Don King, Al Sharpton

It was boxing promoter Don King's turn to be the butt of everyone's jokes at the annual laugh fest of the well-known Friars Club Celebrity Roast. King had the pleasure of being "roasted" by Donald Trump, master of ceremonies, and last year's "roastee."

The teasing tirade commenced, and the "hair" jokes were flying, as the comedians threw out their witty one-liners. Stewie Stone, taking aim at The Donald, quipped, "You've turned prematurely orange." Colin Quinn was quick to jump on the hair-bashing bandwagon, remarking that the hair of King, Trump, and roaster The Rev. Al Sharpton, all "looked like the three stages of a forest fire." Talk about getting burned!

King, inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997 and voted as one of Sports Illustrated's "40 Most Influential Sports Figures of the Last 40 Years," has worked with boxing bigs Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, and Larry Holmes. The controversial promoter's previous run-ins with the law have gained him considerable media attention and were an easy target for the roasters. Trump noted, "I have a catch phrase: 'You're fired.' Don King has a catch phrase: 'Not guilty.' And soon, you'll have your own reality show called, 'The Accomplice.'" Sharpton also chimed in on the prison humor: "We have two slicksters up here today. One they call a mogul and one they call a mugger." Opening fire on Sharpton, Quinn joked, "Al started out in Cleveland and then went to prison, and that's called upward mobility."

The roasting dais included: Lisa Lampanelli, David Dinkins, Robin Givens, Gilbert Gottfried, Abe Vigoda, Gene Kilroy, Howard Lorber, LeRoy Neiman, Pat O'Brien, Freddie Roman, John Turturro, Dick Capri, Pat Cooper, Jackie Martling, and Norm Crosby. In the lunching audience: The Trumps-Melania, Ivanka, and Don Jr. with new wife, Vanessa; WBO Heavyweight Champ Lamon Brewster; John "The Quiet Man" Ruiz; and Carl King, among others.

When the guns cooled down, King took the stand. "Performing is what it's all about," he said, "but GET THE MONEY." Only in America, right, Don!


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Photos by Joan Jedell

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