Friars Club roasted comedian Tracy Morgan last night at the former Ziegfeld Theater, now Ballroom at the Friars Club 2022 Entertainment Icon Award.
Tracy Morgan
Morgan joins Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Douglas Fairbanks, Tony Bennett, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro and, most recently, Billy Crystal.
In attendance were Mayor Eric Adams
Arthur Aidala, Mayor Eric Adams
Rudy Giuliani, Bill DeBlasio and Anthony Weiner.
Rudy Giuliani
CeeLo
CeeLo
Geraldo Rivera, former “SNL” cast member Chris Kattan, Alan Dershowitz, Judge Jeanine Pirro
Geraldo Rivera
Joe Piscopo
Joe Piscopo
Joe Piscopo
Joe Piscopo
Paul Shaffer, Natalie White, Marvin Scott, Carol Alt, Allan Houston
Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Ben Vereen, David DANZ Diamante, Sherri Shepherd
Ben Vereen
Ben Vereen
Rolonda Watts
Rolonda Watts
JB Smoove, Arthur Aidala, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Carol Alt
JB Smoove
Jamie deRoy, Riki Kane Larimer
Jamie deRoy
At my table were Pat Addiss, Margarita Parlionas who invited me to attend.
Margarita Parlionas and Pat Addiss
Councilman Kenneth Rothwell and his wife Debbie were charming.
Councilman Kenneth Rothwell
At the head of my table was Mark MK McLaughin, who assisted with putting the event together, getting Tracy Morgan and performing “Stand By Me.” MK got his start penning and performing on the movie score of Universal Picture Bring It On: Fight To The Finish. Shortly after MK was featured in publications like GQ Magazine, Vibe Magazine, XXL, Hip Hop Weekly and countless blogs for his collaborations and partnerships with the Colon Cancer Foundation, the NY Mets, Target Retail, Belvedere Vodka and TGI Fridays to name a few. His singing and songwriting received early approval from Hot97, iHeart radio, his songs with Shaggy and Snoop Dogg. He has performed in shows with John Legend, Flo Rida and more. From Long Island NY “MK” is now making major moves as an indie artist.
Mark MK McLaughin
Bill Boggs, Sunny Sessa, Will Nunziata, Vincent Pastore, Brian Quinn, Joe Gatto and more.
Bill Boggs
Though this seemed like being in the room where it happened, ironically major newspapers have not written about this. Inquiring minds want to know why.
The gala was a kick-start a comeback for the Friars, whose membership has slipped from over 500 to less than 300 due to the club’s former executive director convicted of federal tax crimes in 2019.
The club was given a 501C3 according to the news by the club’s dean, lawyer Arthur Aidala,
The club has a new accounting firm, and the main dining room on the ground floor will soon be a Charlie Palmer restaurant open to the public.
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS