Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Comics Star at Veterans Event, Trump Lackey Howard Lutnick Tries to Redeem Himself with $250K Donation

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It wouldn’t be Veterans Day without Bob and Lee Woodruff’s Stand Up for Heroes.

Nor would it be the launch of Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox’s NY Comedy Week.

The annual event, this year, at David Geffen Hall aka the NY Philharmonic, had a star studded cast of comics.

Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Alex Edelman, Mike Birbiglia, and Tom Papa were among the jokesters.

Tony winners Leslie Odom Jr., Lea Michelle, and Idina Menzel sang their hearts out. Odom was in the room where it happened — his day off from appearing on Broadway in “Hamilton.”

The audience went wild. (A little disappointment this year: no Bruce Springsteen telling “dirty” jokes.)

During a “raise your paddle” donation moment, Trump lackey and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick gave $250,000 to the cause. Does it make him a better person? Not really. He’s let Trump run amok in private business. But if it helps wounded veterans, he gets some points.

Jon Stewart on aging: “You know what I don’t look good in anymore? Pictures.”

The Woodruff Foundation was founded by ABC correspondent Bob and wife Lee after he recovered from a roadside bomb attack in Ira in 2006. He suffered traumatic brain injury and a 36 day coma, but came back stronger than ever. Now he and Lee do everything they can for soldiers harmed in any situation. They’re amazing people, and so are the soldiers and their families!

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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