The Night of Too Many Stars — a benefit show for nonprofit Next for Autism that was part of this year’s Netflix is a Joke lineup — lived up to its name on Thursday night, bringing out an impressive string of A-listers for an evening of music and comedy.
Jon Stewart served as host for the night, which got off to a fast start as Kevin Nealon drew a portrait of a woman from the crowd and Jimmy Kimmel (on the bass clarinet), Conan O’Brien (on the guitar) and Stewart (on the drums) jammed out on stage with Love on the Spectrum star Abbey Lutes.
The program alternated between stand-up sets — from comics including John Mulaney, Bill Burr, Leanne Morgan, Ron Funches, Nikki Glaser, Matt Rife and Ali Wong — and bidding on some very exclusive items, all in the name of supporting people with autism and their families. The benefit has been a longtime staple on the New York event calendar and took place in L.A. this year for the first time, with even more stars than usual.
Maybe the most notable charity item came when The Pitt star Noah Wyle joined Stewart on stage to auction off a live physical examination performed on the Hollywood Bowl stage. Two women bid $16,000 each for the opportunity, as Stewart joked, “Who would have thought that the winning bids would be two ladies? That’s just unbelievable!”
Wyle, in his signature Dr. Robby jacket and gloves, proceeded to check their reflexes, mental cognition and pupils (joking, “Your pupils are a little bit dilated but that is understandable, you just spent $16,000 on a physical administered by an actor”) before giving both women a clean bill of health. “Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing, you both look fine, you both look wonderful,” he said. “But remember I am the guy that told George Clooney not to leave E.R., that he would never be heard from again.”
Sarah Silverman also joined the group on stage, as she gushed over Wyle for being “just so good for the Jews” with his Dr. Robby character. Other big-ticket items up for auction included the opportunity to be drawn into an upcoming episode of The Simpsons (which went in two separate offers for $75k and $70k) and a set visit to The Pitt. Kimmel later returned to the stage to auction off the opportunity to join Jason Bateman at a Dodgers game with the star’s season tickets — as it was soon revealed Kimmel was selling the item without Bateman’s awareness.
“This is an opportunity that’s rarely offered to anyone outside of Will Arnett,” Kimmel joked. “I’m sure [Bateman] will go along with it. If he doesn’t, may God help him when I tell the internet what he did.” The experience sold for $38,000 as Stewart was shocked by the high bids, exclaiming, “What the fuck? I think we all like Jason Bateman as much as the next guy but…”
Steve Carell, Johnny Knoxville, Tiffany Haddish, Bob Odenkirk and more Love on the Spectrum cast members also took part in various bits throughout the evening, and writer Robert Smigel, who became involved with Next for Autism after his son was diagnosed, took some time to appreciate Stewart for making the night happen.
There were plenty of political jokes throughout the night, with Robert F. Kennedy as a frequent target; Mulaney joked, “This is the best benefit I’ve done since Robert F. Kennedy’s Riverkeepers benefit 10 years ago,” where he was in charge of keeping the Hudson River clean. “That’s how good he is at jobs,” Mulaney panned, while also noting he knows Kennedy because “he’s married to that woman from Curb Your Enthusiasm and cheats on her like a dog, but he likes to be around comedy people.” During his set, Burr declared, “Ted Turner died, one down! Rupert Murdoch next,” and said he was ready to “end the career” by talking about Iran.
“I’m so happy we finally bombed Iran. Every day I was sitting in my house nervous doing what are they going to do to us, we’ve got to stop them!” Burr joked. “How long do we think we can keep doing this? Just grabbing countries, turning them upside down and shaking their lunch money out of their pockets?”
The show came to a close courtesy of Adam Sandler, looking noticeably slim as he explained it’s for a movie and he would soon be “getting fat again.” He hyped up the crowd, “What a night! You guys did so good, I can’t believe how much money you were throwing out there… when I’m at these things and the auctions start, I see people look at me and I’m like, ‘Goddammit.’” He went on to perform a number of comedic songs, ending with one about the history of comedy that shouted out many of those in attendance, along with his late friends Norm Macdonald and Chris Farley.
