Around Town | Les McCurdy

By Tom Reese • Photos by Nancy Guth • July 2024

With both physical and emotional health benefits, we all know that laughter is indeed a powerful medicine. For 36 years, Sarasota icon Les McCurdy has passed on that powerful medicine to thousands of laughing people at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, the oldest comedy club in our state. Its stage has hosted some of the biggest names in comedy, and he, along with his wife Pam, have enjoyed every minute of every show of every year.   

McCurdy’s impact goes beyond his famous comedy theater.  He is an incredible ambassador for Sarasota and has been a vital part of the arts and culture scene for decades.  He also serves as emcee for many charity events, helping to raise big bucks for many local nonprofits.

We were delighted to share some laughs and have some fun with this all around great guy and he was delighted to share insight into his life, his success, and his X-factor—his loving wife Pam. 

You began your career in comedy in Tennessee with a childhood friend. At what point did you realize this was your passion and something you wanted to pursue for the rest of your life?I got a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance in 1981 at Memphis State and headed west to California to be an actor. Stand-up was not in any of my plans. My friend Ken Sons was in Boulder, Colorado working in his field of Special Education. We met up on my way to California and I stayed around Boulder for a while. There was a comedy club in Denver, one of the few in the country at that time. We started going to the open mic nights and watching all of the performers. Then we signed up and tried it, and we were hooked. We found out from talking to the professionals that comedy clubs were opening across the country like wildfire. I think in 1980 there were only about two or three dozen clubs. By the mid 80’s, there were well over 100, maybe 200. We were in the right place at the right time. The beginning of an emerging art form. We knew we could figure it out and there was plenty of work because there weren’t many pro comics fully developed yet.

You have a storied history in Sarasota. When did Sarasota become your home, and what do you like most about living here?I came to Sarasota first in 1982. I was here working on being a professional stand-up comic because there were three comedy clubs in Tampa Bay with open mic where I could develop my skills. Most cities outside of NYC, LA, and Vegas only had one comedy club. Ken and I were developing a comedy team. We lived in Tampa and worked at a Bennigans because we needed a job with a flexible schedule so we could be free on a certain night to do comedy. The assistant manager there told us he was going to be the GM at a new store in Sarasota. We had only been to Sarasota once because that is where one of the three comedy clubs was located. The manager told us it was a beautiful place with several beaches very close to the city. We drove down to look for housing in Sarasota and found a little old furnished two-bedroom house on Siesta Key. It was directly on the Bay with a private dock. There was an older couple next door sitting on the front porch and we chatted with them for about an hour. It turns out the couple were family of the owner. The house was $1200 a month, and he needed first and last month’s rent up front. Along with the cost of getting phones, electricity, and deposits, we couldn’t afford it. We thanked the owner but said we were starting an adventure in the business of comedy and needed something more affordable. The owner said he was particular about to whom he wanted to rent his property and that his aunt and uncle enjoyed talking to us so much that he would significantly reduce the rent to $350 a month for us. So that’s how I found myself in Sarasota. I quickly fell in love with the city, especially Siesta Key. We loved the beaches, the environment, the nightlife, and we quickly made wonderful friends here. My wife Pam worked at Bennigans too on the weekends. She was getting her MFA in Theatre Performance through FSU at the Conservatory at the Asolo. Eventually she graduated and moved to New York City and Ken and I began touring. I’ve traveled enough and know enough about the world that I am certain the Sarasota area is the best tropical area on the planet.

You met your wife Pam in Sarasota in the 1980s. How did the conversations between the two of you go when you were looking at starting your own comedy club just a handful of years later? The original plan was to move to Los Angeles when we got married. The more we talked about it, the more we knew we didn’t want to live there. But, it was like the corporate headquarters for what we do. Pam had her MFA in Theatre Performance and was a very good, accomplished actress, and I was a good comedian and getting better. We definitely thought we could compete in LA, but we also knew how difficult it was to make it big there. 

I asked her one day to consider this hypothetical. Fast forward ten years. We were thriving in LA and one of us had made it big. One of us got a starring role on a network TV show, or in a few films, and today one of us is going to sign a contract that will make us financially secure and fairly wealthy. My question to Pam was, where is our home going to be? Where do we want to live? She said in an instant—Siesta Key. 

So after analyzing that hypothetical situation, I suggested we just skip LA and go to Sarasota for our first year of marriage and have a long honeymoon. We would live on the beach, only take two gigs a month, which only takes me away for 10 days, and she could get some kind of part time job that’s fun. We could find a little lounge somewhere to do comedy shows on the weekend and see if we can figure out a way to make a living in the place we love and live there forever. Well, we did just that and the rest is history. 

