SiriusXM has announced exclusively from The Wrap that it will launch Friars Club Radio, a brand new pop up channel dedicated to the famed Friars Club, which will air the never-before-heard archive of the club’s iconic roasts.
Friars Club Radio will be available to SiriusXM subscribers in their cars (channel 109) and on the SXM App beginning August 6 and running through September 2.
About Friars Club
Founded in 1904, The Friars Club has been honoring comedians, politicians, actors, musicians and other luminaries at its fundraising celebrity luncheons, also known as roasts. These roasts became incredibly popular, but were strictly invite-only and not available to the public. For the first time ever, the Friars Club has opened its vaults to catalog and digitize over seven decades of these hilarious, scandalous, star-studded events, which it is now making available exclusively on SiriusXM.
Who all has been featured on The Friars Club?
Featuring over 40 hours of outrageous and often risqué humor, this collection clearly establishes The Friars Club as the holy grail of comedy. Listeners will have exclusive access to hear unreleased material from some of the comedy’s biggest legends, including Bob Saget on Jack Black, David Letterman on Betty White, Phyllis Diller on Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Bacall on Humphrey Bogart, and Gene Wilder on Richard Pryor.
The Friars Club archive dates back to 1950 and the list of comedians whose performances were preserved on both video and audio tape is truly staggering. This includes greats such as George Burns, Jack Benny, Joan Rivers, Betty White, Garry Shandling, Will Ferrell, Gilbert Gottfried, Henny Youngman, Rich Little, Redd Foxx, Bob Newhart, Whitney Cummings, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis, and others.
What to expect on the Friars Club takeover
“We are pleased to share the Friars Archive for the very first time,” said Arthur Aidala, Esq, Dean of the Friars. “Our roasts began as a vehicle to raise monies to aid veterans of WWI, and we will honor that tradition by having our treasured archive benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. By partnering with SiriusXM, we’re able to not only share our time capsule of comedy with a huge audience, we’re also able to honor our legacy of giving to an important cause.”
“This is a dream come true,” said Jack Vaughn, Senior Vice President of Comedy Programming at SiriusXM. “The Friars archive has been closely guarded for years, and so we’re honored that SiriusXM gets to air this treasure trove of amazing material that no one ever thought would see the light of day. Listeners are in for a real treat.”
How to listen & tune in to Friars Club Radio
To tune in and listen, fans can download the SiriusXM app on their phone or in select cars where SiriusXM is available. Tune in on channel 109 beginning August 6th!
