Phil Hanseroth, Brandi Carlile and Tim Hanseroth, photos by Todd Williamson/Shutterstock courtesy of Rock4EB
"Hello, everybody! Can we all just give one big round of applause... to me?" said Judd Apatow, who greeted guests and famous supporters including Jimmy Kimmel, Kaley Cuoco, Courteney Cox and Tiffany Haddish on Saturday, May 6 at the sixth annual Rock4EB benefit held at the private Malibu home of Marc Gurvitz.
"When you look at this property, can you believe that Marc Gurvitz made this much money off of Dennis Miller?" Apatow continued, poking fun at the talent manager. "Now next door, don't drift into the neighbor's house—because Will Smith is right there, and him and Jada don't like it. And we got Harry and Meghan Markle on this side—there are snipers on their roof." His jabs didn't stop there: "You know, it's always been Brandi Carlile's dream to sing in the backyard of David Spade's manager! When they told her that, she said, 'I am in!'"
Judd Apatow and Billy Harris
During the cocktail hour, guests enjoyed food from Nobu, Wally's, Casa Vega, Pink's, Craig's, Broad Street Oyster Co., D'amore's Pizza and more as they bid on silent auction items—which Apatow referenced, noting they'd raised over $1 million for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation (EMBRF). "I don't know if you've all bid, [but] there's a Zoom call with Les Moonves that we're still bidding on," he joked. "There's a Lakers game with Matt Lauer that people are excited about. Lunch with Kevin Spacey!" He made sure to add, "All these jokes by the way were written before the strike!"
Tiffany Haddish
The live auction with one-of-a-kind items from a safari to Botswana to a private dinner by chef Nancy Silverton raised hundreds of thousands of dollars—from generous bidders including Haddish—for the EMBRF, which Andrea Pett-Joseph and her husband Paul Joseph started when their son Brandon Joseph was born with the life-threatening genetic disorder that causes the skin to tear and blister. "Where've you all been for three years? We've missed you!" Pett-Joseph said of the event's hiatus during the pandemic—during which her son underwent three hand surgeries and numerous other health scares. "[EB] still rocks your world every time and breaks your heart to see your child or loved one suffering, and leaves you feeling helpless. So we emerged from this pandemic like a butterfly reemerges from its cacoon, back into the light with a new pair of wings, ready to face these challenges and gather with you all once again to celebrate the progress we have made."
Andrea Pett-Joseph, son Brandon Joseph and husband Paul Joseph
Pett-Joseph's wish was to have Carlile perform—"and my wish came true," she said. But first, Kevin Nealon regaled the crowd (calling out Gurvitz's bathrooms), and Apatow pulled Dana Carvey up on the stage—who did impressions of presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and sang an impromptu rock song at the piano in which he also couldn't help but reference Gurvitz. "Managers always make more money than you!" he belted. After he finished, he looked over at Kimmel. "Jimmy, I did that on your show, I did it here. I can't make Jimmy Kimmel laugh—he's seen it all." Promped by Apatow, Carvey then introduced Cox—"as Paul McCartney."
Dana Carvey
Judd Apatow pulls Dana Carvey up on stage
Brandi Carlile and Courteney Cox
"I met Brandi Carlile on Instagram—she DMed me," noted Cox, who'd asked the nine-time Grammy winner if she'd perform. Carlile did more than perform a few numbers—she delivered a private concert for over a half hour to the crowd, singing song after song (including hits "Broken Horses," "Right on Time," "The Story," "You and Me on the Rock" and "The Things I Regret") to the roused revelers as the sun went down.
Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile plays into the night
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