Comics Come Home Turns 30 at TD Garden on Nov. 7
Denis Leary and Cam Neely's comedy fundraiser for the Cam Neely Foundation has raised more than $19 million since it began.
Comics Come Home, the comedy fundraiser Denis Leary and Cam Neely started together, will hold its 30th annual show Nov. 7 at TD Garden.
It began with a conversation backstage. Leary was performing at Mechanics Hall in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1995, and Neely, then a Bruins forward, was in the crowd. The two had become friends through Neely's habit of going to stand-up shows. Neely wanted a way to announce the Cam Neely Foundation, which supports cancer patients and their families, and he pitched Leary on a one-time comedy show, with all of the proceeds going to the foundation.
"The idea was to just do it once," Leary said. After the first show, Neely asked whether they should do it again the next year. "And that's what we basically have done every year since."
It is now billed as the longest-running comedy fundraiser in the nation, and Leary still hosts. Comics Come Home has raised more than $19 million for the foundation. Neely lost both of his parents, Marlene and Michael, to cancer, with their diagnoses coming within six months of each other in 1986.
The money has gone to the Neely House at Tufts Medical Center, which offers patients and families a place to stay during treatment. More than 7,000 families have stayed there for over 38,000 nights combined. The funds have also supported a digestive suite and a brain-tumour centre, along with equipment. "That's our mission – to try to help people today," Neely said.
This year's lineup features John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon, Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Leslie Jones, Alex Edelman, Sam Jay, Robert Kelly and Lenny Clarke. Leary said there will be a couple of musical surprises, including one from Fallon and another during the finale.
