Bob Saget’s longtime friends John Mayer, Jeff Ross, Jimmy Kimmel, and Dave Chapelle came together to pay tribute to the late actor earlier this week, in support of a cause he avidly supported for the last 30 years.
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Mayer, Ross, and Kimmel hosted the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s annual fundraising event, “Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine” in Beverly Hills on Wednesday (Sept. 21). The night also served as an homage to Saget who died in January after an accidental blow to the head.
Saget championed the Scleroderma Research Foundation since losing his sister to the disease, which is characterized as a rare autoimmune condition that causes fibrosis of the skin and other vital organs, in 1994. Saget joined the Scleroderma Research Foundation board of directors in 2003 but began his involvement in 1991 through “Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine.”
In the Full House actor’s place, Kimmel kicked off the night with a little dark humor, saying,”these bookings have really improved vastly since Bob passed away.” Elsewhere on the billing were Bill Burr, Rosie O’Donnell, and Kathy Griffin. Mayer added, “This is the first time I’ve come to a Scleroderma benefit where Bob hasn’t, as Jimmy said, asked me to do this event but then profusely apologized while asking me to do this event. What’s so fun about tonight, the only thing that’s fun about it, is we get to show Bob we wanted to do this, we always wanted to do this”
Ross mirrored their sentiments saying, “I’m going to try to keep this as festive as possible. Everyone should have a friend like Bob Saget; tonight’s a tribute but it’s also a celebration that we all got to know that guy, that he got to have this influence on our lives. You didn’t really know Bob until you saw him host a Scleroderma Research dinner — that was the true Bob Saget. He was emotional, he was the most sincere I’ve ever seen him on stage other than when he was acting on Broadway or something.”
Saget’s wife Kelly Rizzo also served as co-chair for the evening. Some of his Full House castmates were also in attendance including John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, and Jodie Sweetin.
Mayer closed out the night with an emotional performance full of “Bob’s favorite songs,” on one of Saget’s guitars Rizzo gifted the singer after his death. Mayer called it one of his prized possessions.
(Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)
