Museum of Comedy
By Jerry Kahn, News Correspondent
Unbeknownst to many, The Museum of Comedy is one of world’s few museums dedicated to comedy. The museum, founded in 1993, was created in a similar vein to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, but its curator, Sallie O. Elkordy decided to merge the museum with charity work. “We started out as Comedy’s Sallie Hour to raise money for charities,” she says.
Elkordy’s efforts gained support from the United Nations, which led to her organizing the International Comedy Hall of Fame, a fundraiser for children of peace keepers who died in the line of duty, featuring comedians Bill McCarty and Frank Giresi. The curator went on to organize a fundraiser for the UNICEF with comedians representing 28 countries. Following the success of the shows, the Museum of Comedy began hosting comedy benefit shows for hospitals and homeless shelters.
“It’s a two drip minimum,” Elkordy jokes. “My first homeless shelter was on Christmas Day. It was in a church in Flushing. We got there, Wanda [Sykes] and myself. I handed out Henny Youngman pocket jesters. I do mostly now homeless shelters because these people are not cared for. The majority of the men are homeless veterans.” Every April Fool’s Day, “for five years running, we had a Parade of Fools, where we would start with a show and parade to a foolish destination, carrying one-liners. The last one that we did, Pat Cooper was our Grand Jester.”
Besides the traveling performances, the museum also offers exhibits. “The museum’s collection is made up of autographed memorabilia, which has cost me a small fortune. We have a lot of dolls and statues and pictures of clowns, both famous and non-famous. We have lots of jesters. We have artwork that when you look at it, you laugh. [We have] books or the actual jokes themselves. I collect stuff ad nauseum. One of my favorite things is a beautiful studio portrait of Abbott and Costello. It’s called a “Galleria Boobatz.”
The Museum of Comedy has produced 800 shows in hospitals and homeless shelters. “I average about five comics per show. I raised money through membership. Every time the Museum of Comedy gets a member, a comedian gets paid. The first 400 shows, nobody got paid. The museum is a non-profit charitable organization, so I could raise money to pay the comics…We serve a multitude of organizations. One-hundred percent of the money goes directly to the program. When the members money runs out, I reach into my own pocket.”
“We just had Carol Channing last year [and] Professor Irwin Corey, ‘The World’s Foremost Authority.’ I brought him to United Cerebral Palsy for one of our clients. He’s in his 90s. We have a birthday party for him every year. Every year, it’s the very last birthday for him. He’s a double talker and he’s highly irreverent. Joe Franklin gives people who are starting out in this industry hope…He’s opened many shows for me.”
The Museum of Comedy runs the tour, What it Feels like to be a Museum, featuring Melvin George, Lorene Farnsworth, and Brian Kiley. Even well-known comedians have connections with the Museum of Comedy. “Damon Wayans agreed to do a benefit for Cerebral Palsy. Dave Attell [also] did a show with me.”
The Museum of Comedy has its own television show, Museum of Comedy Presents, which airs in Queens on QPTV, Channel 34 on Tuesdays at 10:00 am, and Channel 56 on Thursdays at 4:00 pm. The museum is located at 80-60 Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens. It is open on Monday afternoons from 1:00pm-5:00pm. Call 718 268-2914 or email at MuseumOfComedy@aol.com .
