For more than seventy years, these iconic venues and others fostered talents like Mort Sahl, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Phyllis Diller, Robin Williams, Paula Poundstone, Dana Carvey, and Margaret Cho, and more recently W. Kamau Bell, Ali Wong, and Moshe Kasher, introducing them to local crowds and the world beyond. Join comedians Nina G and OJ Patterson on a hilarious and thoughtful tour through the history of San Francisco Bay Area comedy.

San Francisco Bay Area comedian Nina G was exposed to Steve Martin and shows like Saturday Night Live as a young girl. She even named a stuffed animal after Gilda Radner. School wasn’t always easy for Nina so her mom would often let Nina play hooky on occasion. That is where she was exposed to comedies that many kids would only later be introduced, but for Nina it was where she saw movies like Richard Pryor Live at the Sunset Strip. Nina grew up in Alameda and San Leandro in the 1980s and into the 1990s; it was shows like KQED’s Comedy Tonight and radio’s The Alex Bennett Show that fueled her exposure and love of Bay Area stand up. As a child she couldn’t wait to go to shows at clubs like The Other Cafe and Holy City Zoo.

She even considered performing at an open mic as a teenager but that would not happen until nearly 25 years later.
As an adolescent, the now former San Francisco Bay Area comedian OJ Patterson saw comedian, Mitch Hedberg on Comedy Central Presents. OJ loved his delivery and material. Hedberg was smart, sweet and subversive in an accessible way. The death of
Hedberg touched Patterson, “When I heard he passed I had never felt sadder.” Later OJ, a native of Pittsburg, California, discovered stand up comedy in the Bay Area when he attended a show at the Dark Room in San Francisco. The venue was a small, intimate, pirate ship of a space. The performers were young, vibrant, and innovative. OJ comments, “my long beloved world of stand-up was suddenly tactile and kinetic, attainable and available. I began bringing friends, evangelizing. In some ways, I still
am.”
In 2010 Nina and OJ met and became friends after attending many of the same open mics. They were two comedy nerds who eventually started performing comedy themselves. They realized the love they shared and would spend endless hours analyzing stand up and bringing in the histories they had collected and discovered.
OJ began documenting Bay Area comedy through his blog Courting Comedy, the perfect name for someone who loved the art form. Nina, who stutters, has learning disabilities
and identifies as Disabled, began blending comedy and Disability activism into her stand up, performing at colleges, conferences and corporate events across the
world. She eventually published two books: a children’s Once Upon An Accommodation:
A Book About Learning Disabilities and her memoir Stutterer Interrupted:
The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen.
During the pandemic, the two friends joined forces to celebrate both their love of stand up comedy and where they grew up to write Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous
History (published by The History Press). The book includes over 100 photos, incorporating interviews from comedians like Don Novello (aka Father Guido Sarducci), Marga Gomez, Larry “Bubbles” Brown, Donald Lacy, Carrie Snow, Debi Durst, Tony Sparks, Ritch Shydner, and Lisa Geduldig (Kung Pao Kosher Comedy) that help tell the story of Bay Area stand-up comedy from the mid 1800s to the pandemic.
Nina G is a stand-up comedian, author, and disability advocate. She performs and gives keynote speeches at colleges, companies, and conferences across the world. Nina is the
author of Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen and the children’s book Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities. She is a\ Bay Area native (Alameda) spanning five generations and currently resides in Oakland.
Additionally, she has contributed to books, blogs, and articles and is a favorite among
podcasters and comedy audiences all over. www.NinaGcomedian.com

OJ Patterson is a writer, comedian, and home-brew historian born and raised in
Pittsburg, California. A “retired stand-up,” he has contributed to numerous online and
print publications, including his award-winning blog Courting Comedy and as an
entertainment copywriter. OJ Patterson currently resides in the greater Los Angeles area
and unofficially has the best laugh in the room.

ABOUT THE FEATURED COMEDIAN:
Mean Dave is a regular Cobb’s Comedy Club, Punch Line in San Francisco and
Sacramento, and Laughs Unlimited. He has opened for headliners such as Judy Tenuta,
Big Jay Oakerson, Allan Havey, Tom Rhodes, and Josh Blue.