Comic Relief US
Serious about ending childhood poverty.
What’s bringing JOY to your life right now? Comedian took to the streets to find out what people are excited about, online or off, and the answers took us to some wildly unexpected places. At and , we like to dwell on the positive — those exclamation points of life. Hearing about what people love, we were reminded how easy it is to build connection by laughing about the little things that light us up.
03/29/2026
Forty years ago today, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robin Williams walked on stage — alongside the biggest names in comedy — and raised $2.5 million to help people experiencing homelessness. Just by being funny.
Eight more HBO specials followed, raising millions and keeping poverty and homelessness in the cultural conversation.
The lineup: George Carlin, Garry Shandling, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Bobcat Goldthwait, Dennis Miller, Michael Keaton, Paul Rodriguez, Steven Wright, Howie Mandel, “Weird” Al Yankovic, Laraine Newman, Harry Anderson, Richard Belzer, and Jon Lovitz — plus legends like Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Jerry Lewis, Dick Gregory, Steve Allen, and Henny Youngman, among many others.
Years later, Billy Crystal remembered that first night: “As we walked off stage at the Amphitheater after doing this opening, Pat Lee said ‘the phones are ringing,’ and the three of us started to cry. They’re out there. They’re listening. They’re donating. And we raised a significant amount of money… Because what was great about it was that the whole comedy world came out. All these people wanted to perform.”
(Pics via HBO)
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