John Pinder (comedy Producer) - 1980s

1980s

In 1987, Pinder sold the Last Laugh to an employee, Rick McKenna, who ran the venue for a time with his sister Mary Tobin. While McKenna went on to become executive producer of hit Australian comedy show Kath & Kim, which stars his wife Gina Riley, Mary Tobin now produces and tours comedy acts around the world.

The decision to move on from the Last Laugh was aided by Pinder’s role, that same year, as co-ordinator of the very first Melbourne International Comedy Festival at venues across Melbourne, including the Last Laugh.

In 1988, Pinder developed a package of 50 Australian performers to appear under the banner Oznost in the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Most of the shows were comedy productions and several travelled to other European festivals under the Australian Bicentennial banner.

Pinder subsequently moved to New York, spending the end of the decade developing a music venue based in Harlem.