The Fools Guild started in 1979 at the
Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California, where the original improvisational team met while performing as jesters,
jugglers,
pass-the-hat-acts, and
mimes. Originally named by former Pleasure Faire entertainment director Peg Long, The Fools Guild was an improvisational troupe performing at the original Renaissance Pleasure Faire near San Francisco and other Bay Area venues. Around 1982, the Fools Guild moved south to Los Angeles where they rented a house at 8228 Fountain in West Hollywood. The house had a giant main room and very high ceilings, and the Fools began to host parties, workshops and other performance-centered events. Very quickly a social club of comedic performers evolved and the house became known as the Guild Hall. The house was originally built specifically for parties by the original house builders the
Santleys. The Santleys were
Vaudeville artists and original members of the
Screen Actors Guild. They were also members of the old Hollywood Comedy performers club "The Masquers". The Masquers included silent Film actors and comedy celebrities and they often met at the old 8228 residence. At the Guild Hall, the Fools events attracted other artists in
Hollywood, creating focal point for the emerging "New Vaudeville" scene in
Los Angeles. The parties became increasingly ornate, with elaborate themed decor and costumes, and drew a growing roster of local performers, including members of the nearby
Groundlings Theatre and
The Comedy Club. In 1987, the Guild Hall was torn down to make room for an apartment building. Guild members protested the development to West Hollywood City Hall but their efforts failed. After a short hiatus, the Guild resumed producing theme parties, now using rented venues. From then until approximately 2010, the central activity of the Fools Guild was producing three parties a year in Los Angeles:
Halloween,
New Year's Eve, and
April Fool's Day. Since 2010, the Fools Guild has become more low-key way, throwing fewer large parties but staying together as a community. Every year is different now, but the Guild continues to publish a paper magazine called The Joker, and still crowns a new King (or Queen) of Fools every spring at the Renaissance Pleasure faire in Irwindale. ==Accodales==