Posts Tagged “Fox News Channel”

Rita Cosby’s "Quiet Hero"; Bestseller and Masterpiece of Emotion

I go to a lot of events. Some stand out more than others. Such was the case with Rita Cosby’s event for her bestselling book “Quiet Hero”, the touching story of her Dad, Ryszard (Richard) Kossobudzki (Cosby), who had been a Polish Resistance Fighter during World War II against The Nazis.

It wasn’t just that he had been a resistance fighter, it was that Rita and her brother and Mom never knew the whole story of his painful background until recent years. It seems that her Dad left the family with no explanation, while she was just a teenager, and she hadn’t seen him for many years.

In the meantime she had grown up to become an award-winning journalist, known internationally for her work and her interviews with celebrities and Heads of State. Needless to say it had always bothered her, as it would any child, to have been estranged from a parent, and when her Mom passed away she was forced to go through her Mom’s personal belongings.

That’s when she discovered a long forgotten, battered old suitcase, that had belonged to her Dad. Upon opening it she made a discovery that would change all of their lives from that day on. The items in that suitcase identified her father as having been a prisoner of war in a Nazi dentention camp known as Stalag IV-B. That explained not only the obvious scars on his body, but the internal scars on his psyche and his spirit.

He had never been the kind of man who opened up. The family knew he had been through hard times, but they had no idea of the extent. Rita used her journalistic skills to track down her Dad to where he was living in Washington,D.C.

She called him up and began to re-establish a relationship with the man she missed so much. In time they traveled back to Poland together to work on this book and a documentary film, and as this progressed the ice around his heart began to melt. It was only there as a form of self-preservation, not because he lacked the capacity to love.

He went back to Poland with Rita, for the first time in 65 years, but he went back as the hero he was, and was welcomed by no less than the President of Poland. Several times during Rita’s presentation, I was moved to tears, as were others around me, thinking of her Dad as a young boy, risking his life to try and save his country, when so many of his friends had been killed by The Nazis.

Three million Polish Jews were killed along with 3 million non-Polish Jews. Growing up, that was a thought that haunted me. That so many people were killed solely for their belief. How could that happen? How could people be that cruel? How could the world just watch, and let that happen? I’ve never been totally comfortable in life since learning of The Holocaust as a child.

Just the thought of what happened haunts me, to know that people are capable of such extreme cruelty. Man’s inhumanity to man! I believe in G-d, but I could certainly understand how The Holocaust could make you question your Faith!

Thank G-d there were heroes like Riszard Kossobudzki who even as a child fought back against evil, and risked his life to save others. What a story.

The well-attended event was held at the Heyman Auditorium which turned out to be in a Synagogue on East 85th Street, where I ran into several people I knew including Dr. Shireen Fernandez and Alex Harris of Society’s Choice. There were also members of our Armed Forces present adding to the power of the evening.

Shu-Lan and Kyoko bonding at the “Quiet hero” event!

Dr. Shireen Fernandez and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV!

And to make the evening even more special, Rita’s husband Tomascek sang two beautiful patriotic songs, the national anthem and America The Beautiful, which if I remember correctly, he sang directly to the American flag. They both thanked me sincerely for coming but I felt honored to have been there!

Tomasczek performing for the “Quiet Hero” audience!

I had planned to give her a copy of my new book ” Make ‘Em Laugh” with Chris Rock, so we took a photo together of each of us holding the other’s book!

Award-winning journalist Rita Cosby with Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV each holding the other’s book in a show of mutual support! (LOL)

It was an incredibly moving and enlightening evening, and I can’t wait to read her book which is available at all bookstores and on Amazon.com!

HyperSmash

Posted in: Book Reviews, Books, Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Charity Events, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Nightlife Events, Politics, Red Carpet Events, Singles Events

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Clayton Morris from Fox News Wins NY’s Funniest Reporter Contest

Seven years ago, Mark Goldman and Ryan McCormick of powerhouse PR firm Goldman/McCormick came up with a very unique, and surefire way to raise money for charity. For the 7th year in a row, they have produced New York’s Funniest Reporter Show and gotten some of New York’s top TV and print news people/personalities to risk, if not their physical lives, certainly their emotional lives, by getting up on stage and performing five minutes of stand-up comedy.

