Established in 1904, the Friars Club is one of the hottest private clubs in entertainment. From Sinatra and his rat pack to Robin Williams and Billy Crystal to Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and Lisa Lampanelli and Howard Stern–all have passed through the doors of the Friars clubhouse–aka the Monastery–and into the time of their lives.
The Friars have always entertained huge crowds and even back in 1910 they were getting mentions in the press about the “bawdy” comments at their classy Testimonial Dinners. Eventually, they realized they needed a private, behind closed doors, stag event–just the guys–so the members could get real down and dirty if they chose. They would select a guest of honor and let a group of top comedians go at them with the funniest–and sometimes dirtiest–jokes and comments imaginable. Yet everything was done under the aegis of the Friars favorite motto: We only Roast the ones we love!
