Bill Cosby must have been feeling frisky. Arriving at the Madison Square Garden Theater for the seventh annual "Stand Up for Heroes" benefit this week, he wrapped Cindy Adams in his homey sweater and began to roughhouse the gossip columnist. Recovering from the encounter, Adams asked, is my hair still up? It was. And Cosby in a lineup of comedians that included Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, killed with a routine about his family growing up, the discipline meted out to the kids. "Stand Up for Heroes" has become so popular, organizers had to change venues doubling their audience.
The benefit for the Bob and Lee Woodruff Foundation co-hosted by Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox of Caroline's Comedy Club kicks off the New York Comedy Festival and features a great night of music as well. Pink Floyd's Rogers Waters introduced the 30 servicemen in the MusiCorps Wounded Warrior Band. Tim Donnelly's vocals on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," Waters on John Lennon's "Imagine," and the band's rendition of Dark Side of the Moon's "Comfortably Numb," sent a message acknowledging the gift these servicemen give, with a special focus on the caregivers and family members who do, in Lee Woodruff's words, "the heavy lifting."
Bruce Springsteen opened his set with "Dancing in the Dark" and sang a duet with his wife Patti Scialfa, "If I Should Fall Behind." But even the Boss could not refrain from telling a few dirty jokes, even apologizing for the quality. But before the night was out, Jerry Raffa bid $250,000 for Bruce's guitar, a guitar lesson, and a seat at a recording session. Just to up the pot, Brian Williams threw in his necktie.
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