After three decades of laughs, Denis Leary and Cam Neely are just getting started with Comics Come H
转载声明：本文转载自 BostonGlobe.com，版权归原作者及原媒体所有。
D enis Leary and Cam Neely have assembled another star-studded lineup for this year’s Comics Come Home , which will celebrate its 30th anniversary when the annual charity comedy show takes over TD Garden Nov. 7.
Since 1995 (the event went on hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic), the fund-raiser has brought some of the biggest comedians to Boston for an evening of laughs in support of the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. Comics Come Home has raised more than $19 million over the decades for the nonprofit, which was founded by the former Bruins star and current club president and supports cancer patients and their families.
The Comics Come Home lineup for 2026 includes returning performers John Mulaney and Ray Romano, as well as “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart. “Saturday Night Live” alum Leslie Jones will also take the stage this year, along with the Bay State’s own Lenny Clarke, Alex Edelman , Sam Jay, and Robert Kelly.
“It’s a killer lineup,” Leary, 69, told the Globe in a recent Zoom interview, teasing that “there are a couple of musical surprises” in store, too. “When I was trying to put together with the band [which performers] should go when, I was like, ‘This is crazy, it’s all [expletive] headliners.”
In particular, Leary is excited to have Romano back at Comics Come Home, having recently spent some time with him as the press tour starts to heat up for their upcoming “Ice Age” sequel, “Ice Age: Boiling Point.” The Worcester native is glad to see Stewart return as well, with the “Daily Show” star having performed at the inaugural Comics Come Home in 1995 at the Orpheum Theatre.
Leary recalled how sick Stewart was during that first show, powering through an illness in order to perform that night.
“I went to the Orpheum early to do the sound check ... and we got word that he had food poisoning,” Leary explained. “We had so many people on the lineup that I said, ‘Listen, man, do not feel like you got to come down here.’”
Stewart was adamant about still coming, though, managing to take the mic despite “puking everywhere in his dressing room,” according to Leary.
“I said, ‘Can you make it through the set without puking?’ He’s like, ‘We’re gonna find out,’” Leary said. “He literally went on, he [expletive] killed.”
“He murdered, came off, and he goes, ‘I’m going to go to my dressing room and puke, and then I’m going back to the hotel,’” he added. “The only time he didn’t puke all day was the 10 minutes he was onstage.”
In addition to a sick Stewart, the first show featured a powerhouse lineup that included Janeane Garofalo, Steven Wright, Steve Sweeney, and Don Gavin, plus appearances by Michael J. Fox and Mike Myers via satellite.
“When I originally asked Denis, I thought it would be just him doing stand-up by himself,” said Neely, 61, praising Leary for gathering so many top comics for the event each year. “To see where the show’s gone is pretty impressive over 30 years, and still packing houses.”
“The lineup that Denis gets every year is really what drives it,” he added.
Leary fondly remembered how excited Sebastian Maniscalco and fellow Bay State native Conan O’Brien ( who’s distantly related to Leary ) were last year to hang out with a hockey legend like Neely in the Bruins locker room.
“They were like [expletive] little kids, they couldn’t believe they were in there,” Leary said. “Then they got their Bruins jerseys, and they were just like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Another “pretty special moment,” according to Neely, was getting John Mayer to perform in 2017, which the Comics Come Home team pulled off as a surprise for Fallon, a fan of Mayer’s, that year.
“We didn’t tell Jimmy that John was coming,” Leary said, revealing that Mayer went to a separate sound check than Fallon to keep the surprise. “When Mayer started playing off stage and then walked on, I remember the whole band was waiting to see Jimmy’s face.”
Leary will also never forget Aerosmith’s Joe Perry appearing one year, joining for a performance of the comic’s beloved and crass “A-hole” song. However, what Leary loves the most about the event is getting the chance to shine a light on emerging and local talent.
“We always go out of our way to book a young comic or a young local comic that’s never done it before,” Leary said, pointing to rising star Zarna Garg’s Comics Come Home debut in 2024 . “That’s always a big thing when you have a new person, and they’re playing their biggest crowd and the Garden for the first time ever.”
While a number of stars have helped support the Neely Foundation’s event over the decades (Neely praised the comics for donating their time each year), the nonprofit has also impacted the lives of several of the performers and their families, according to Leary, including Fallon’s father , who stayed at the Neely House at Tufts Medical Center in Boston while being treated for prostate cancer.
“It’s heartwarming,” Leary said of the foundation’s growth and impact over the years.
For Neely, it’s been “pretty special” seeing not only the event’s evolution, but also the continued support he’s received from Boston fans “since I got here in ’86.”
“I’ll never forget when Denis said, ‘Do you think we can get TD Garden?’ And I said, ‘I’m fairly certain we can get TD Garden, but can we sell it out?’” Neely said. “Denis is like, ‘Oh, we’ll definitely sell it out’ — and we have, which has been pretty impressive.”
As for the future of Comics Come Home, Leary and Neely have no plans to slow down any time soon and hope to one day pass the reins to their children and the next generation of comedians.
“I don’t know when the thing’s gonna end,” Leary said. “My dream is that we just continue the thing, and after we’re gone, hand off the mantle to some young comedian to take it over, some comedian from Boston.”
At TD Garden, 100 Legends Way. Nov. 7, 8 p.m. Tickets start at $93.65. camneelyfoundation.org/comics-come-home
Matt Juul can be reached at [email protected] .