6:12 am. November 26th, 2011. Never Not Funny. Jimmy Pardo. The Third Annual Pardcast-a-Thon has officially wrapped. After 12 hours of world class comedian, singer, and celebrity-induced laughter and fun, over $42,000 was raised for Smile Train. This organization aims to provide children born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without. The surgery costs $250, so roughly 168 children will be able to have the surgery thanks to this year’s event. The three Pardcast-a-thons have raised over $97,000 so far.
Whether you stayed up to watch all 12 hours, caught a few guests or missed the Pardcast-a-thon altogether, you’re in luck. Here are my SportsCenter-style Top 10 highlights of the night.
The hosts with Amy Poehler *Photo by Liezl Estipona10. Hosts Jimmy Pardo, Matt Belknap and Pat Francis all welcome the ACME Comedy Theater live studio audience and prepare them for half day of fun. They mention that $8,004.69 has already been donated, which is over half the amount donated from the entire Pardcast-a-thon in 2009. Off to a great start! 69 cents remains a theme throughout the night, tormenting Pardo the entire time.
9. The longtime comedian Wayne Federman confesses to the audience about his addiction to fast food (especially Taco Bell) and discusses the most frightening show on television, Snapped! Women Who Kill.
8. Conan writer Todd Levin supplies some excellent conversation starters, brought to them by the Omaha Steak People.
7. Rich Sommer gives all Mad Men fans some insight when he clarifies that the show’s time period will stay in the 60’s, despite the show creator and runner Matthew Weiner’s quote about the series ending in 2011.
Jesse Thorn *Photo by Liezl Estipona6. Jesse Thorn, American public radio show host/creator and Maximum Fun founder, dressed in a stylish suit, brings the guys (and the studio audience) dozens of satsumas, seedless and “easy to peel” Japanese citrus fruits. Before Thorn leaves, however, he makes sure to ask the audience for his Trader Joes reusable grocery bags back.
5. Eli Braden, a Los Angeles writer/musician regularly heard on Howard Stern, sings songs about white people problems. Plus, Francis lauds Braden for his outstanding Twitter feed.
4. Radio personality Adam Carolla drops in as a surprise guest and reminisces about building the bench that resides in the current ACME Theatre. He shows the bench to the audiences and acts disgusted with the chewing gum littering his work of art.
3. The ever-charming singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb discusses her children’s book and pleases everyone with “Dirty Work” and her chart-topping song “Stay (I Miss You)”.
2. Amy Poehler and Pardo discuss their peculiar laughs, and Pardo challenges Poehler to make his explosive laugh erupt. Of course, the hilarious Poehler wins out, making Pardo laugh, much to the audience’s delight.
1. Pardcast-a-thon favorite Jon Hamm makes his grand entrance and appears a bit sillier than his Don Draper character. The guys talk about the Dukes of Hazzard, and his hometown St. Louis Cardinals. As tradition would have it, Hamm stumbles back on for more cameos throughout the next couple of hours.
Other guests included Joe Lo Truglio, John Ross Bowie, Rachel Quaintence, Walter and Danielle Koenig, Andy Richter, Janet Varney, Paul Gilmartin, Rebecca Corey, Bil Dwyer, Graham Elwood, Dave Holmes and Greg Behrendt.
Starting December 15th, downloadable audio and video versions of the 12-hour webcast will be available on http://pardcast.com. Proceeds from sales will be donated to Smile Train.
Rick Demint will also be releasing a book of photos from the benefit available soon. Yes, sales will benefit Smile Train.
Thanks to Jimmy, Matt, and Pat for hosting this incredible event and for making a difference for Smile Train! Might as well start storing sleep for next year’s all-nighter.
Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 11:09AM 
The Nerdist
