Enrico Banducci

Enrico Banducci
Banducci outside the hungry i theater, Ghirardelli Square, 1969
Born
Harry Charles Banducci

(1922-02-17)February 17, 1922
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 2007(2007-10-09) (aged 85)
South San Francisco, California, U.S.
OccupationImpresario
Known forOwner of the hungry i

Enrico Banducci (born Harry Charles Banducci; February 17, 1922 – October 9, 2007) was an American impresario. Banducci operated the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, where he launched the careers of The Kingston Trio,[1] Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, and Barbra Streisand, and featured Woody Allen and Dick Cavett before they were well-known, as well as countless folk singers and comedians.[2] The hungry i featured the original brick wall in the stage background, a staple for stand up comedy presentations ever since. Banducci (pronounced Ban-doo-chee) bought the hungry i from its founder, Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, in 1950. Banducci later also started the Clown Alley hamburger stand as well as Enrico's Sidewalk Cafe on Broadway, a restaurant and jazz club.[3]

  1. ^ Bush, William J. (2013). Greenback Dollar: The Incredible Rise of the Kingston Trio. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810881921.
  2. ^ Nolte, Carl (October 10, 2007). "The impresario of North Beach". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. ^ Chamings, Andrew (June 8, 2023). "The 30-year feud between two San Francisco clown restaurants". SFGate.