Friars Club to Roast 'Today' Show Co-Anchor Matt Lauer

Friars Club to Roast 'Today' Show Co-Anchor Matt Lauer

Close Friend, Colleague, and 'Today' Show Co-Anchor Al Roker, to be Roastmaster

NEW YORK, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- NBC's "Today" show co-anchor Matt Lauer will sit for his turn at the roasting pit on Friday, October 24, 2008 when the Friars Club hosts its annual, star-studded Celebrity Roast Luncheon at the New York Hilton Hotel. The event will be hosted by "Today" show weather and features anchor Al Roker, who accepted the title of Roastmaster. Lauer will have to sit quietly as he suffers the best zingers and wittiest one-liners from some of the funniest entertainers in show business. Although as fair warning to the roasters, he does admit, "I plan to give as good as I get!"

The Friars Club, a fraternal organization with an honored reputation for excellence in performance and public service, recently celebrated their one hundred year anniversary as the premier arts organization in the entertainment industry. Matt Lauer joins the ranks of distinguished entertainers such as Hugh Hefner, Richard Pryor, Lucille Ball, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Carson, Drew Carey, Rob Reiner, and last year's recipient, Pat Cooper, to name a few, who have been successfully "Roasted" to the enjoyment of all involved. The prestigious honor is given during a ceremony that pokes fun at the honoree in an exuberant display of good-humored ribaldry. "We are thrilled to have Matt on the hot seat this year, and could have not asked for a better Roastmaster than Al," expressed Friars President Freddie Roman. "Their on-air chemistry will surely be transmitted at the roast this fall," he added.

Arguably one of the most recognizable personalities of our time, Matt Lauer, is known as the charismatic co-anchor of NBC's morning staple, the "Today" show. Known for his personable manner, Lauer developed a very trusting yet direct interviewing technique, which granted him a number of exclusive interviews with celebrity and political figures from Tom Cruise to George W. Bush. Lauer's innate charisma and his sibling-like chemistry with his co- anchors have made the "Today" show the top-rated morning program among viewers for more than 12 consecutive years and Lauer one of America's favorite TV personalities.

The Friars Club is considered one of the most prestigious fraternal orders in the world, and rated among the top clubs in the nation. Since 1904, the Friars Club has been combining the outstanding qualities of show business and the humanities, and its many functions and events covering those areas attract international media coverage. From their infamous Roasts to their Testimonial Dinners, Friars Frolics and numerous events they subscribe to the ideal that music and laughter and brotherhood form the building blocks to happiness. As head of the Friars, Abbot Jerry Lewis, says, "Good fellowship, Friendship and Fraternity form the basis that makes the Friars Club what it is."

Isabel Quinteros
RUBENSTEIN PUBLIC RELATIONS
212.843.8027
iquinteros@rubensteinpr.com

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Source: New York Friars Club

CONTACT: Isabel Quinteros, of Rubenstein Public Relations for New York
Friars Club, +1-212-843-8027, iquinteros@rubensteinpr.com

Web site:

http://www.friarsclub.com/

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