Richard Jeni In The Lobster Tank

Richrad Jeni, the late comic, had the idea that he wanted a photo with the lobsters seated around a restaurant table and he would be in the tank. His cousin had an old-fashioned Italian restaurant on Coney Island, straight out of "The Godfather", and we made our way there at dawn - the only time we had access to the lobster tank.

Today you could easily Photoshop it, but I suspect Richard wanted to don a snazzy suit and actually go in - the water was filthy - it was right before they changed it every day. That night we had dinner there with all his family. I knew the food would be delicious, because I saw them prep it - plump, fresh vegetables, in fact, everything fresh. The place was packed.

Elayne Boosler wrote a great remembrance about Richard's remarkable talent.

images by Wolynski: Coney Island, Aug 1986