Comics Come Home is an annual charity stand-up comedy festival held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event, co-founded by comedian Denis Leary (who remains its curator and presenter) and hockey hall of famer Cam Neely, [1] was first held in 1995 and is now the longest-running comedy fundraiser in the United States. [2]
Stand-up comedy is a comic style in which a comedian performs in front of a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. The performer is commonly known as a comic, stand-up comic, comedian, comedienne, stand-up comedian, or simply a stand-up. Comedians give the illusion that they are dialoguing, but in actuality, they are monologuing a grouping of humorous stories, jokes and one-liners, typically called a shtick, routine, act, or set. Some stand-up comedians use props, music or magic tricks to enhance their acts. Stand-up comedy is stated to be the "freest form of comedy writing" that is regarded as a fictionalized "extension of" the person performing.
Denis Colin Leary is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer and producer. Leary was the star and co-creator of Rescue Me. He has had starring roles in many films, including those of Captain George Stacy in Marc Webb's, The Amazing Spider-Man and Cleveland Browns head coach Vince Penn in Ivan Reitman's Draft Day. Leary also voiced the character of Francis in A Bug's Life and that of Diego in the Ice Age franchise.
Cameron Michael Neely is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Neely played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks but is known for his time with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League from 1983 to 1996. Neely was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. He currently serves as the president of the Boston Bruins.
Since its inception, funds raised from the festival have been donated to the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. [3] As of 2018 [update] the festival had contributed approximately US$11.5 million to the Cam Neely Foundation. [2] Neely played with the Boston Bruins and later became team president; after his mother died of cancer in 1987 and his father in 1993, he founded the charity in 1995 and that same year asked Leary if he were interested in orchestrating a Boston-based comedy benefit show. [4]
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team overall and the oldest in the United States. It is also an Original Six franchise, along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins have won six Stanley Cup championships, tied for fourth most of all-time with the Blackhawks and tied second-most of any American NHL team also with the Blackhawks.
The inaugural Comics Come Home was held in the Orpheum Theater in 1995. [5] From 2005 to 2013 it was held at the Agganis Arena, and since 2014 it has been held at TD Garden. [5]
Agganis Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on the campus of Boston University, built on the location of the former Commonwealth Armory. It is home to the five-time national champion Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. It is named after Harry Agganis, an outstanding football and baseball athlete for BU and the Boston Red Sox, who died at the age of 26 from a massive pulmonary embolism. A life-size bronze statue of Agganis sculpted by Armand LaMontagne stands outside the arena at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Harry Agganis Way. The hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach. The arena is part of Boston University's John Hancock Student Village, which also includes dormitories and the university's five-story Fitness and Recreation Center.
TD Garden, often called The Garden, is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, a subsidiary of Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank. It opened in 1995 as a replacement for the original Boston Garden and has been known as FleetCenter, and TD Banknorth Garden. The arena is located directly above the MBTA's North Station.
The performance by Wanda Sykes in 2016 included jokes about then-president-elect Donald Trump, which were booed by the audience; Sykes ended her performance early. [6] Her set was followed by a performance by Nick DiPaolo, whose performance joked about rape and Hillary Clinton, leading to a confrontation with an audience member. [7] In 2017, John Mayer appeared at the festival, playing guitar as Leary and Jimmy Fallon sang a cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". [3] The 2019 Comics Come Home marked its 25th event, and included a guest appearance by Michael J. Fox. [8]
Wanda Yvette Sykes is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her roles on CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10), HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–11), and ABC's Black-ish (2015–present).
Donald John Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker. She served as First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, as a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 until 2013. Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president of the United States by a major political party when she won the Democratic Party nomination in 2016. She was the first woman to win the popular vote in an American presidential election.