(L-R) Mark Goldman, and Ryan McCormick of Goldman/McCormick PR onstage at The Comic Strip for their NY’s Funniest Reporter event!

It usually takes place at the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip, the club that launched the careers of such superstars as Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and Adam Sandler, and some of the powerful news names that have graced the stage were Ellis Henican, Courtney Friel, Lauren Sivan, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Rob Hoell, Cat Greenleaf, Taryn Winter-Brill, and so many more!

And each year they pick a different charity to benefit from the show. This year was The Humane Society, but the only dog to show up was Wendy Diamond’s dog “Baby Hope” who brought Wendy along with him/her! (I didn’t get a chance to check! LOL)

Judge Judith Regan, holding Baby Hope, with Judge Jeffrey Gurian holding his stomach in, at The Comic Strip!

Wendy, an animal advocate, and the founder of Animal Fair Magazine, comes out every year!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV capturing Wendy Diamond of Animal Fair Magazine in a bear hug, at NY’s Funniest Reporter Show in 2011!

The proceeds of the event will benefit the Lucky Diamond Critical Care Ward at The Humane Society of New York. Lucky Diamond was Wendy’s original dog, a little white Maltese, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer this past year! Wendy and I go back a long ways, as you can see in the photos below!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Wendy and Lucky Diamond back in ’06!

I was honored to be one of the two judges along with my friend, media powerhouse Judith Regan, who now has her own radio show on Sirius/XM radio. Thanks to Judith my book with Chris Rock called “Make ‘Em Laugh” about the 35 year history of The Comic Strip will be in stores as of this Monday, Oct 1, 2012. It was written with owner/founder of The Strip, Richie Tienken.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with his angel Judith Regan holding the book she made possible, “Make ‘Em Laugh”!

This time up they had Greg Kelly Fox 5 news anchor, Clayton Morris who is the co-host of FOX and Friends Weekend, Marianne Garvey from In Touch Weekly, who used to write for Page 6 in the NY Post, the most powerful gossip column in the world, Lauren Lyster from RTTV, Michele Steele, the sports anchor/reporter from ESPN, and Dr. Manny Alvarez, the Senior Managing Health Editor for FOX News Channel.

Marianne Garvey, who looked smoking hot by the way, opened the show with a very strong set about the guy she’s currently with. She got lots of laughs, and wound up coming in first runner up!

Marianne Garvey looking totally “hot” onstage at The Comic Strip! If we ever have a contest for NY’s Sexiest Reporter, she’ll def win!

Greg Kelly was next, because he had to anchor the 10 P.M. news broadcast, and it wouldn’t look good if he missed it because he was on stage doing stand-up comedy, … even at The Comic Strip! They would have sent his Dad, police commissioner Ray Kelly to arrest him! (LOL) So he had to leave before finding out he was the 2nd runner up!

Greg Kelly making ’em laugh right in front of the “Make ‘Em Laugh” poster onstage at The Comic Strip!

Greg had great stage presence and lots of confidence, which is just as important as the jokes sometimes! I told him I hope his Dad runs for Mayor. I think he’d be fantastic! He promised to tell him I said so! (LOL)

Michele Steele from ESPN was up next, and introduced herself as Ann Curry, since she says they are both half Filipino, and that people are always curious as to her ethnicity! Michele wasn’t taking any chances on forgetting her lines, and she openly referred to notes, which is usually only done by the biggest comics trying out new material who don’t particular care how it looks! Michele exuded the confidence of a well known comic and used her notes throughout her whole set!

Michele (Ann Curry) Steele confidently referring to her notes onstage at The Comic Strip!

Lauren Lyster came in all the way from Washington, DC for this contest and had the courage not only to get up and perform, but also to admit that she didn’t prepare anything. That takes real courage as it’s a lot different being funny at a party, or with your friends, than getting up on stage and trying to make strangers laugh with thoughts that YOU think are funny!

Lauren Lyster looking like she’s singing but in reality improv’ing onstage at The Comic Strip!

Dr. Manny Alvarez brought his best bedside manner to the stage and was dressed very casually in what he described as the outfit of a “Latino doctor”, which is very fitting (unlike his shirt! LOL) because he is Cuban! He wore a casual shirt out of his pants that he called his “Cuban-style shirt” and he definitely owned the stage for his set. I guess he gets that confidence from being a doctor.

A very animated Dr. Many Alvarez doing his thing onstage at The Comic Strip! Who says doctors aren’t funny???

Dr. Manny is an OB-GYN specialist, and he “brought it” to the point where his producers were yelling out for him to do a “vagina joke!” He didn’t, although he did make a reference to something called “Penis Soup”, which brings to mind a highly unusual and disturbing visual! (LOL)

I wanted to tell him that I was also a doctor, like I did at the end of my interview with Ken Jeong from the Hangover movies,( who is also a doctor!), but I didn’t get the chance. Hopefully, he’ll read about it here!

Clayton Miller went on last, and I guess it’s true when they say they saved the best for last, because he wound up winning! What Judith and I liked best about Clayton was that he did his homework and really came off as a stand-up. He structured his material the way a real comic would, talking about several things, and linking them together artfully, including being a new Dad, for the second time.

Clayton Morris, from FOX News Channel proudly displaying his award for Funniest Reporter, onstage at The Comic Strip with producers Ryan McCormick and Mark Goldman!

His beautiful wife was there cheering him on and she looked so slim, you’d never know she recently had a baby!

One of his observations was that babies are so small, you can put them anywhere! And then he added the killer tag, “As long as your wife isn’t home!” Then made some mention about balancing the baby on the mantle of the fireplace! That was hysterical!

There were two guest spots, one from last year’s winner Marlaina Schiavo, who showed why she won last year, and that she still had it this year, and WWE wrestling champion, 2 time best selling author, Mick Foley, who I had just seen in Montreal at the end of July, at the 30th annual Just for Laughs festival in Montreal! Mick is the proverbial “Gentle Giant”, and might be scary to face in the ring, but in person is the nicest guy in the world!

Marlaina Schiavo, winner from 2011, showing the audience she hasn’t lost it!

And funny too, which always helps if you wanna be in comedy! (LOL) What’s cool about Mick, (and I was glad I got a chance to say it on camera as the WWE Network was filming him that night for an upcoming special), is that one of the reasons that Mick is so likable on stage is that he’s not afraid to be vulnerable.

Mick Foley, man of many talents including comedy, “killing it” onstage at The Comic Strip!

As big and macho as he is, he’s not afraid to be self-deprecating or talk in a little voice that you wouldn’t even think would come out of a man that big. Add that to his humor and stage presence and you’ve got a budding comedy star. He’s also a favorite of Judith Regan who published both of his best-selling books!

I complimented him on being so comfortable onstage that he even sat down on the stool to talk to the packed crowd! He explained to me that it wasn’t confidence, but body pain that made him sit down! A very down-to-earth, humble guy!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with comedy/wrestling star Mick Foley, and a copy of “Make ‘Em Laugh” at The Comic Strip!

All in all, it was a wonderful night of entertainment thanks to Goldman/McCormick PR. They did it again!

Posted in: Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Charity Events, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, General Information, Important News, New TV Show, Nightlife Events, Page 6 Review, Variety Show

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A Humorous and Energetic Look At The Republican Debates -My Spot On Fox News Channel

Thanks to Goldman/McCormick, the top PR agency, I was asked to participate in a panel on Fox News Channel hosted by Megyn Kelly to review what I think was the 3rd or 4th Republican debate. This one was held in Orlando, Florida on 9/22/11.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV on set at Fox News Channel with host Megyn Kelly!

On the set of Fox News Channel''s America Live with Megyn Kelly!

I’ve never been one to be particularly political, because I have become very cynical. All politicians seem to be liars. It’s a big phony thing, just like Wall Street. Every day one fear or another causes the market to go up or down, ( mostly down!), and the only ones who make money are the traders! The average schmuck like you or I makes a few dollars one day and gives back twice as much the next!

Back in the 1700’s, or 1800’s MAYBE the politicians were honorable, but today all you have to do is read the paper to see all the crime and fraudulent, “behind the scenes” activities they’re involved in.

There’s too many favors to repay if you get elected for anything. When the country was small you didn’t have to know that many people. Today there’s too many groups to appease.

