New York Friars' Club

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The New York Friars Club
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Type	Private club
Founded	New York City, New York, 1904
Headquarters	New York City, New York
Website	www.friarsclub.com

The Friars Club is a private club in New York City, New York, famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. Founded in 1904, its motto is Prae Omnia Fraternitas, which is Latin for "Before all, brotherhood." It is located at 57 Friars Way (East 55th St.)

1 History
2 Organization
3 Roasts
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Jerry Lewis is the current Abbot, named in 2006 during a roast in New York City. Previous Abbots have included Alan King, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan and George M. Cohan (twice).

Freddie Roman is the current Dean. Michael Gyure is the current Executive Director.

Friars Club Roasts were first televised in the late 1960s, first as part of the Kraft Music Hall series, and later The Dean Martin Show. From 1998-2002, the roasts were broadcast on Comedy Central.

In 1999, filmmaker Dean Ward's historical documentary "Let Me In, I Hear Laughter - A Salute To The Friars Club" appeared on Cinemax. It featured never-before-seen roast footage and interviews with Friars suchs as Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, Henny Youngman, Jeffrey Ross, Larry King, Ed McMahon, Phyllis Diller and many others.

In 2001, Hugh Hefner's roast at The Club was the scene of Gilbert Gottfried's public telling of the Aristocrats joke, made famous by the documentary of the same name.

[edit] Organization

The club's members are composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Their monthly newsletter is known as the Epistle. The Friars' leadership is made up of a series of positions similar to those in an Abbey, including positions such as "Abbot," "Dean," "Prior," and "Scribe."

[edit] Roasts

Each year, the Friars Club roasts a member. As to who gets roasted each year, the motto is, "We only roast the ones we love."

Between 1998 and 2002, the roasts were aired on Comedy Central. It is a popular misconception that the later roasts aired on Comedy Central are the Friars' Club roasts, but they are in fact not affiliated. Those roasts are produced by Denis Leary's company, Apostle, who roasted Leary the first year.

The following is a list of who has been roasted each year.