How Comedy Store Co-Founder Mitzi Shore Transformed Iconic Comedian Hub
Todd Gilchrist No matter how many people tied to the Comedy Store you ask about the late Mitzi Shore, the connective tissue between their answers is an almost identical impression of the late owner.David Letterman offers one while son Pauly Shore insists that his is the best, but virtually without fail a moment will come while telling a story about the iconic venue’s co-founder and former owner that they affectionately lapse into a flat, slightly nasally Midwestern accent.The impression communicates their affection for her stalwart presence at the Store and her role in Los Angeles’ comedy scene for the past 50 years, as well as the no-nonsense relatability that made her feared and beloved in equal measures. “My mother was a dichotomy of riches,” says Peter Shore, who took over operations of the Comedy Store when she became ill in 2002 and now runs it actively, but at a distance, from his current hometown of Portland, Ore.“She had an innate ability to predict a comic’s trajectory and gave that individual through investment of time, love, attention, an opportunity to grow.