The Friars Club was a private club in New York City, founded in 1904 and out of business by 2024. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership was composed mostly of people who work in show business. The club was located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, in the historic Martin Erdmann House, now known as the Monastery.
History
Early years: 1904–1950 The organization traces its roots to 1904, when representatives of the Broadway theaters working with New York publicists organized the Press Agents' Association to exchange lists of people who were fraudulently receiving complimentary passes to shows. The group regularly met at Browne's Chop House.The Story of the Friars Friars Club. Shortly thereafter it began its tribute dinners to theatrical celebrities, the first being Clyde Fitch. The impresario Oscar Hammerstein was roasted in 1908, the year in which the Friars moved into a clubhouse at 107 West 47th Street.
The first Friars Frolics were held in 1911, with Abbot George M. Cohan working with Will Rogers, Irving Berlin, who wrote "Alexander's Ragtime Band" for the event, and Victor Herbert. The money generated by the Frolics enabled them to purchase 106-108-110 West 48th Street. Under Abbot Cohan, they laid a cornerstone on the building in 1915. In 1924, Walter Donaldson wrote the music for "My Blue Heaven" one afternoon while waiting in the club for his turn at the billiard table.
Frederick F. Schrader is credited with suggesting "Friars" as the organization's name. Following the theme, their monthly newsletter was the Epistle.
In 1950, Sam Levenson and fellow comedian Joe E. Lewis were the first members of the New York Friars Club to be roasted. The club roasted a member every year since the inaugural roasting.
Clubhouse era (1957–2024) The Friars Club moved into a permanent headquarters in 1957, in an English Renaissance mansion built for Speyer & Company investment banker Martin Erdmann by architects Alfredo S. G. Taylor and Levi in 1908.The History of The Clubhouse Friars Club, Retrieved November 8, 2008 In 2013, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed designating the Martin Erdmann House as a New York City landmark. The clubhouse was designated as a landmark in November 2016.
Friars Club roasts were first televised in the late 1960s, first as part of the Kraft Music Hall series. From 1998 to 2002, Comedy Central broadcast the roasts. Comedy Central then began organizing its own annual roasts.
On June 30, 1988, the club approved Liza Minnelli, after she applied for regular membership, and after the club’s board of governors changed its constitution to allow female members. The club’s board of governors also elected Barbara Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Eydie Gorme, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Dinah Shore, Phyllis Diller and Martha Raye, to honorary membership.
Financial issues and sale of clubhouse In 2021, the Friar's Club trademark lapsed, and was subsequently cancelled. In May 2023, it was reported that the club was facing foreclosure on the Martin Erdmann House due to a building flood, the COVID-19 pandemic, and financial irregularities. In October 2024, a foreclosure auction was scheduled for the building; the auction was later rescheduled for November. The Erdmann House was sold that December for $17.2 million. In April 2026, Extell Development Company paid $19 million for the Erdmann House.
Organization Officers of the club, as distinct from the Friars Foundation,2008 Friars Foundation Officers & Directors Friars Club. are given monastic titles: In 2006, Larry King was the dean, Freddie Roman was the Dean Emeritus. Jerry Lewis was the Abbot, named during a roast in New York City. Previous abbots have included Alan King, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan and George M. Cohan.
Friars, Lambs, Players In the 1960s, the Friars Club, the Lambs Club, and The Players were often confused. The 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."