The venues for McCurdy’s Theatre have changed over the years. What did it take to find your current place of business and make it a permanent home? We started at the Holiday Inn Airport Marina in a banquet room that they didn’t use much. The family that owned it let us try it there for the off-season on the weekends. They took the concessions sales, we took the ticket money. We were there for about 10 years until they sold the hotel. That’s when we went to our first full blown comedy theater near Ringling School of Art and Design. It was an old closed down movie theater in an old strip mall. Rent was very cheap, so we could swing it. We were in that location for about 14 years. We opened two weeks after 9/11 and we were sure we’d go bankrupt, but people needed to laugh and find ways to escape. Then the Kauffman family, who owned a lot of properties downtown, approached us about going to downtown Sarasota. They have been wonderful to us. We didn’t think Downtown would work. Dr, Mark Kauffman bent over backwards to make us a deal we could feel comfortable doing, and here we are 10 years later and 36 years in business. We are the oldest comedy venue in Florida and one of the oldest in North America.

COVID-19 was a brutal time for entertainment venues and small businesses. How were you able to navigate the difficulties of that time period and continue to thrive afterwards? When the pandemic hit, we met with Dr. Kauffman to discuss the situation. I told him this issue might last years, and at some point he might want to let us out of our lease and do something else with the property. He said to us that we were a precious tenant and that we had brought the art of comedy to the rapidly growing cultural arts scene in Sarasota and there was no way he was going to let us go. I can’t even begin to express to everyone how wonderful that made Pam and I feel, especially when we thought this might be the end. We would not be in that fantastic theater if it were not for the Kauffman family. The PPP loans and a theater grant were tremendously helpful keeping us afloat and reopening strong. Once we were able to reopen, about two years later, people were ready to get out and get together again.

McCurdy’s Theatre has hosted a plethora of famous artists over the years. Can you tell us about some of your favorite comedians that have performed on your stage?David Brenner did our grand opening of our first full theater in 2001, just one month after 9/11. He sold out five shows and we became great friends. Jeff Foxworthy was our first celebrity performer and he did us a favor to see if this area was ready to pay a higher ticket price and come out in good enough numbers for it to be profitable. The numbers and his performance were great. I already knew Jeff from touring. Chris Rock was just off SNL and was fantastic, maybe the best writer/performer we ever had up to that time. Tommy Chong was a legend to me. He played at our place many times and I got to spend some great times with him and his wife Shelby. Rosie O’Donnell and Louis CK played our stage when working on specials. Sinbad is an old friend, and probably the most underrated comedian alive. I’ve seen him pull off shows that very few comics could pull off. It took me a few years to talk D.L. Hughley into playing our place. He wasn’t sure that Sarasota was a good market for his performance. Well, he sold out every show and has come back twice after that. We’ve had great shows with SNL alums Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Darrell Hammond, and Rob Schneider. I just talked to him the other day and he’s coming back this year. Dan Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy, was Larry for the first time on our stage, per my request. He originally did the character on a Tampa Bar Radio show. The ladies Diane Ford, Elayne Boosler, Paula Poundstone, Kathleen Madigan, Pam Stone, Rita Rudner are all amazing. Jackie Mason decided to skip Van Wezel one year and play our little theater instead. We’ve had some amazing talent on our stages over the years and I’m so thankful to get to see so many different acts.

The McCurdy brand has become a household name in Sarasota. Who do you credit to help you get to this point in your career?Well it took a lot of hard work, consistency, great partners, reliable staff, and a well thought out plan. But my wife, Pam McCurdy, was the x factor for us. She took on the behind-the-scenes part of the business. That is the least fun part of operating a comedy club. She took it on with no background or training and built one of the best comedy theater venues on the planet. Without Pam, there is no McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre.

You don’t seem to be slowing down at all. What are your tricks to stay motivated and passionate to continue to grow the business?Fantastic staff! Our managers Marcella and Bronwen really take care of most of the theater’s operations. They are amazing! And our entire staff are so wonderful. We can now be semi-retired, but still very involved without a lot of the day-to-day stress of running a business. It keeps it all fun for Pam and I, and still profitable.

When you aren’t spending time at your club, what else do you do to have fun around Sarasota?I love to play golf, go to our amazing beaches, spend time in the gym and keep up on my fitness. It’s a lot of fun to ride our bikes around town, enjoy local music, as well as big concerts. I love watching sports—GO Bucs, Bolts, and Rays! We love spending time with our family, especially our grandson, and we spend as much time as we can hanging out with great friends. Pam and I are living the good life and we just try to enjoy ourselves and being totally in love with each other.

If you would like to know more about McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre or to book tickets, please visit www.mccurdyscomedy.com.