Ellen DeGeneres knows the hardships people face in stand-up comedy because she has been there herself, so it's no surprise that she genuinely wants to give the chance for a fellow comedian to achieve his dream before succumbing to cancer.
This is why DeGeneres recently invited Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian Quincy Jones on Monday to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" where she told him that HBO has agreed to air the comedy special he and his friends have been campaigning for on Kickstarter.
"You mentioned last time that you really want to do a comedy special ... What you don't know is we called the head of HBO – and your people didn't even tell you this – but HBO is going to air your special," DeGeneres reveals.
"Oh my God it's the best surprise! Thank you so much," an excited Jones says.
The terminally ill comedian was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in July 2015 but continued to do stand-up comedy in between chemotherapy sessions. Since then, his friends have been determined to make his dream of having his own one-hour comedy special come true.
DeGeneres has given him $10,000 from Shutterfly to fund the production when he first went to the show, but when he returned on Monday, DeGeneres gave him another check from Shutterfly for $15,000 to help with the cost of the special.
"Stand-up is getting him through the sickness. He's been given one year to live. His stage-four Mesothelioma cancer is incurable," Nicole Blaine, Jones' friend and Kickstarter campaign organizer, writes.
Now that the funds are set and Jones' team has secured a network to air the comedy special, the final arrangements are being made.
The comedy special will take place on April 4 at the Teragram Ballroom. Tickets are limited so it's no surprise that it quickly sold out. At least we can still catch the show on HBO.
"Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for supporting and loving Quincy Jones. We are speechless and humbled by the incredible outpour of support," Nicole writes in response to the surprise.
Watch the segment below.