I remember running for President of the Freshman Class in college, and every single person wanted to know what I would do for them if I got elected! I actually won that election, and that’s a whole other story for a different day!

People are tired of double-speak. Politicians learn to answer questions without answering them. They twist the words like high powered lawyers and come out with some BS answers that only their press people would be proud of. They’re afraid to commit to anything because they’re afraid it will cost them votes. That’s why I could never vote for anyone who had been an Ambassador. They’re too used to putting a spin on things and sugar coating what they say so as not to offend anyone, … especially our enemies!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV as part of the panel on Fox News with Megyn Kelly to discuss the Republican debates!

From a personal point of view, I think you have to be very sick to want to be the President of a country! To want that much power. It’s hard enough to take care of your own family. Who wants the responsibility of taking care of an entire country? Especially when it’s the greatest country in the world, the United States of America! Good old USA! But I guess it would be even worse if no one wanted to do it! I guess I subscribe to the theory some genius came up with that says,
“Politics is show business for ugly people!”

Up until this year that might have held true, but in this coming election there are some stylish nice looking people! So when I was offered the opportunity to evaluate the Republican debates, I jumped at it. I even cancelled my plans to attend a party, and stayed home to watch it so i could feel well prepared, not like one panelist who only watched the part that pertained to jobs, and refused to discuss anything else, because he felt that was all he was qualified to give an opinion on!

Having worked within the Alternative Medicine field for many years using “Energy” as a form of Healing, I decided that I would come prepared to discuss the “energy” and personality aspects of each of the potential candidates, since that is rarely discussed. I didn’t get to go into much depth on air, although as you’ll see in an upcoming video I did get to make some points I thought were important!

Then I realized I could address everything I wanted to in my Blog, Comedy Matters. There were 9 potential candidates, so here goes, one by one, and let me remind you, these are only my opinions!

1. Rick Perry – the most Presidential looking of the candidates. He’s distinguished looking,handsome, and has great hair. Most men, … especially politicians, … wear their hair like they’re embarrassed for having any. It’s almost like an apology,… ” Sorry I have hair. I’ll try and wear it flat or in a way you won’t notice!” He has great presence, powerful energy, and a strong first name. Rick is a good name for a President. He waved with his right hand which is a sign of strength and foreward thinking! He lost points on trying to defend reduced college tuition for the children of illegal aliens, and made the mistake of calling people who didn’t understand that “heartless.” Those who DID understand might be accused of being brainless! I was disappointed because I was excited about his prospects, but we need someone strong on immigration, so now I don’t know!

Texas Governor Rick Perry who I thought looked the most Presidential!

2. Mitt Romney – I was prepared not to like this guy. First of all, what kind of President has a name like Mitt??? A mitt is for catching a baseball, not for running a country! He waved with his left hand which is acceptable if he’s a lefty. If he’s right-handed it’s a sign of weakness! When he’s standing at rest he puts out weak energy, but to his credit when he speaks about something he’s passionate about he recovers and is very strong. I came away with a new respect for him as a person, and he was very strong on Israel which I respected!

3. Michelle Bachman – She wore red which is the color of the first Chakra and a color that most women fear! It takes a very secure woman to wear red and she wore it well as did Megyn Kelly who also owns her power as a woman! She spoke well about the need for a true Conservative in office, but she waved with her left hand, so I’d also be curious to know if she’s left handed or right handed!

A powerful, and attractive Michelle Bachmann wearing red and owning her power at the Republican debates!

4. Rick Santorum – Also has a strong name,… “Rick”. But a little too “tight” looking to be President. He doesn’t really carry Presidential energy. He did very well on confronting Rick Perry on immigration and on staying strong in Iraq. He also was great on saying he’d change the rules of engagement which are almost at the point where we ask the enemy if we can shoot at them. First we give them a warning so they can duck down, and then we say, ” Is it okay if we shoot now???” No one has ever won a war like that. We owe it to our fighting men and women to win as fast and as quickly as possible so we can bring them home to their families. We owe the enemy NOTHING! He actually said we should go to war to win, and not for politics!

Rick Santorum chastising Rick Perry for his action or non-action on allowing children of illegal immigrants to go to college as resident students!

