History of Comedians, The Mob, and The Copacabana

Remember in Goodfellas when mobster Henry Hill took his date, Karen, to The Copacabana? That was pretty true to form. The mob actually owned the legendary club. We saw this recently in the movie The Irishman - when Don Rickles was on stage performing for Crazy Joe Gallo.

We dive into the mob’s connection with The Copacabana - where you’ll learn such interesting tidbits as what happened to comedian Allan Drake’s wife when she had an affair with a mobster. Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t end well…

History of Don Rickles, The Irishman, and The Mob

Have you seen The Irishman? There’s a scene where Don Rickles (played by comedian Jim Norton) is performing at the Copacabana for mobster, Crazy Joe Gallo - on the night he was gunned down. The incident is pretty true. And Don Rickles, much like other comedians of that era, had a history of working at clubs owned by the mob.

We jumped into Don Rickles history with the mob - that eventually led him to a role in Scorsese’s Mob film: Casino