By Jay Dixit

Pips founder George Schultz had a legendary ear for comedy. Under his tutelage, Pips became a cradle and an early stomping ground for several generations of great comedic stars.


woody allen
Offered to be house MC for $200 a week, was turned down, and returned in 2002 to shoot his movie "Anything Else."

david brenner
Attributes his rise to stardom to the club’s owner and wrote most of the scripts for his early guest-host appearances on "The Tonight Show" there. Out of gratitude he performed at Pips without pay and even finance renovations at the club.

jerry seinfeld
Played at Pips in the late 1970s, when the question, "Who's working at Pips this weekend?" was a regular refrain. “All the shows we did in Manhattan paid zero,” said Mr. Seinfeld. "I'm not quite sure how we made those economics work out."

lenny bruce
Had his last official booking at Pips, in 1966, but died before he made it.


brett butler
Once played Pips for $35; she now commands $15,000 for a performance. “I had never left the South in my life, and I had to learn how to speak Pips," she recalls. "People didn't know whether to be nice to me or treat me like I had a head wound."

george carlin
Played Pips only once. “I was eager to get anything then. Time on the stage is what counted.”


rodney dangerfield
Was selling aluminum siding when he decided to return to comedy by performing at Pips.


robert guillaume
Before gaining fame as the title character on the 1980's sitcom "Benson," was hired as a musical act att the club, so when a comedian bombed, Mr. Guillaume could lighten the mood by singing in Yiddish. “I didn’t have to prove my material every evening as the comedians did,” said Mr. Guillaume.

andy kaufman
Before Pips got a liquir license, was paid in ice cream sundaes.


colin quinn
Once defended Mr. Schultz in a fistfight, not out of loyalty but because he was trying to get stage time.

joan rivers
Hitched rides to Pips with Rodney Dangerfield, but eventually stopped because she was afraid of his driving.

andrew silverstein
Started his career doing impressions of John Travolta, Jerry Lewis, and Sylvester Stallone at the club, where he also perfected the character that made him famous under the name Andrew Dice Clay.

adam sandler
Comic Richie Triolo introduced Adam Sandler to the club’s owners in the late 80’s. Fifteen years later, Mr. Triolo called Mr. Sandler and said, “Adam, remember how I got you into Pips? Well could you get me out?”

missing: richard pryor
George Schulz’s legendary “ear” only failed him once, when he turned down Richard Pryor because he had a reputation for no-showing gigs.