The Sunday Read: Neely Reflects on Comics Come Home Success, ‘No Better Gift than Giving’

BOSTON –– When Cam Neely arrived in Boston in 1986, he got to know the city for more than its hockey.

Instead of catching a movie in his free time, the now Bruins president found himself in the crowd of Giggles Comedy Club, chuckling at what the local comedians had to offer.

​“These small venues were very intimate, but these comedians were so good,” Neely said. “Watching something live was something that really intrigued me and impressed me that these guys could get up there and do a set like that and make people laugh the way they did.”

While Neely’s bruising style of play was what he was known for on the ice, he indulged in a lighter version of himself off of it.

“I was always into comedy, whether it was a sitcom on TV or watching a comedy show – Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor growing up,” Neely said.​

It is part of the reason why Neely co-founded Comics Come Home with Denis Leary in 1995 to raise money for the Cam Neely Foundation, which supports services and programs in Boston for cancer patients and their families. The event has raised over $18 million since its inception, with 100% of the proceeds going to the foundation. The cause hits close to home for Neely, who lost both of his parents to cancer at a young age.

Comics Come Home marked its 29th year on Nov. 8 at TD Garden in front of a sold-out crowd. It has reached heights Neely did not expect when first approaching Leary after a show in the comedian’s hometown of Worcester.​

Neely attended Leary’s standup set with Bruins teammate Lyndon Byers, and they became quick friends.

“I asked Denis, ‘Would you mind doing a comedy benefit for the foundation?’ He said he’d love to do it, but he took it to another level,” Neely said. “I thought it would be great to have one show – Denis Leary get up on stage, do his show, raise a few bucks, have a good time doing it.”

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 due to consistent high demand.

“It just goes to show you that standup comedy is still huge in Boston,” Neely said.

This year’s rendition of the event featured Conan O’Brien, Sebastian Maniscalco, Michelle Buteau, Lenny Clarke, Robert Kelly, Erin Maguire and Sara Silverman. It was the first time O’Brien, who is a Brookline native, took the stage for Comics Come Home.

“To get going in our business, a lot of the time we have to go to New York, we have to go to LA, and it gets harder and harder to get back to Boston. But when you do, you just feel, ‘Why have I been away so long?’ Every time. It is a great feeling,” O’Brien said.

​“I think there’s something about New England that I can never put my finger on. I think maybe it gets colder here, or the soil was rockier and that fog would come in from the ocean. There is something about Boston – there is a grittiness to the comedy.”

Performing at TD Garden under the banners of past Bruins greats was special for O’Brien, who had hockey run in the family growing up.

​“My brother, Luke, who is a year older than me, was just that golden era of Orr, Esposito. He would collect everything,” O’Brien said. “I shared a room with Luke, and our room was just papered over. There wasn’t a free space; it was all those Bruins legends.”

While Maniscalco is from Chicago, he, too, appreciated the Boston audience.

​“Boston for me, very savvy when it comes to stand-up comedy. They get sarcasm, not that the other places don’t, but for whatever the reason here – it seems to really resonate with the fans in Boston, the people of Boston,” Maniscalco said. “They just get it here.”

Maniscalco and O’Brien were two people on Neely’s comedy-show bucket list, he said, that he was excited to cross off this year. Those names have only increased interest in the event, which, in turn, has benefited the people the Cam Neely Foundation fights for.

​“I can’t believe, first of all, that it’s been this successful, which is amazing,” Leary said. “But I also can’t believe the things we are doing with the foundation now.”​

A big part of that effort has been the Neely House at Tufts Medical Center. The bed-and-breakfast setup offers cancer 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.

​“Seeing how many cancer patients and families have been helped because of the comedy show and the great comedians who have donated their time, and the people that buy the tickets and come to the shows,” Neely said. “It is very gratifying to know that this event has helped so many cancer patients and families, like thousands and thousands of them.”

While Comics Come Home always has a humbling turnout for Neely, he is not wholly surprised. Neely has learned firsthand the passion and pride Bostonians take in their sports teams, but it doesn’t end there.

“Boston is such a great city, it’s a great sports city, it’s a very philanthropic city as well. There isn’t an event like this where you can come, laugh your ass off for two or three hours, raise money to help cancer patients and families, and see the support they not only give their sports teams, but the charities throughout the city,” Neely said. “Just blessed that there are that many people – I always say, there’s no better gift than giving.”