List of roasts
1950 Sam Levenson 1951 Phil Silvers Harry Delf Mel Allen 1952 Leo Durocher Rocky Marciano 1953 Sophie Tucker Milton Berle Eddie Fisher 1954 Red Buttons Martha Raye Ed Sullivan, roastmaster Jack Carter 1955 Humphrey Bogart, roastmaster Red Buttons (recorded)audio or visuals of roast featured in Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars Club, 1999, Cinemax 1956 Sammy Davis Jr. 1957 Joe E. Lewis 1958 Ed Sullivan Red Buttons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz ("BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 24 (UPI)— Harry Einstein... died back stage early today of a heart attack."The "Happy Deaths" of Dick Shawn and Parkyakarkus ("...Parkyakarkus was stricken at a Friars Club banquet here last night, the victim of a heart attack. He died early this morning.") 1959 Milton Berle, roastmaster Jack E. Leonard Jimmy Cannon, roastmaster Jack E. Leonard Jack E. Leonard 1960 George Burns, roastmaster George Jessel 1961 Gary Cooper, Testimonial Dinner hosted by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin Lucille Ball, roastmaster Johnny Carson Alan King, roastmaster Jack E. Leonard 1962 Jan Murray Johnny Carson 1963 Steve Lawrence Jack Benny 1964 Jack Carter Nat "King" Cole Sammy Davis Jr. 1965 Marty Allen and Steve Rossi Soupy Sales 1966 Al Kelly John V. Lindsay 1967 Milton Berle 1968 Harry Belafonte Don Rickles, roastmaster Jack E. Leonard Johnny Carson, roastmaster Alan King and broadcast on Kraft Music Hall 1969 Barbra Streisand Jack E. Leonard Milton Berle, roastmaster Alan King and broadcast on Kraft Music Hall 1970 Don Rickles, roastmaster Johnny Carson and broadcast on Kraft Music Hall David Frost Jack Benny, roastmaster Johnny Carson and broadcast on Kraft Music Hall 1971 Jerry Lewis, roastmaster Johnny Carson and broadcast on Kraft Music Hall Phil Silvers Pat Henry 1972 Ed McMahon 1973 Henny Youngman 1974 George Raft Milton Berle 1975 Redd Foxx 1976 Telly Savalas 1977 Joey Adams, roastmaster Milton Berle Totie Fields 1978 Neil Simon, roastmaster Milton Berle 1979 Robert Merrill Norm Crosby, roastmaster Milton Berle 1980 George Steinbrenner 1981 Jim Dale 1982 Dick Shawn, roastmaster Buddy Hackett 1983 Sid Caesar, roastmaster Buddy Hackett Roger Grimsby 1984 Chuck Scarborough Rolland Smith 1985 Phyllis Diller, roastmaster Buddy Hackett 1986 Jerry Lewis, roastmaster Buddy Hackett 1987 Rich Little, roastmaster Norm Crosby Arnold Schwarzenegger, roastmaster George Carlin 1988 Ernest Borgnine 1989 Bruce Willis, roastmaster Milton Berle 1990 Chevy Chase, roastmaster Dan Aykroyd 1991 Richard Pryor, roastmaster Robin Williams 1992 Billy Crystal, roastmaster Rob Reiner 1993 Whoopi Goldberg, roastmaster Ted Danson 1994 Bob Newhart, roastmaster Don Rickles 1995 Steven Seagal, roastmaster Milton Berle 1996 Kelsey Grammer, roastmaster David Hyde Pierce 1997 Danny Aiello, roastmaster Joy Behar 1998 Drew Carey, roastmaster Ryan Stiles 1999 Jerry Stiller, roastmaster Jason Alexander 2000 Rob Reiner, roastmaster Michael McKean 2001 Hugh Hefner, roastmaster Jimmy Kimmel 2002 Chevy Chase, roastmaster Paul Shaffer 2003 The Smothers Brothers, roastmaster Susie Essman (replacing Richard Belzer) 2004 Donald Trump, roastmaster Regis Philbin 2005 Don King, roastmaster Donald Trump 2006 Jerry Lewis, roastmaster Richard Belzer 2007 Pat Cooper, roastmaster Lisa Lampanelli 2008 Matt Lauer, roastmaster Al Roker 2010 Quentin Tarantino, roastmaster Samuel L. Jackson 2012 Betty White, roastmaster Barbara Walters 2013 Jack Black, roastmaster Bob Saget 2014 Boomer Esiason, roastmaster Jeff Garlin 2015 Terry Bradshaw, roastmaster Joel McHale
In popular media In 1999, Cinemax aired Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars Club directed by Dean Ward. It featured previously unseen footage of roasts and interviews with Friars such as Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, Henny Youngman, Jeffrey Ross, Larry King, Ed McMahon, and Phyllis Diller. It revealed that after comic Parkyakarkus (Harry Einstein) collapsed and died at a 1958 roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, singer Tony Martin decided to sing "There's No Tomorrow" while Einstein was being carried off stage.
Events
Stand-up comedy competition In 2008, the Friars Club began a stand-up comedy competition, "So You Think You Can Roast!?". On October 24 of that year, the winner performed at the Friars Club roast of Matt Lauer.
Friars Club Comedy Film Festival The inaugural Friars Club Comedy Film Festival was held in September 2009, opening with the American premiere of the Coen Brothers' Academy Award–nominated film, A Serious Man. Other festival highlights include screenings of Christopher Morris’s Four Lions, and the Oscar-winning short God of Love. In 2011, Jerry Lewis and Russel Simmons presented a comedy achievement award to Brett Ratner.
In 2012, the festival hosted America Ferrera and David Cross, stars of the opening film It's a Disaster. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The festival has quietly become one of the city's most sharply curated cinema gatherings. It takes the funny business seriously."
See also Friars Club of California, founded in 1947 as a spinoff List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
References
External links 100 Years Of Laughs: Comedians Yuk It Up For Friars Club Centennial, 15 June 2004 CBS News