Portland Comedy Club Closes Doors After 27 Years

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All good things must come to an end and this is the end of one of Portland’s longest-running comedy clubs, Harvey’s. The club hosted its last show this past weekend. Originally called Harvey’s Restaurant and Lounge, owner Barry Kolin pivoted the establishment into a comedy club in 1992, during the comedy boom. The club has hosted some big acts throughout the years, like Louis C.K. and Amy Schumer, but was better known as a proving ground for local Portland comics.

Comedian Amy Miller, who lived and performed in Portland for a time, fondly remembered the club with Oregonian Live after hearing the news on Tuesday. “Comics have mixed feelings about Harvey’s, but it was always a good paycheck and a good workout room and I enjoyed Barry’s loving but grumpy uncle vibe,” said Miller. “If jokes did well at Harvey’s, I knew I could use them anywhere.” She continued, describing the club as “the only place I ever saw two different table fires, and a person leave on a stretcher, and the show kept going. Harvey’s was a business first and foremost. Not a playground for comics or a place for fame or ego.”

Longtime Portland comic Susan Rice echoed that sentiment, saying that “Harvey’s closing has a huge impact on the life of comedy in Portland. It’s the end of an era and takes away a really valuable learning tool for the new young comedians.” Like many other local acts, Harvey’s was Rice’s home base, with a lot of fond memories connected to it. “I just lost my home club,” she said. “I learned my craft on that stage.”

Kolin decided to close the club after recently suffering a heart attack, but he hopes that someone else will pick up where he left off. “It’s time to pass the baton to some young people,” he told The Oregonian. “They can come in with some different ideas maybe, but keep the core of what Harvey’s is about the same.”

[H/T]  The Oregonian

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler
Bill Tressler
Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.