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62 GU I D E to Y E L L OW S P R I NG S | 2O22 – 2O23 continued: “She would watch my show every night.” Then, in a familiar Chap - pelle-style segue, from serious sentiment to punch- line, he paused and asked the audience, “Do you know how long that car ride home is?” noting that his raunchier jokes were sometimes met with a subtle, maternal admo - nition. But admonitions were slight and far-between Oct. 27, as a string of high-profile personalities praised Chap- pelle for his “fearlessness,” “truth-telling” and the “hon- esty” of his comedy. Among the guests honoring the comedian were singer and songwriter John Legend, who grew up in nearby Springfield; actors Morgan Freeman and Bradley Cooper; actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish; comedians Jon Stewart and Sarah Silverman; musicians Q-Tip, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Frederic Yonnet; and Chappelle’s frequent writing partner in the ’90s and early 2000s, Neal Brennan. A slate of unannounced surprise performers included comedian Aziz Ansari, musicians Erykah Badu and Common and three current cast members from “Saturday Night Live,” Kenan Thompson, Michael Che and Colin Jost. Freeman, the Academy Award-winning actor whose deep mellifluous voice has popularly been called “the voice of God,” opened the show with an introduction declaring “the best is yet to come,” regarding Chappelle and his career. The celebration then kicked into high gear as the Radical Elite Show Band of Washington’s Duke Ellington School for the Arts — Chap- pelle’s high school alma mater — filled the theater aisles and stage performing a raucous rendition of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” while video of Chappelle’s comic sketch portraying the late singer played on a jumbo screen behind them. A collection of video clips spanning Chappelle’s career in movies, on televi - sion and from his club and stage shows, continued to punctuate the proceedings as the evening’s celebrity guests created a portrait of an artist who mentors aspir- ing entertainers, encourages colleagues to take risks and expands the boundaries of his profession. Former host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart, who has toured recently with Chap- pelle and was also a guest in August 2019 when the come- dian put together a concert in Dayton in the wake of the mass shooting there earlier that month, spoke of his respect for his friend’s integ - rity as a performer — walking away from a $50 million deal with Comedy Central when the work didn’t feel right — and his appreciation for Chappelle’s humanitarianism. “I watched him help a city heal a wound of violence and replace it … with love and with compassion,” Stewart said of the Dayton experience. John Legend, who is the first African-American EGOT holder (winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), also spoke of the Dayton benefit, where he said Chappelle brought “comfort after tragedy,” not mention - ing his own visit and per- formance in the that city’s traumatized neighborhood that summer. Legend focused much of his comments on his and Chap- pelle’s Ohio connections. “Ohio has been responsible for more than its fair share of Black excellence,” Legend said. But, he added, those individuals usually have to leave to make their careers. “Amazingly, Dave still lives in the Buckeye state,” the Springfield native said. “He lives in the so-called ‘forgot- ten America.’” But it’s there, in his home - town, Legend continued, that Chappelle has orchestrated pop-culture touchstone events in a local barn — which Yellow Springs residents know as his Juke Joint gatherings at Whitehall Farm. Tiffany Haddish and Sarah Silverman both talked about Chappelle’s influence as a friend and performer. “He is a mentor and my big brother,” Haddish said, going on to recount an impromptu Christmas bowling excur- sion with Chappelle and his entourage that ended up at Eddie Murphy’s palatial home. Silverman spoke of being a young performer with Chap- pelle in New York City, where he moved after graduating from Duke Ellington School of Arts at the age of 17. “His creative thinking is his art,” Silverman said. “His stand 237 Xenia Ave., Downtown Yellow Springs • 937-767-9400 Dark Star Bookstore Visit us on Facebook • e-mail: books@darkstarbookstore.com Games • Manga • Back Issue Comics WE BUY BOOKS & COMICS • 39 YEARS IN YELLOW SPRINGS WWW.DARKSTARBOOKS.COM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK BROWSE OVER 40,000 BOOKS! New, Used, Out-of-Print and Collectible! 937-708-0559 Craig@MiamiValleyUltimate.com www.MiamiValleyUltimate.com Craig Mesure Your Local Real Estate Consultant 937-999-8751 or 937-767-2162 TheYellow Springs TreeCommittee More than 40 Years Planting and Caring for the Urban Forest and Tribute Trees in YS ystreecommittee@gmail.com