Friars Club
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The Friars Club is a New York City club, famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. Founded in 1904, their motto is Prae Omnia Fraternatis, which is Latin for "Before all, brotherhood."
It is not related to the Friars Club of Beverly Hills or to the Friar's Inn, a famous 1920s jazz cabaret in Chicago, which was sometimes casually referred to as "Friar's Club".
Roasts
Although their famous roasts are notorious for their vulgarity and dirty jokes at the expense of the person being roasted, the club says "we only roast the ones we love."
- 1904 - Will Rogers
- 1955 - Humphrey Bogart, Roastmaster Red Buttons
- 1958 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
- 1968 - Johnny Carson, Roastmaster Alan King
- 1969 - Milton Berle, Roastmaster Alan King
- 1970 - Jack Benny, Roastmaster Johnny Carson
- 1970 - George Kirby
- 1971 - Joe Namath
- 1972 - Buddy Hackett, Roastmaster Johnny Carson
- 1973 - Milton Berle
- 1974 - Don Rickles, Roastmaster Johnny Carson
- 1974 - Johnny Carson
- 1975 - Jack Dempsey, Roastmaster Muhammed Ali
- 1976 - Frank Sinatra
- 1986 - Jerry Lewis
- 1987 - Phyllis Diller
- 1988 - Barbara Sinatra, Roastmaster Lee Iacocca
- 1990 - Zsa Zsa Gabor
- 1991 - Richard Pryor, Roastmaster Robin Williams
- 1993 - Whoopi Goldberg
- 1997 - Danny Aiello, Roastmaster Joy Behar
- 1998 - Drew Carey, Roastmaster Ryan Stiles
- 1999 - Jerry Stiller, Roastmaster Jason Alexander
- 2000 - Rob Reiner, Roastmaster Michael McKean
- 2001 - Hugh Hefner, Roastmaster Jimmy Kimmel
- 2002 - Chevy Chase, Roastmaster Paul Shaffer
Members
The club's members are composed mostly of comedians and other such celebrities. Their monthly newsletter is known as the Epistle.Staff
The Friars' leadership is made up of a series of positions similar to those in an Abbey, including positions include: "Abbot," "Dean," "Prior," and "Scribe."History
Jerry Lewis is the current Abbot, named in 2006 during a roast in New York City. Previous Abbots have included Alan King, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan and George M. Cohan (twice).From 1998-2002, the roasts were broadcast on Comedy Central.
External links
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