Billy Crystal, who misplaced his dwelling within the Palisades Hearth, shared a shifting message on the LA FireAid Profit Live performance on Thursday night time on the Kia Discussion board.
Following Inexperienced Day’s efficiency, Crystal took the stage to introduce the present, with proceeds going to a non-profit, supporting displaced households, rebuilding of infrastructure in addition to advancing fireplace safety applied sciences.
“Our goal is simple tonight, to raise more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents,” the comic joked.
Crystal defined that Steve Ballmer, the proprietor of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Intuit Dome, could be matching everybody’s donation, $1 for $1, on Thursday night time.
The primary donation of the night time was from U2 for $1 million, which Ballmer will likely be matching, Crystal mentioned.
“You’ll be hearing from a number of people who were tragically affected by these fires, and I was one of them. These were the clothes I wore when I fled my house with my wife Janice, like so many of us did, on January 7th. This was all I had. Wore it for a week, plus an N-95 mask.”
“I looked like an evacuee or someone that just robed a 7-11,” Crystal joked.
Crystal defined that 23 years in the past, he took the stage at Madison Sq. Backyard to carry a profit following 9/11.
He defined that he walked out to a grieving viewers, holding up posters with photos of their family members asking if anybody had seen them.
“And tonight, here I am, talking to all of you in pain, but now I am also one of the hurting thousands, asking, ‘Have you seen my school? Have you seen my church? Have you seen my house? Have you seen my town? Have you seen the 29 people who lost their lives? Have you seen them?’” Crystal mentioned.
Crystal defined that following 9/11, he was honoring many first responders and firefighters who misplaced their lives.
“Tonight, we’re here together to thank them and all those who run towards danger while we run to shelter and safety,” Crystal mentioned.
He paused to applaud the primary responders, with some attending the profit live performance on Thursday night time.
“When we were finally able to get back to our house in the Palisades, which I lived in for 46 years, like thousands of you, our house now looked like this,” Crystal mentioned, earlier than a photograph of the aftermath of the Palisades Hearth appeared on the display screen.
“I stepped onto the grounds and fell to my knees and I wailed. I had not cried like that since I was 15 years old, and I was told that my father had just died. I remember looking in the mirror back then with my whole life ahead of me thinking, ‘What’s my life gonna be like without him?’”
“And now folks, I’m 76-years-old, without a mirror and a lot less life to ponder thinking, ‘What is my life going to be like without our home?’” Crystal requested.
Crystal defined that whereas visiting the grounds of what was his dwelling for 46 years, his daughters ran over with a rock that had “laughter” engraved on it.
“Even in your worst pain folks, it’s okay and it’s important to laugh,” he mentioned. “Once I held that rock in my palms, this was the one factor that was left, I assumed it was a message from 15-year-old me, saying ‘It’s gonna be okay and it is going to be okay.’ “
“With your help around the country and here in the room, we will laugh again. We are going to listen to music again and we will be okay,” Crystal mentioned.
