Ovations at Stand Up for Heroes benefit at Madison Square Garden
Jerry Seinfeld backstage at The New York Comedy Festival And The Bob Woodruff Foundation Present The 7th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (Nov. 6, 2013) Credit: Bryan Bedder
Bill Cosby was in the middle of explaining the difference between a "beating" and a "whooping" at the seventh annual "Stand Up for Heroes" benefit when one of the honorees tried to finish his joke from the audience.
"No," he said sternly. "You don't finish my story. I don't care what war you were in."
The reaction drew a huge ovation from the packed Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.
After all, it accomplished what the fundraiser for the Bob Woodruff Foundation wants for those it supports: Getting service members injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to the point where they can feel normal again.
It's what the all-star lineup -- which also included Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Jim Gaffigan, as well as Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters -- tried to provide all night.
Waters led The MusiCorps Wounded Warrior Band from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., through an emotional set of classics, including his own "Comfortably Numb" and John Lennon's "Imagine."
Springsteen offered a mostly acoustic set, sprinkling in some dirty jokes for the servicemen, along with such classics as "Dancing in the Dark" and "If I Should Fall Behind" with his wife, Patti Scialfa.
Both Cosby and Seinfeld tackled the subject of parenthood during their short sets.
"Parents aren't interested in justice," Cosby said. "They just want quiet."
Seinfeld said parents these days, including himself, are too into parenthood.
"You know what my bedtime story was?" Seinfeld asked. "Darkness."
