New York City can be a funny place. Last week the city was hilarious thanks to the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival, a week-long celebration of stand-up comedy founded by Caroline Hirsh and Andrew Fox. Some of the biggest names in the business like Steven Colbert, Dane Cook, Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher, Tracy Morgan, Andy Samberg, and many others, headlined at venues around the city from Avery Fisher Hall to Madison Square Garden.
Even lesser known comedians were in on the joke. Thursday night at Caroline's Comedy Club, owned by Caroline Hirsch and known as America's premier comedy nightclub located in the heart of Times Square, an unlikely group of comedians took the stage.
Caroline's hosted its 6th edition of David Moore's "Funny Business." The show was created by private equity investor and entrepreneur David Moore in 2003, in order to give business people the chance to prove they could be as witty as they are business savvy by performing stand-up alongside professional comics. That's right, business people. Certainly a gamble for a CEO to take on a heckler rather than a balance sheet, but a risk I was willing to take at the show's inception years ago and then again Thursday night. This time the comedic exploits would benefit The Mayor's Fund for NYC's Learn to Swim Program.
Joined that evening by Stephen Siegel, Chairman, Global Brokerage, CB Richard Ellis, Inc.; Stew Leonard, CEO, Stew Leonard's; and host David Moore, dubbed, "The World's Funniest CEO," I took center stage to a sold out crowd. I reminded myself that this would be easy if there were any truth to the saying, "comedy is just a funny way of being serious."
Of the four featured CEOs, I appeared last. In baseball, the fourth player in the batting order is of course "batting cleanup" and is usually the best hitter with the most power. However, I suspected Caroline's organized the CEO line-up alphabetically. My challenge was made even greater by the fact that I followed a professional comedian from SNL, Colin Quinn. Still I persevered and threw out my first joke.
"It's great to be here at the famous Caroline's Comedy Club as part of the 'Funny Business' night. Of course the stereotype is that CEOs aren't that funny, and I'm here tonight to prove that."
The audience laughed immediately (though I'm sure it helped that the room was packed with family, friends and colleagues). The entire week provided laughs for many New Yorkers and those visiting our city; and not just those who were kind enough to come to Caroline's to see my fellow comedians and me. In fact, it was another comedy show at The Town Hall on West 43rd Street that was likely the most important event presented by the New York Comedy Festival. It's called "Stand Up For Heroes."
"Stand Up For Heroes" is a unique evening of humor and tributes dedicated to our nation's injured service members, with proceeds benefiting the Bob Woodruff Family Fund. The night included special performances by Bruce Springsteen, Steven Colbert and others. All five living presidents sit on the event's Presidential Committee: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, President George W. Bush, President William J. Clinton, President George H. W. Bush and President Jimmy Carter.
NBC's Brian Williams hosted a night that reminded New Yorkers, and many others, of the debt of gratitude we owe the men and women in uniform. The evening's comic relief fetched laughter and cheers. But perhaps the greatest measure of success for the New York Comedy Festival was that fact that it was the servicemen and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines who rightfully received the Festival's most thunderous and heartfelt applause.
Jonathan Tisch is Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, Co-Chairman of the Board for Loews Corp. and host of television's Beyond the Boardroom with Jonathan Tisch.