Last night in Times Square, at literally the strangest venue ever (called Circo), the very important Creative Coalition threw a star studded, very hilarious and heartfelt tribute to the great actor Richard Kind.
You had to be there. I’m glad I was!
The very funny Jeff Ross, hot off his six week run on Broadway, hosted the evening — w roast and a toast — produced by TCC’s Robin Bronk and actor Tim Daly.
Richard — who has a resume longer than a CVS receipt, as Ross quipped — sat on stage on a hard leather sofa while an A list one by one took the mic.
They included MS-Now’s erudite Lawrence O’Donnell, Jeff Garlin from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Robert Wuhl, Steven Webber, Sharon Lawrence, Yolanda Ross, and even the actor who played Lester, the dead doorman from “Only Murders.” The much missed Chris Noth was in the audience with our old pal, Charlie Kipps. So was Caroline Hirsch, the former owner of Caroline’s Comedy Club, who included the night in New York Comedy Week.
Some of the jokes worked, some didn’t. It was like a night at the old Friars Club as it were on “Fernwood Tonight.” Kind was the star of his own roast, injecting his unique brand of humor into each tribute. At the end of the night Richard spoke passionately about the Creative Coalition (see below) which has been a huge help to the National Endowment for the Arts retaining some budget during this insane administration.
I did not tell the best story about Richard, which I will try now: Almost three years ago — April 1, 2023 — I arrived at Madison Square Garden to see Bruce Springsteen launch his tour. The place was pandemonium, of course, all sold out. There’s a big scaffolding over the entrance, and construction everywhere.
I’d given a kidney to get into this show. As I walk up Seventh Avenue, just under the scaffolding, there’s a familiar face. It’s Richard Kind, just standing there as Bruce fans in huge crowds walk around and over him. I narrowed my eyes, “Richard?” He looks at me in his Richard Kind way, as if we’ve been chatting for an hour, and says, “Do you have an extra ticket?”
Do I have an extra ticket? There are seas of people rushing past us. A lot of them are shouting, “Yo! Richard Kind!” as they make their way inside. “You don’t have a ticket? Look at this,” I respond. He says, in his trademark blinking deadpan way. “I figured I’d run into someone I know with an extra ticket.”
“That’s a big bet,” I replied, considering everyone around us was in a blind hurry to see Bruce. Meantime, fans are coming up, shaking his hand and taking selfies — and escaping into the Garden.
It was a surreal moment. But what could I do? I couldn’t leave him out there. So we whooshed him into the huge security area, through the metal detectors, and over to Will Call, where I was picking up my tickets. We got the window, where I give my name, and then present Richard to the fellow behind the glass.
Suddenly, there’s a crowd of lovely MSG workers gathering around us and in the box office. They love him. He’s working it, answering everyone’s questions about every show or movie he’s been in. I say to my box office guy, “These are my tickets” — which are on the floor, but quite a ways back –“there must be something near there, no,?” Richard interjects, “I’ll pay!”
As it happens, there is one seat to the right of mine because no one wants it. “I’ll take it!” he says, the transaction is performed, and in we went. Turns out, we are seated below a huge VIP section that includes people like Paul McCartney. They have a much better view. But when they see Richard — including Michael J. Fox — they start waving and clapping. He’s doing bows and salutes as if this was always meant to be, and I’m sitting there like a fire hydrant. Other celebrities are passing us on the aisle, guided to their much better floor seats, and they’re all stopping to shake hands with Richard Kind.
Only in New York, kids. Only in New York!
Please donate in Richard’s honor at www.thecreativecoalition.org.
PS Robert Wuhl is doing his first ever Comic Con in Chicago soon for his famous HBO show, “Arliss.” Go there and give him some love. Here’s the link.
Jeff Ross’s Broadway show, Take a Banana for the Ride, is coming to Netflix soon. It deserves an Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice — everything.
Also, a young comic named Adam Freedland took the stage and bombed with jokes about Jeffrey Epstein, Mamdani, and Israel. He’s very popular among young people, he says. I’ll bet. As he noted, this crowd was like a nursing home.
