Tributes to People Who Bring Laughter to Life "A person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed." Bennett Cerf Mira Nair Film Director/Writer/Producer from an interview in The Oprah Magazine,  March 2007 page 97 Ha Ha Ha's inspired Mira Nair's AHA! "I was at a crossroads in my life...As an antidote to my despondence, I decided to make a documentary on the peculiar phenomenon of The Laughing Club of India, people who get together every day to laugh. One day I sat in the apartment of a retired Nepali musician who played in a Bollywood orchestra, trying to charm him into talking to me about his life. All the while I was thinking: What am I doing with mine? Will I ever be inspired again to make a proper film? But I plowed on, keeping my focus on people who take laughing seriously, even though I was far from laughter myself. The Laughing Club of India was not going to be seen in hundreds of cinemas. But the structure and style of the film, the freewheeling montages of Bombay in the rain, the bittersweet note of loss leading to laughter, against a soundtrack of vintage Hindi songs all of this inspired my next film, Monsoon Wedding. Released in 2001, Monsoon Wedding won the Golden Lion at Venice and went on to become one the ten biggest-grossing foreign-language films of all times." ComedyCures USA/WORLDWIDE (and  NEW YORK CITY) Saranne Rothberg, CEO, The ComedyCures Foundation (Oprah's "Live Your Best Life Inspirational Hero!") www.comedycures.org  info@comedycures.org  1-888-300-3990 ComedyCures is a non-profit organization that brings joy, laughter and therapeutic humor programs to kids and grown-ups living with illness, depression, trauma and disabilities. Founder Saranne Rothberg was an early stage IV cancer patient when she launched ComedyCures from her chemo chair because of the therapeutic benefits of laughter and a comic perspective. Saranne is now cancer-free. ComedyCures generates millions of laughs each year through its toll-free LaughLine 1-888-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha, Wellness Joke Books and award-winning live comedy events. Ron Howard  Driver for Central City Concern Hooper Inebriate Emergency Response Service Interview by Peter Korn, Portland Tribune Portland Oregon Excerpt from Portland Tribune article: “Ron’s job is too stay calm and talk down people who have lost control.  Howard is one of them, driving the CHIERS (Central City Concern Hooper Inebriate Emergency Response Service) van for Central City Concern’s Hooper Detoxification Center, picking up late-night drunks and drug addicts and taking them to Hooper for a few hours of recovery — if Howard and his partner can persuade them to go. Trib: Is this a sad job? Howard: Oh, no. There are so many funny things. We ask someone, “Do you have any cigarettes or whatever?” (Cigarettes are not allowed in detoxification units.) And they try to hide them down their sleeve or up around their collar. But we can see it. We call it a growth. “Oh, you have a growth over here. Have you had this growth very long?” They go along, laughing, being joyful. Some of them sing to us in the back of the van: “Please release me, let me go. …” And we just laugh… It’s a wonderful place to work.” The Story of Sushil Bhatia Ph.D. CEO, JMD Manufacturing Executive In Residence Suffolk University, Framingham, Massachusetts Dr. Bhatia leads an MBA course, Virtual Teams, Global Innovation and Product Development. Dr. Bhatia uses laughter in the course to promote innovation, creativity and new product development. Read Laugh, Breathe, Invent Throughout his career Dr. Bhatia has launched new products or found different ways to use existing ones. Just say, "hello my name is" stickers, glue stic and De-Copier-a machine that removes toner from paper. Dr. Bhatia says, "There's too much clutter in our minds. There's too much buzz. Corporations want to be innovative and to find the next big thing. How do you get there? You get there by having your employees be happy." In April, 2005 ABC's Good Morning America sent a camera crew to JMD Manufacturing to film Dr. Bhatia leading the 9 a.m. meditation and laughter yoga. Listen to an interview with Dr. Bhatia by Anil Rathi, President of Idea Crossing. The interview is titled The Art of Laughter in Global Innovations and Virtual Teams. Janet Lifshin, Certified Family Life Educator www.thehaha.com Janet S. Lifshin appeared on NBC's Today Show on September 18. The segment entitled, "It's Never To Late To Find Happiness," focused on Janet's philosophy of happiness (which she calls 'BeeHappytudes'), "It's not happiness that makes us laugh, it's laughing that makes us happy." Janet’s lesson in the realities of TV production was also quite relevant, "While filming the piece took many hours, the actual airtime was only a 'moment' and it really helped me appreciate that life is really just moments... and it's how we look at life that makes all the difference in the world." Read how a humor expert spreads message of fun and healing Emily, America's Funnest Kid 2005 According to America's Funnest Kid, she says the best advice she can give other kids about creating fun and laughter is to never be limited to what your body or mind can do because you always have your imagination and sense of humor. Emily knows this to be true, first hand, as she battles Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) with much courage...and a inspirational positive attitude! Melinda Hohmann, radio show host at XMKiDS who nominated Emily says, "Nothing gets her down. Emily touches the heart of everyone she meets and has proven to many that laughter really does heal!" The Story of Marion S. Wikholm MSW, LCSW "It was 50 years ago that polio knocked out my legs. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina knocked out my city. Therefore today, I do not have a leg to stand on or a house to sit in - and I still consider myself lucky, even blessed." Read Marion's Get Inspired! Article In the Wake of Katrina, it's Bitter or Better All Over Again The Story of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Jeff Bezos proves you can be successful and laugh at the same time! Read and hear Jeff's laugh Article in Seattle Times, July 13, 2005 by Monica Soto  Seattle Times, July 13, 2005 article by Monica Soto: Amazon.com founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos's laugh is so legendary that when the company emerged from the dot-com implosion intact, major business articles carried headlines such as "The Last Laugh" and "The Laugh Heard 'Round the World." The Story of Situation Comedy: Humor in Art Co-Curatored by: Michael Rooks, The Contemporary Museum Honolulu Dominic Molon, Pamela Alper, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Nadine Kam, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Wednesday Sept. 14, 2005 writes: "Remember Laughter? The Contemporary Museum focuses on humor, often absent in visual art." What if you opened an art show and everyone laughed? That's just what happened during Thursday's opening of The Contemporary Museum's latest exhibition, "Situation Comedy: Humor in Recent Art," much to the relief of curator Michael Rooks. The exhibition is divided into six sections that focus on different kinds of humor: slapstick, the absurd, parody, irony and saarcasm, jokes and bad taste. The show will travel to Chicago: Winnipeg, Ontario: and Ford Lauderdale, Fla., through summer of 2007.