Louis C.K. may be one of comedy's hottest artist right now, but he hasn't forgotten the leaner years.
During an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Tuesday night, he mentioned Minneapolis's Acme Comedy Club and gave high praise to owner Louis Lee.
C.K. referred back to six shows he did here back in 2006. During that period, he was used to averaging $100 in pay for every night. After the string of shows in Minneapolis, Lee handed him an envelope. Inside was $10,000.
"Noone had ever done that before," C.K. told Fallon. "Louis said, 'This is where you're at now.' I started crying like a baby."
At the time, Lee said that C.K. was one of the country's top 5 stand-ups. He's still a major fan.
"That was extremely nice of him to mention me," Lee said Wednesday. "The first couple times he came to the club, he was writing for Chris Rock and I don't think stand-up was his top priority. But he just kept getting better and better. I think he had also gotten used to the room."
C.K.'s sitcom, "Louie," returns to the FX on Thursday. For an extensive interview with him, check out Thursday's Variety section.
