Apr 1, 2021
Arthur Gaus came of age in the Golden Era of comedy in San Francisco.
Picking up where he left off in Part 1, Arthur sets the stage for his beginnings doing stand-up by describing the comedy scene in The City in the 1980s. He rattles off a list of funny folks who got their start here—Will Durst, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Proops—and talks about comedy venues in San Francisco, some of which still exist today.
Arthur got started at open-mic nights around town and in Santa Cruz, where he ended up going to college. He got his SF break at Cobb's, but he extols the virtues of The Punchline, especially Sunday nights, where, in the before-times, the club features up to 10 local comedians.
He tells us about his comedy album, Nice Jokes for Smart People, which you can find on Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming services.
Arthur ends this podcast reflecting on changes in The City in last couple decades, culminating with where we are today.
We recorded this podcast over ZenCastr in March 2021.
Photography by Michelle Kilfeather