Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

New York Friars' Club

 
Wikipedia: New York Friars' Club
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
The New York Friars Club
Type Private club
Founded New York City, New York, 1904
Headquarters New York City, New York
Website www.friarsclub.com
The "Monastery"

The Friars Club (formerly the Press Agents' Association) is a private club in New York City, famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. Founded in 1904, its motto is Prae Omnia Fraternitas, which is Latin for "Before all, brotherhood." It is located at 57 Friars Way (East 55th Street) in a building it calls the Monastery.

Contents

History

The organization traces its roots to 1904 when representatives of the Broadway theatres working with New York publicists organized the Press Agents' Association to exchange lists of people who were fraudulently receiving complimentary passes to shows. The organization was so successful that it nearly discontinued when in 1906 its scope switched from just New York to national.[1]

Shortly thereafter it began its tribute dinners to theatrical celebrities with the first being Clyde Fitch.[1]

In 1906 at a dinner for composer Victor Herbert the Friars Song with lyrics by Charles Emerson Cook and music by Herbert and the name of Friars rather the Press Agents Association took hold.

In 1908 it moved into a club house at 107 West 47th Street.

In 1911 it purchased 106-108-110 West 48th Street. Under Abbott George M. Cohan it laid a cornerstone on the building in 1915.[1]

It moved into its current headquarters in 1957. The current building is the former Martin Erdmann residence designed by the architect firm Taylor and Levi in 1908. Erdman was a partner in the Speyer Corporation investment bank.[2]

Friars Club Roasts were first televised in the late 1960s, first as part of the Kraft Music Hall series, and later The Dean Martin Show. From 1998-2002, the roasts were broadcast on Comedy Central.

In 1999, filmmaker Dean Ward's historical documentary "Let Me In, I Hear Laughter - A Salute To The Friars Club" appeared on Cinemax. It featured never-before-seen roast footage and interviews with Friars such as Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, Henny Youngman, Jeffrey Ross, Larry King, Ed McMahon, Phyllis Diller and many others.

In 2001, Hugh Hefner's roast at The Club was the scene of Gilbert Gottfried's public telling of the Aristocrats joke, made famous by the documentary of the same name.

In 2008, the Friars Club began a new stand up comedy competition entitled, "So You Think You Can Roast!?" The winner of which performed at the Friars Club Roast of Matt Lauer, October 24 2008 with Roastmaster Al Roker.

Jerry Lewis is the current Abbot, named in 2006 during a roast in New York City. Previous Abbots have included Alan King, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan and George M. Cohan (twice).

The inaugural Friar's Club Comedy Film Festival was held in September 2009, opening with the American premiere of the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man.

Freddie Roman is the current Dean. Michael Gyure is the current Executive Director.

The Friars' Club, The Lambs Club, and The Players Club are often confused. The longtime syndicated 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."[3]

Organization

The club's members are composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Their monthly newsletter is known as the Epistle. The Friars' leadership is made up of a series of positions similar to those in an Abbey, including positions such as "Abbot," "Dean," "Prior," and "Scribe."

Roasts

Each year, the Friars Club roasts a member. As to who gets roasted each year, the motto is, "We only roast the ones we love." Between 1998 and 2002, the roasts were aired on Comedy Central. After 2002 Comedy Central began their own annual roasts, which have included William Shatner, Flavor Flav, Larry the Cable Guy, Pamela Anderson, among others. These are not to be confused with the Friars' Club roasts.

The following is a list of who has been roasted each year:

References

  1. ^ a b c The Story of The Friars - friarsclub.com
  2. ^ The History of The Clubhouse - friarsclub.com - Retrieved November 8, 2008
  3. ^ Wilson, Earl (1964). Earl Wilson’s New York. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 49–50. 
  4. ^ Frank DiGiacomo (2003-10-12). "Jack Carter, Smothers Brothers at Rip-Roaring Friars Roast". New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/node/48183. Retrieved 2007-08-15. 

External links

Coordinates: 40°45′39″N 73°58′21″W / 40.760886°N 73.972551°W / 40.760886; -73.972551


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "New York Friars' Club".  Read more