Times Square Gossip

  Double Happiness New York City comedian Turner Sparks spent twelve years living in Suzhou, China, a journey that ended with a marriage to his Chinese bride Ye Ye.  He and Ye Ye then spent two years staring at each other in a one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment during a global pandemic. In “Double Happiness”, Sparks ties together stories from the mountains of China, to the apple orchards of Pennsylvania, to the streets of Brooklyn as he tells the tale of their truly unique, yet hilariously familiar pandemic. Double Happiness sees Turner come into his own as a premier comedic storyteller while maintaining the strong observational comedy muscle he displayed on his 2019 debut album Turner Sparks Live from the Friars Club.   On Double Happiness’ stand-out track “Career Day”, Turner hilariously claims that America is doing better with the pandemic than it was a year ago because “A year ago I got asked to speak at a high school career day while I was on unemployment”.  On “App...

Felicia Madison Laughing Affairs, founded by comedian Felicia Madison, presented Funny Business, a panel discussion for female comedians, before a packed house at New York City’s legendary Friars Club. Funny Business offered female comedians insider tips on managing the business side of their careers. “The goal is to help female comedians navigate a complicated and male-dominated field,” says Felicia Madison, who moderated the discussion. The event’s six panelists are leaders in the comedy community, and included: Tovah Silberman, a comedy booking agent at the Gersh Agency whose projects have been featured in the New York Times, Village Voice, Time Out, and New York Magazine among many other publications. Jessica Pilot, a talent booker who has produced television for NBC, PBS, and Comedy Central, among many others, and is currently serving as a talent producers and booker for CBS and an upcoming Netflix talk show. Cait Taylor Cait Taylor of Bril...

**** THE FRIARS CLUB ROAST **** Jack Black Joan Osborne Bruce Johnston And Mike Love Richard Marx Amy Schumer Jeff Ross Carrie Keagan Sasha Cohen Tom Murro Adam Shankman Oliver Platt Marvin Scott The Friars Club Roast Honored Jack Black at New York Hilton and Towers the other night in New York City. Photos By: Corredor99 / MediaPunch Inc.

**** Iconic Actor Tom Cruise To Receive Friars’ Highest Award At June Celebration. He follows in the Footsteps of Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, and Frank Sinatra. **** Tom Cruise The Friars Club announced it will present its highest honor, The Entertainment Icon Award, to one of the world’s most beloved stars…Tom Cruise. The prestigious award – which has only been given 3 times in the club’s 108 year history – will be bestowed upon Cruise by The Friars Foundation, the charitable arm of the legendary Friars, founded in 1904. Previous recipients of the “Entertainment Icon” Award are Hollywood legends Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. The award will be presented to Cruise at the annual Friars Foundation Gala on June 12th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He will be joined by many of his acting colleagues and celebrity friends. Unlike a Friars Club “Roast”, the Icon Award is an opportunity for the club to pay tribute to someone who has changed the face of the entertainment indu...

**** FRIARS CLUB TO ROAST LEGEND BETTY WHITE **** Betty White Legendary funny lady Betty White will become the latest honoree to sit in the "hot seat" for the notorious and always outrageous Friars Club Roast 2012 - to be held on May 16th at Manhattan's Sheraton Ballroom. White, whose career has spanned more than 70 years, follows in the footsteps of past recipients Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball, Billy Crystal and most recently...Quentin Tarantino. Despite her squeaky clean image as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls, her recent appearances on Saturday Night Live, and her current hit TV show "Hot in Cleveland," have revealed her more bawdy side – much like her character Sue Ann Nivens on the classic Mary Tyler Moore show. Some might say, Betty has spent her entire professional life auditioning for a Friars roast! Says White: “Those Friars may think I'm an easy mark but I have 90 years of comebacks waiting for them. This is such an hon...

PHOTOS-RICHARD LEWIN Rita Cosby Applauds Tomaczek at NY's 'Friars Club' A passionate songwriter, who weaves his definitive and rich voice through heartfelt storylines and infectious melodies is a natural for Tomaczek. There is nothing contrived or forced about him, he captures the best of pop and big band, and is clearly inspired by an eclectic mix of country and classical influences. But last Friday night at the famed Friars Club in New York, (with a borrowed guitar yet) he unleashed a powerful and “off the cuff” live performance of emotional ballads. Including one he'd scribed for a feature film he's developing with noted producing partner Jerry Tokofsky of Glengarry Glen Ross fame. He was on hand to celebrate the club's induction of Rita Cosby who Anchors the top-rated “MSNBC Investigates”, along with Lethal Weapon/CSI: Crime Scene star Nestor Serrano. A great night!