Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — Last season, the notoriously even-keeled Will Smith promoted his bobblehead night with Dave Roberts mentioning the Dodgers’ star catcher and his lack of humor. “He’s not funny at all,” Roberts quipped in the promo, followed by video of Smith on a stage somewhere, in uniform no less, dropping dad jokes to an appreciative fake audience.
Well that must have sparked an idea with somebody somewhere. On Wednesday night, Will Smith hosted a night of comedy at the Orpheum theater in downtown LA. Smith agreed to showcase his comedy chops as part of the “Netflix is a Joke” festival that has been popping up on everyone in LA’s social media feed for the last few weeks. But the whole toungue-in-cheek evening had a serious purpose: raising money for Smith and his wife Cara’s charitable foundation, Catching Hope.
According to the organization’s website, Will and Cara founded Catching Hope Foundation in 2021. Its mission is to “help underprivileged children with critical skills needed for leadership, self-advocacy, and self-sufficiency. The organization helps students develop the tools to help them achieve success, starting with those who need it most.”
The event started with a short set from host Cedric the Entertainer. Smith then took the stage to welcome everyone in attendance, including a long list of teammates such as Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Lux, Jason Heyward and many more. Manager Dave Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes were also in attendance. On the red carpet, there seemed to be a consensus that it was not Smith, but Miguel Rojas who would make the best standup comic. Check out the clips below for more comments before the show.
Once Smith had delivered his “set,” the professionals took over as comedians Dustin Nickerson, Tom Papa, Aiko Tanaka, Heather McMahan and Felipe Esparza delivered a “slightly” more polished version of comedy than Smith. Finally, Magician Justin Willman closed out the show, wowing the crowd with an assist from James Outman, who was called upon as a volunteer.
In the middle of the show, Catching Hope and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation hosted a live auction. The most bid-on item was a signed Shohei Ohtani jersey. Then, it was a jersey signed by members of the Dodgers. In the end, the live auction drew in around $35,000, which is all going to Catching Hope.
In all a great time was had by all. Bravo, Will. But stick to your day job, mmmkay?
