jeff Garlin, Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler, David Cross, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Daniel Tosh,

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

, Chelsea Handler, Kyle Kinane, Erik Griffin, Big Jay Oakerson, Pat McGann, Mark Normand, Jared Freid, Andrew Schulz, Jermaine Fowler, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani, Vir Das, Ronny Chieng, Al Madrigal, Marc Maron, Tony Hinchcliffe, and Dave Attell.

Locations

Zanies has four locations, three of which are located in Illinois. The clubs are open every night of the week and have a minimum age requirement for attendance of 21 years with the exception of the Nashville club where the minimum age is 18 years. *

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, opened in 1978 * St. Charles, Illinois, opened in 1989 and seats 250 *

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

, opened in 2012 and seats 250 *

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, opened 1983 and seats around 300 Zanies Nashville is a 2013

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

Certified Club.

Former locations

Vernon Hills, Illinois Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area (Libertyville, Illinois, ...

, closed in 2011 St Charles closed on 11/30/2019. Mount Prospect location 2200 Elmhurst road - closed in 1998. 6 years after Jay Leno hosted two free shows on February 14, 1992 to anyone who could show an unemployment stub.

References

External links

Zanies' main website

Zanies at Chicago

Zanies at St. Charles

Zanies at Rosemont

Zanies at Nashville
{{coord, 41.9105, -87.6349, display=title Business in Chicago Culture of Nashville, Tennessee Comedy clubs in the United States 1978 establishments in Illinois Theatres in Chicago Tourist attractions in Nashville, Tennessee Nightclubs in Illinois Tourist attractions in Cook County, Illinois