Roast (comedy)

A roast is an event in which a specific individual, a guest of honor, is subjected to good-natured jokes at their expense intended to amuse the event's wider audience. This type of event was created as a mock counter to a toast. Such events are intended to honor a specific individual in a unique way. In addition to jokes and insult comedy, such events may also involve genuine praise and tributes. The implication is that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and it is seen by some as a great honor to be roasted. The individual is surrounded by friends, fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment as well during the course of the evening. The party and presentation itself are both referred to as a "roast". The host of the event is called the "roastmaster". Anyone who is honored in such a way is said to have been "roasted".

"FRIARS KID MR. HARRIS: Veteran Theatrical Manager Butt of Jokes at Dinner" read the headline of the December 10, 1910 issue of the New York Tribune.

In 1949, the New York Friars Club held their first roast, with Maurice Chevalier as the guest of honor.

The final few seasons of the television show Kraft Music Hall, from 1968 to 1971, included broadcasts of the Friars Club Roast; the celebrities roasted included Johnny Carson, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, and Jerry Lewis.

Dean Martin hosted a series of roasts on television in 1974 as part of the final season of his self-titled variety show. After the show was cancelled, NBC decided to schedule a series of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials from the former MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally's Las Vegas) in the Ziegfeld Room; these were recorded and aired approximately once every two months from late 1974 to early 1979, and another three were produced in 1984. The celebrities roasted included actors Kirk Douglas, Bette Davis, and Jimmy Stewart; athletes Muhammad Ali, Joe Namath, and Wilt Chamberlain; comedians Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, and Redd Foxx; politicians Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater; and singers Frank Sinatra and Martin himself. The humor at these broadcast tributes was far tamer than the sometimes extremely vulgar and explicit language of the private, non-televised ones.

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