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

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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". "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. In 2008, Zanies celebrated their 30th anniversary. Zanies opened up a location in Rosemont, Illinois in July 2012. Zanies Comedy Club hosted a tribute to

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in August 2014. Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago celebrated 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,

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, Annie Rauwerda,

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, Larry Reeb,

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, and

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. Other notable performers include:

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Tiffany Haddish Tiffany Sara Cornilia Haddish (born December 3, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. Her breakthrough came in with a leading role in the comedy film '' Girls Trip'' (2017), which earned her several accolades and was included on ...

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Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its ...

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari ( ; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He played Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and created and starred in the Netflix series ''Master of None'' (2 ...

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, and Pat McGann.

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, opened in 1978 *

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located immediately northwest of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 3,952. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before ...

, opened in 2012 and seats 250 *

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

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, Illinois, opened in 1989, seats 250, closed on November 30, 2019 * Mount Prospect (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 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