Caroline Hirsch

Caroline Hirsch is the founder and owner of the New York comedy club Carolines on Broadway and the New York Comedy Festival. She is recognized for her ability to spot rising comedic talent including Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reubens.

Hirsch was born in 1952 and grew up in Flatbush. She says the first standup act she ever saw was when she snuck into a 1967 George Carlin gig at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. After living in Brooklyn, she would later move to Manhattan She attended City College and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). After school she went to work at Gimbels until she became unemployed.

While collecting unemployment a few friends approached her about opening up a cabaret club which she eventually accepted. The club opened in 1982 but she realized that the cabaret theme was not working and decided to turn it into a comedy club instead which brought in a younger clientele that was more profitable. In the late 80's the A&E network asked her to produce a comedy special which became Carolines Comedy Hour which was produced by her production company Pinky Ring Productions. The show won a CableACE award for Best Stand-Up Comedy Series. In November 2004, Hirsch launched the New York Comedy Festival, with Jarrod Moses, a weeklong comedy festival that features comedy’s biggest stars performing in New York’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater, Madison Square Garden, Town Hall and Carolines on Broadway. She currently lives in a duplex with views of the East River.

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