Alumni Quote by Bernie Brillstein

I wanted to be less well-known in comedy.

— Eddie Izzard

Everything that happened there in the '70s and '80s made it an important place for me. As a kid I became obsessed with David…

— Tony Hinchcliffe

Richard Pryor introduced me to the world of the inner city, and the urban world, and did it hysterically. My favorite comedian, even though…

— Bob Newhart

I went to Second City, where you learned to make the other actor look good so you looked good and National Lampoon, where you…

— Bill Murray

The original Dean Martin Comedy Hour handed me some hysterical sketches. I've got highlights on tons of these variety shows, given to me by…

— Ruth Buzzi

I remember being captivated by Steve Coogan and Eddie Izzard and wanting to do what they did. That generation of comedians was my main…

— Lee Mack

I was a huge fan of comedy in high school.

— Adam McKay

I was so keen to become a comedian that actually doing the comedy itself almost came second.

— Jack Dee

I never thought of myself as a comedic actor. I didn't go to Second City, that's not my background, I'm not a comic, I…

— Paul Rudd

A great deal of my comedy comes from the trials and tribulations of growing up a big kid in the Boston area.

— John Pinette

My parents loved comedies, so we saw Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, the Ritz Brothers, and the Marx Brothers. I wanted to be one of…

— Carl Reiner

I grew up in Chicago and was a huge fan of 'The Second City', so when I moved to L.A., I was looking for…

— Kathy Griffin