Roasts

• Denis Leary (2003)
• Jeff Foxworthy (2005)
• Pamela Anderson (2005)
• William Shatner (2006)
• Bob Saget (2008)
• Flavor Flav (2008)
• Larry The Cable Guy (2009)
• Joan Rivers (2009)
• David Hasselhoff (2010)
• Charlie Sheen (2011)
• Donald Trump (2011)
• Roseanne Barr (2012)
• James Franco (2013)

A Brief Overview On Celebrity Roasts

A roast is an event in which people gather together to honor someone. This is typically a party or gathering where people toast the honoree by sharing some insight or anecdote about them. This can be a humorous story or joke, or can be more personal. A roast is usually put on to commemorate an event or anniversary. Retirement is one event that seems to inspire a lot of roasts. Wedding anniversaries can be another. Whatever the reason, it is a chance for friends and family to get together and share memories. A good roast can be a fun time for all. 

Roasts like this can be traced back to ancient times, when it was customary to give long winded speeches before meals. Back then any occasion seemed a good occasion to raise a glass and make a speech. Since then the tradition has evolved to what we can now see on Comedy Central. 

Roasts have become a tradition in places like the New York Friar's Club. The Friar's Club has been holding celebrity roasts since the early nineteen hundreds. This used to be quite an exclusive and private affair. It is only recently the Friar's Club decided to start televising some of their roasts. Some of the more private parties that have been held there have been deemed too graphic for television.

Comedy Central brought the idea of celebrity roasts back to the public eye. What had been a largely private and mostly forgotten tradition received a new lease on life when the comedy network aired several celebrity roasts from the Friar's club. These shows were very popular with the public. These shows have featured people like Jeff Foxworthy, Pamela Anderson, and Donald Trump to name a few. Needless to say the Anderson episode was the most watched for its time slot when it aired.

Comedy Central wasn't the first network to do this. Dean Martin hosted several celebrity roasts as part of show in the seventies. After that the network hosted several more in the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. The idea in itself was novel, but the morals of the day led to some pretty lame and restrictive humor. As a result the public got bored and stopped watching eventually. 

There are still celebrity roasts held at the Friar's Club on a regular basis. Comedy Central still sometimes airs these, other times they have held their own. Some other popular people featured on these shows have been Joan Rivers, William Shatner, Chevy Chase, Hugh Hefner and Charlie Sheen. There is also a British spin-off show that is catching on over there. It can be interesting and definitely humorous to see how you look through the eyes of other people.