Comedian Freddie Roman, former dean of The Friars Club, died Saturday afternoon at a hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida, his booking agent said.
Born Fred Kirschenbaum on May 28, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Roman got a taste for stand-up comedy early thanks to his family. His uncle and grandfather owned the Crystal Spring Hotel in the Catskills, where Roman started emceeing at age 15.
In"Catskills on Broadway," Roman commented about everything, from his childhood in Queens to his"retirement life" in Florida.The New York Times, in its review of the show in 1991, wrote,"Catskill resorts may be fighting the recession, but Catskill comedy has not lost its flair." The show, Roman would later say, changed his life. It went to Broadway and then toured around the country, and he would continue performing for years to come. He was also made Dean of the New York City Friars Club, where he mentored many aspiring comedians and infused the private club with young talent.
One of those young comedians was Jeffrey Ross, who said of Roman in 2003,"When I was becoming a member, there weren't many of us who were younger. ... But Freddie would always come over and spend time with me and my friends and be real lovable."
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