The Committee (improv group)

• The Committee, a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson (formerly Irene Riordan). The Myersons were both alums of Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court in San Francisco's North Beach. Gary Goodrow, Hamilton Camp, Larry Hankin, Kathryn Ish Scott Beach and Ellsworth Milburn were the cast. Jerry Mander handled the group's PR, and Richard Stahl, who later joined the improv troupe, was its first company manager. Jessica Myerson, who gave birth to a son nine days later, joined the company in May. Arthur Cantor took the company to New York in 1964 for a limited engagement at the Henry Miller Theater. This occasioned a second group to hold the fort in San Francisco. Peter Bonerz, Peter Lane, Leigh French, Chris Ross, Howard Hesseman, Nancy Fish and Carl Gottlieb became the mainstays of the San Francisco troupe.

When the Broadway troupe returned to San Francisco, they became the resident company of The Committee Theatre on Montgomery Street. This was a shortlived endeavor, that saw three productions mounted there: An original play by Larry Hankin, Macbird, and America Hurrah by Jean Claude Van Italie. Joe Chaiken of LaMama and Jean Claude came to San Francisco to direct and oversee that production.

The Montgomery Street theater also quietly hosted a new publication in its basement: Ramparts Magazine edited by Robert Sheer. (now of Truthdig). By this time The Committee was a regular at civil rights and anti-war protests — along with Joan Baez, Norman Mailer, and others.

Actors were now taking classes and forming other troupes. More and more members came in and out of the improv group or the theater troupe as needed. Mimi Fariña, Dan Barrows, Morgan Upton, Julie Payne, Jim Cranna, Bob Mackey and David Ogden Stiers became part of the improv troupe. A regular behind the scenes stage manager and performer who later successfully formed his own improvisational theater company, The Groundlings, was Gary Austin.

In the late 60s, The Committee was again asked to form another company to perform in Los Angeles. Peter Bonerz, Mel Stewart, Barbara Bossen, Jessica Myerson, Richard Stahl, Kathryn Ish, Gary Goodrow, Howard Hesseman, Carl Gottlieb, Chris Ross and Rob Reiner were the stalwarts in LA. M The revolving group of players presented satirical political comedy in San Francisco until 1972. Other famous alumni include improv guru Del Close, Howard Hesseman who later went on to play Dr Johnny Fever on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, and Peter Bonerz, later to play orthodontist Jerry Robinson on The Bob Newhart Show, before becoming a director. Barbara Bossen later married Steven Bochco and also was a regular on NYPD Blues. Leigh French became a regular on The Smothers Brothers and later established her own sound company. Carl Gottlieb wrote Jaws. It was a very creative group.

The Committee performed thirteen shows a week and was dark on Mondays. In San Francisco, it was always a Monday when they let other groups use the space. In this way, The Committee hosted an early performance of The Warlocks before they became The Grateful Dead as well as the debut performance of Michael McClure's The Beard.