The Comedy Store strike of 1979 centered around the L.A. club (still in existence) that had become an institution for launching new talent. However, that talent was not paid. Comedians organized a strike, and their success was a watershed moment in comedy, after which clubs started paying comedians, and creating two-drink-minimums or charging higher entrance fees to audiences. Comedy boomed in the 1980s, so maybe it’s true what they say: more money, more funny.
