The late Lucien Hold

Lucien Hold: Iconic Figure

Opinionated. Passionate. Athletic. Honest. These are just a few of the many qualities friends used to describe Lucien Hold, the man who the Scleroderma Foundation is honoring May 9 at the Comic Strip Live with the first “Laughs, Love and Lucien: A Night of Comedy to Benefit the Scleroderma Foundation.”

Hold worked at the Comic Strip Live in a number of capacities for nearly 30 years before dying from scleroderma in 2004.

An aspiring dancer, Hold supplemented his income by becoming a carpenter’s assistant and in the mid-1970s he literally built the 1568 Second Ave. comedy club in New York City. His personality made him popular with the club owners, and soon they hired him as a bartender.

“Ultimately, because he was honest in a business where honesty was rare and bar help was often short-changed management moved him to be the talent coordinator,” said Joe Bolster, a comic who befriended Hold in 1978.

It was in the ‘70s when standup first began to blossom. At first comics were not paid, and then they started to receive nominal salaries. They also got the opportunity to serve as emcees, deciding who would get gigs and when. The first emcee at the Comic Strip was a guy by the name of Jerry Seinfeld, who you may have heard of.

In the book "Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon," Hold said Jerry was very dependable and normal, who wrote every day to hone his craft.

In the 1980s, Hold took responsibility for who would “pass”—those allowed to go on stage.

“Like anybody, he developed comedic likes and dislikes and he was not always agreed with,” Bolster said. “It’s a tough job. He knew he was similar to a baseball umpire—that not everybody would like him.”

Comedian Ross Bennett, who befriended Hold in 2001, offered similar thoughts. “Everybody wanted Lucien to like them. But the way the business is he had to say no to almost everybody.”

Barry Weintraub, who befriended Hold toward the end of his life and who will serve as emcee of the benefit said, “He had a commanding personality, with a very strong will and beliefs.”

Hold had a variety of interests. He was a very good athlete who excelled in golf and baseball and ran several marathons before scleroderma took away his ability to participate in aerobic activities. (His friends believe his fitness allowed him to live for 19 years after developing scleroderma).

To satisfy his competitive drive, Hold became an accomplished snooker player at the New York Athletic Club.

He also loved to travel, having visiting much of Europe. Fine clothing also appealed to Hold.

Hold also could “hold” his own on any topic imaginable, Bolster said. “He was a wordsmith who could talk on and on because he had a wide breadth of knowledge. He was the only person I know who could link Copernicus and Adam Sandler in the same conversation. It was hard to get a word in edge-wise sometimes when Lucien was in the room.”

Bennett added, “Sometimes while I was traveling, he and I would be having a conversation and my cell phone would go dead for about 15 minutes. When it came back on, he was still talking.”

His politics were liberal; George Bush and Hold would not see eye-to-eye on anything, both Bennett and Bolster said.

In a business where many people look out for themselves, Hold was extraordinarily loyal. Always good-natured, Hold preferred the type of people who were friendly and cordial, not prima donnas or divas.

“He was very devoted to his friends,” Bolster said. “He maintained friendships with comics even after they left the club (The Comic Strip was a springboard for many novice comedians before they went on to television and film). He stayed in touch with Jerry, Chris Rock, George Wallace, Adam Sander, etc.”

For example, when Kal Seinfeld, Jerry’s dad, died, Hold attended the funeral. Later, Jerry Seinfeld attended Hold’s funeral. And at Sandler’s wedding, he invited only two “celebrity types”—Rock and Hold.

“Adam stayed in touch with Lucien until he passed away,” said Bennett, who will be appearing at the benefit.

Bolster has several lasting memories of Hold, but one was the way in which he handled the disease.

“Four days before he died, he was reduced to buttoning his shirt with an adaptive device,” Bolster said. “He could barely move without being exhausted and he was horribly debilitated, but he was hosting a party for comedians, never once complaining. He really was a study in courage.”

What Bennett admired about Hold was his ability to continue living as normal a life as possible for someone in his condition. “He lived his life passionately and to the fullest until he died,” he said.

According to Weintraub, the comedy business lost a giant when Hold passed.

“He was the last of a breed. Nobody’s developing comedy talent anymore. He was the last one.”

Comedy Benefit Ticket Information

To order tickets to “Laughs, Love and Lucien: A Night of Comedy to Benefit the Scleroderma Foundation”, please visit our Web site at www.scleroderma.org/comedy and order online, or call us at 1-800-722-HOPE.

The event is Wednesday, May 9, at 8 p.m. at the Comic Strip Live, 1568 Second Avenue.