Showbiz411

Bruce Springsteen was lively as ever last night at the Stand Up for Heroes fifth anniversary show at the Beacon Theatre. He told his bad jokes, rocked the house, and then he auctioned off his guitar, harmonica, mike stand, and the shirt off his back. The winning bidder paid $150,000 as Springsteen stripped down to a t shirt and gave away his plaid shirt. The winner then donated the guitar back to Marine Corps First Lt. Andrew Kinard in the audience. Stand Up for Heroes has really turned into an annual love fest, with military mixing with celebrities, and everyone saluting our troops. Among the guests last night were Glenn Close, Greg Kinnear, Rachel Ray, Kathy Griffin, Diane Sawyer, and Gayle King.  The performers included Bill Clinton, who kicked off the night with a rousing and funny speech. The Max Weinberg Big Band provided the music, and there were plenty of others involved including the wonderful group called 4Troops, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, Ricky Gervais, Brian Williams, Seth Meyers, and Springsteen. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters didn’t perform, but he met and mixed with all the troops, quite emotionally. It turns out Waters’s dad died in World War II, and other members of his family have fought in the British Army. “I’ve never seen him so excited about being at a public event,” said his long time love, Laurie Durning.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.