5. Newt Gingrich – If I thought Mitt was a bad name for a President, Newt is ten times worse! Newt is a cartoon lizard! Newt Gingrich! Where do these names come from? He’s like a caricature of old boy politics. Just what you’d expect to see. Weak chin,( at least 2 or 3 of them!), high voice, mouth turns down, thin lips, and his hair is like a hat or helmet. His hair should come with a chinstrap!

Newt Gingrich, the consummate politician! Just what you'd expect!

To his credit he was the first to have the nerve not to play the “game” of choosing one of the other potential candidates as a running mate. He took back the power on that one, and that is a difficult thing to do, to suddenly stop and say, ” I’m not doing that.” So kudos to Newt for using his experience to know he didn’t have to follow along!

6. John Huntsman- the former Governor from Utah- I don’t think a guy from Utah is worldly enough to be President of the United States. Huntsman proved that by showing up with a weird vibe. He’s stylish and nice looking, but he has the presence, demeanor, and facial movements of a stand-up comedian. Plus he was appointed by Obama as the Ambassador to China! Ambassadors are like P.R. people to the tenth degree! They learn to put a spin on the truth. It comes too easily to them. We’ve had enough of that. Plus he blinks too much and comes off like a retired actor. That’s why he kept mentioning his family. He started out by saying, ” It’s an honor to be here, and then mentioned that his wife came from that state. Later on, he mentioned his daughter and that she has Juvenile Diabetes. It came across false, like he was using his family to get attention or sympathy, which is exactly what I would expect from an Ambassador!

Btw, since i mentioned Obama,let me say this about him, … the only thing I like about Obama is that he’s Black! It’s great that we were able to elect a Black president, but we need a president who can do something, besides being Black!

7.Herman Cain – He looks like a great guy, and if there was a national office for “Great Guy” he’d be perfect, but unfortunately there’s not! He’s not Presidential at all, even though he speaks strongly about certain things. And I think his PR people have to step away from his connection to “Godfather’s Pizza”. I don’t know if I’d want to associate my President with a fast food. Maybe they should just bill him as a “successful entrepreneur”! That might carry more respect. Former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza doesn’t do it for me, or for lots of other people. What if he had run a national chain of something called ” Vinnie’s Pizza”, of ” Carmine’s Pizza”, or something else like that. Would they have used that as well?

8.Ron Paul – If they ever do the Burgess Meredith story, Ron Paul would be great to play him! In case you don’t recall, Burgess Meredith played Mickey in the Rocky movies. He was Rocky’s trainer. He also played The Penguin in Batman. Ron was the worst of the nine as far as I’m concerned. Energy wise he was very weak. He came across as old, out of touch, his mouth turns down, his lips are non-existent, his teeth are badly worn which usually means he suffers from stress, and he looked like he was wearing a sweater instead of a suit jacket due to the cut of the jacket. What made him even more grotesque was that he didn’t think that Iran posed a threat! I wonder what he would have thought about Hitler after reading Mein Kampf!

9. Gary Johnson – Governor of New Mexico – John Huntsman looked like the comedian but Gary Johnson told the best joke, which I understand he lifted from Rush Limbaugh who said it earlier in the day! He said his neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than President Obama! He had weird energy, waved with his right hand, which may have been his only plus, and he is a Libertarian, whatever that means!

One other point! They asked Rick Perry what he would do if he got a call at 3 A.M. that Pakistani nuclear weapons had fallen into the wrong hands! He never answered that question, and I don’t blame him. First of all if anyone were to be asked that question, it should have been asked of EVERYONE, because it’s such a dangerous question. How could anyone answer that properly? It’s like asking what you would do if you were awakened to find out that Pakistani terrorists had launched a nuclear warhead at us. Is he supposed to say he’d wipe them off the face of the earth? What good answer could he have given? Instead he made some comment about keeping close to India, and our other friends in the region. He side-stepped it but only out of necessity!

That’s my brief, (or not so brief!) foray into politics! I’ll be posting the video very soon> I was able to make what I thought were some good points!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV making what he thought was a good point!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, General Information, Point of View, Politics, Red Carpet Events, Self Help Information, The Election

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