It was opened in 1960 by Willard Chilcott who, soon after, took on folk music icon Bob Stane as his partner.
[1] From 1960 to 1978, The Ice House, originally managed by Keith Pearce, aka, O'Brien, was a folk music club with acts coming from around the country to perform.
In 1978, the original owners were bought out by a trio of investors led by Bob Fisher who changed the format of the club to stand-up comedy.
[4][2] Among performers who have recorded some of the more than 75 live albums at the club are the Smothers Brothers, Gallagher, Lily Tomlin, Pat Paulsen, Richard Jeni and George Lopez.
Other comedians who have performed at the Ice House include: Bob Newhart, George Carlin, Robin Williams, David Letterman, Jim Carrey, Jay Leno, Dennis Miller, Howie Mandel, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, Roseanne Barr, Garry Shandling, Sinbad, Bill Hicks, Bill Maher, Gabe Kaplan, Paula Poundstone, Rosie O'Donnell, Cheech & Chong, Tim Allen, Paul Rodriguez, Kathy Griffin, Dana Carvey, Joey Diaz, Bill Burr, Arsenio Hall, Joe Rogan, Chris D’Elia, Bert Kreischer, Theo Von, Ken Jeong, Helen Hong, D. L. Hughley, Jimmy O. Yang and Cat Ce.