Best Dressed Man Gets Roasted
By Katie McFadden
The Best Dressed Man in Rockaway needs some aloe after all those burns last Thursday, June 6. Owen Loof was the first volunteer, or victim, of The Bettina Show’s Roast of Rockaway.
A roast is a form of comedy in which a guest of honor is subjected to jokes and insults at their expense. First started in a comedy club in New York in 1949, the premise gained popularity in the 1970s with the “Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.” Today, they’re common on Comedy Central and Netflix, with the latest being the Roast of Tom Brady.
Bettina Hornung, who hosted a series of stand-up comedy events last year as part of her Bettina Show, wanted to try something a little different this year. She was inspired when she was the subject of her own roast when her brother, Michael and one of her bridesmaids, Aileen Andre threw her a “Roast the Bride” party to celebrate her recent engagement. Hornung had so much fun, she reached out to Levon, one of the partners at Connolly’s and shared the idea of doing a Roast of Rockaway, featuring some Rockaway icons. Levon was on board.
When Owen Loof, the Best Dressed Man in Rockaway, caught wind of the idea, he immediately volunteered to be the first roastee. His verbal lashing took place last Thursday, June 6, with Rockaway Point News publisher Mike Schramm, Sean McClernon of the Knights of Columbus, SAG-AFTRA actress Marie Rizzo, Enchantress Shane Schulman, Rockaway Times editor Katie McFadden and Loof’s childhood friend, Billy Ward, stepping up to roast him. The event was hosted by roastmaster, Bettina, who dressed in her own Best Dressed look, and comedian, Porkchopz aka Joseph Iombardo.
“Owen is always out strutting stuff. I swear to God, the man thinks the boardwalk is his own personal catwalk,” Schramm said. “I’ve known Owen nearly five years and I learned a great deal about him, not because I wanted to but because Owen loves talking about Owen. The guy’s got two books…that are about himself,” McClernon said. Rizzo said, “The Best Dressed Man in Rockaway? You see how we dress in Rockaway? If we were in Miami, you’d be as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.” Shane read an original poem saying, “Owen, Owen, you’re the man, you sparkle and shine but you’re never tan.” McFadden said, “He flirts with so many women, he might as well go on The Bachelor so he can date them all at once. Oh wait, he tried that. This guy auditioned to be the Golden Bachelor.” Ward spoke about his days with Owen in Brooklyn Prep, and how Owen always had a knack for making others laugh. “He got in trouble, a lot,” he said.
Overall, it was a success. “The first one couldn’t have turned out better,” Hornung said. “At first, I was nervous because I had no idea if it would be funny, but I made sure they knew my basic comedy show rules (short and sweet, no politics or religion, no racism and don’t be a jerk). Owen chose his close friends, who were not comedians, but were ridiculously hilarious and all ended their roast with something sweet to say. Owen closed the roast with a payback roast to all his roasters and hit it out of the park.”
The next Rockaway roasts will be sometime in July. In the lineup are DJ and real estate extraordinaire Paddy Tubz (tentatively July 18), smokedawg Robbie Salmon (tentatively July 25), Rockaway Rod may step up to the challenge, and Rockaway is anxiously awaiting Jerry Rea to accept his invitation. For updates, make sure to follow Bettinashow on Instagram and Facebook.
