The Gilded Baboon Comedy Club at the Jorene Celeste in Kentish Town is dedicated to bringing the finest and freshest new acts to the stage.

Being a Comedian for more than 20 years now, I can honestly say that I have performed in the worst places and the best places in the country. I will concentrate on the best places because I believe comedy should be a happy event and not a downer. What makes a Comedy Club fun and successful is the proper setting. It is all about atmosphere, seating arrangement and most of all, the intimacy factor. Comedy is an intimate medium that always works best in smaller venues of 400 seats or less. The bigger the venue, the less the crowd is part of the experience. I believe that Comedy Clubs and Small Theaters are the best, especially for a crowd worker like myself. With all that being said, here is my list:

My Favorite Comedy Venues Of All Time 1. The Original Improv(NYC, NY)- This club was the Grandaddy of all Comedy Clubs. It was the first and truly the best. It was nice and small, about 100 seats, intimate, and had such an aura about it. When you were on that stage, you knew that the likes of George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce and anyone else you can think of in Comedy, had performed there before you. What a great place it was. I miss it dearly and the owner, Silver Friedman, was great to me.

2. Rascal's Comedy Club(Ocean Township, NJ)- This became my home base for many years and it was the perfect Comedy Club. It held around 225 seats comfortably and there wasn't a bad one in the house. It was a rectangular room with the stage on one of the long walls, so every seat was close to the stage.

3. Rascal's Comedy Club(West Orange, NJ) - This was a great 400 seat club that was downstairs of one terrific restaurant (I miss the Chicken Francais)and was the Flagship of The Rascal's chain. We used to do a Comedy TV Show there every Thursday night called 'Rascal's Comedy Hour' and it was so much fun. Being a headliner myself, I never get to see other headliners unless we are all on the same bill doing a benefit of some kind. But with the TV show, I was the Musical Director and writer for the show and I got to see everyone that came through each week. I really had a blast and the show lasted for about 9 years.

4. The Strand Theater(Lakewood, NJ) - What a terrific landmark and a great place to perform since they renovated it about 7 years ago. The acoustics are unbelievable and it is just the right size for a theater to perform comedy in.

5. Uncle Vinny's/Ferrara's(Point Pleasant, NJ) - This is a new club and has only been open for about 1 and a half years. It reminds me of The Original Improv with it's intimacy of only around 100 seats. It's a great restaurant also and the owners, Dino & Jerry, are a pleasure to work for.