Dave Chappelle, W. Kamau Bell Rally To Save SF’s Punch Line Comedy Club

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images – Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle (center) and W. Kamau Bell (R) join a rally at San Francisco City Hall May 21.

Comedians Dave Chappelle, W. Kamau Bell and other comics joined a rally May 21 on the steps of San Francisco City Hall in an effort to save the Punch Line comedy club. The venue’s lease expires in August and the property owner reportedly isn’t renewing it. 

The legendary club has been the San Francisco home for comedians including Chappelle, Bell, Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, and Ali Wong among many others. It’s operated at its Financial District location since 1978.

The comedians were joined by local officials including San Francisco supervisor Aaron Peskin and former assemblyman and supervisor Tom Ammiano, who also performs stand up comedy, in their call to save the Punch Line, with Peskin declaring his intent to have the venue named a “legacy business” and introduce a motion to SF’s board of supervisors that would prevent any non-club use of the current Punch Line space, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The paper reports that it’s believed that Google will lease the space when the Punch Line’s agreement expires.

“Any comedian will tell you the Punch Line is one of the premier comedy clubs in America,” said Chappelle, in town for a four-night stand at the club. “A comic will always come back to a good room. You guys have one of the best rooms in comedy. Let’s protect it.”

Bell, a Bay Area comic who also hosts CNN’s “United Shades of America,” added, “We’re losing the culture of the city. Let the Punch Line go and that’s a wrap on San Francisco.”

Live Nation books the Punch Line, as well as Cobb’s Comedy Club, and reportedly is seeking a new location for the club. A spokesperson for the San Francisco office declined an interview request but sent Pollstar a statement, reading: “While the search for a home for the Punch Line, whether in our present location or somewhere else, the club will continue to support local comedy, bring in the hottest up-and-coming comedians, and book some of the biggest national headliners, who come back to perform on the Punch Line stage year after year. As always, we thank all the fans and extraordinary comedians that make the Punch Line an entertainment landmark in this city.”