The Sunday Read: Inside Comics Come Home’s Origin, Purpose and Impact

BOSTON –– Denis Leary was on stage at Mechanics Hall one night in 1995 in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.​

Cam Neely was in the crowd. The comedian and the Boston Bruins forward became friends through Neely’s love of attending stand-up shows. He would often bring along teammates Lyndon Byers and Ray Bourque.

With over 10 NHL seasons under his belt, Neely was looking to make an impact away from the ice. And so, the Cam Neely Foundation, which provides comfort, support and hope to cancer patients and their families, was formed. But he needed help getting it on Boston’s radar.

Neely went backstage to chat with Leary about the initiative after the show. The now-Bruins president theorized Comics Come Home, a comedy fundraiser, where 100% of the proceeds would benefit The Cam Neely Foundation.

“He pitched the idea of, ‘What if we did this as a way to announce the foundation?’ The idea was to just do it once, and get a lot of publicity and attract a lot of press attention for the kickoff of his foundation,” Leary said. “We sold the thing out. The show was a ridiculously great show. And right afterwards at the party, he said, ‘What do you think about maybe doing it again next year?’ And that’s what we basically have done every year since.”  

Nov. 7 at TD Garden marks the 30th annual Comics Come Home. It is now the longest-running comedy fundraiser in the nation, still hosted by Leary, and still donating funds for a cause close to Neely’s heart; he lost both of his parents, Marlene and Michael, to cancer. They were diagnosed within six months of each other in 1986,

Since its inception, Comics Come Home has raised more than $19 million for the foundation. Neely has seen first-hand the effect the money has had on families.

​“From early on, it was helping get the Neely House built, and for years, it was making sure we could keep it open,” Neely said. “And then it morphed into a digestive suite for whether it’s colon cancers or intestinal, and a brain-tumor center. We’ve bought equipment over the years that immediately impacts patients. That’s our mission – to try to help people today.”

The Neely House is at Tufts Medical Center and offers a bed-and-breakfast setup for patients and their families – a home away from home – while undergoing treatment. Over 7,000 families have stayed at the House for a total of over 38,000 nights.

The stoic Neely turned just a bit softer when thinking of what Marlene and Michael would make of all the work their son has done in their honor. So much of who Neely is ties directly back to them.

“Very hardworking, honest, blue-collar family. Tried to do right by raising the kids with values and ethics and morals. My dad was in the Air Force, so very strict at times. My mom, at one point, had four kids under four living on an Air Force base with no family around, so I give her a lot of credit for handling that – especially two boys out of the four,” Neely said. “I think they’d be very proud of how it has evolved over the years. Now our children are involved. They never got to meet their grandparents.”

Neely’s son, Jack, wrote a poem that spells out Marlene’s name; it hangs in the Neely House’s digestive center.

“Just for them to see how it has evolved and how we’re still helping people,” Neely said. “Even with the comedy show, Denis Leary’s son is involved, and my kids are involved with the foundation. And the staff at the foundation is really more family than associates.”

​It is what has kept Neely and Leary pushing Comics Come Home forward for so long. That and the fact that people love it and always want more.

“You can say I am biased, and that might be true because I am from Massachusetts, and I’m a Boston comedian. But it’s been true since the Boston comedy boom that began in like 1979. 1980. The crowds are rabid; they’re great,” Leary said. “People always say, ‘Why are the Boston crowds so great?’ They’re really no BS crowds. They want to laugh, but they will not laugh unless you make them laugh. They are tough, but they are devoted.”

​Boston sports fans are no different, especially with their hockey, Leary noted. That passion from the audience has fueled the event’s success for 30 years. While Leary knows Neely won’t take it, he gives his co-founder much of the credit, too.

“If they love somebody, an athlete, they love them forever, especially if you win a championship. In the case of hockey, if you play a tough brand of hockey, they will fall in love with you. When you are a tough player who also scores 50 goals – Cam was the original power forward – they love you forever. Then he becomes president of the club and wins a Stanley Cup in 2011; I mean, that’s storybook stuff. He would say differently, but I would say a lot of it is because people in Massachusetts and New England love Cam,” Leary said. “I think that has a lot to do with loyalty. The shows are great, and we get great comedians, but people adore Cam and therefore adore the cause.”

Neely threw it right back at Leary.

“I mean, without Denis, there is no show. He puts the program together, he fields the calls and extends calls to the comics, puts the lineup together. Every year, I’m like, ‘Do you want to do it again next year?’ And he’s all game. So we keep going,” Neely said. “I always ask every year, just to double-check. He told me one comedian was in this year but then had to change plans and is booked for next year. So next year is going to happen, I guess.”

Leary went all in with this year’s Comics Come Home lineup. It features performances by John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon, Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Leslie Jones, Alex Edelman, Sam Jay, Robert Kelly, and Lenny Clarke.

“It’s a killer. I knew it when I was booking it, but when I had to sit down to make the order, I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s all headliners.’ It’s a complete all-star lineup. And I can tell you, there are a couple of musical surprises. Jimmy Fallon has a musical surprise, but there’s also one during the finale.”

Comedy is Leary’s true love, but the Bruins are up there, too. He grew up a die-hard B’s fan, and now being part of the Black & Gold family is something he cherishes.

“I will never get over it. When I met Cam and became friends with him, then you meet Bobby Orr, and you’re like, ‘What?!’” Leary said. “The greatest one was Phil Esposito and Johnny Bucyk were tending bar backstage. They just got behind the bar backstage. This was at the Orpheum. One of the comedians came around the corner and said to me, ‘Hey, am I crazy, or did I just get a drink from Phil Esposito and Jonny Bucyk? And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ I looked in, and they were tending bar. So then the next year, we put the bar on stage, and we had Johnny Bucyk and Phil Esposito serving drinks while I was on stage doing my monologue.”

The history of the Bruins, and what they mean to the city, touches even the brightest of stars. Last year, Leary and Neely surprised the comedians by bringing them to the Bruins locker room after the show and gifting them with custom jerseys. Between all the arena-shaking laughs and applause, the moment found its way into the highlights of the night.

“I walked in with Sebastian Maniscalco and Conan. They’re both huge sports fans; Conan is a huge Bruins fan. And they didn’t realize it. So I am talking to them, and we’re walking, and we’re in the Bruins locker room. All of a sudden, they look up, and they see the big ‘B’ on the ceiling, and it was like they were 11 years old. They could not believe it,” Leary said. “It’s so funny to see. These are people who have hosted the Oscars and the Emmys – and won the Emmys. And they’re just sitting there, taking pictures of themselves with the Bruins logo on the ceiling.”

Comics Come Home started at the Orpheum Theatre, which seated around 2,500, then moved to Agganis Arena at Boston University before landing at TD Garden. The joy from both the comedians and audience has made all the difference for The Cam Neely Foundation and all of those it supports.

“I think it’s so easy just to sit and get in some negative thoughts about what you’re dealing with day to day, week to week. And Boston has such a strong history of comics coming from here. Just as much as we’re an Original Six franchise and the Sox have been around forever, same with the Celtics, comedy has been around forever in the Boston area. So I think there’s some deep-rooted connection to going and watching comedy shows,” Neely said. “It’s really a great escape, because most everybody in the audience has been touched by cancer in one way, shape or form. So for me, it’s just hearing the building laugh the way it does for two hours – it’s special.”