Terminally ill comedian Quincy Jones saw his dream of hosting his own stand-up special realized on Monday’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Jones, who was diagnosed with cancer in the of summer 2015, heard the news directly from DeGeneres in his second appearance on her show (the episode was taped last week).
“Here’s the thing that you mentioned last time, that you want to do a comedy special,” she said. “That’s really important for you to do a comedy special.”
Jones, who confirmed that he “really” wanted to do a special, DeGeneres continued: “So what you don’t know, we called the head of HBO. And your people didn’t even tell you this, but HBO is going to air your special.”
A surprised and ecstatic Jones responded: “You’re lying. Are you serious? Are you?”
DeGeneres said that Jones’ reps had been conducting the negotiations with HBO unbeknownst to the comedian.
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Jones, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 mesothelioma cancer, was given a year to live and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. The 32-year-old comic has been trying to raise money via Kickstarter to fund a special through a campaign launched by his friend and fellow comedian Nicole Blaine, along with her husband Mickey. DeGeneres also shocked Jones by telling him that Shutterfly, which had previously given him $10,000 to help with the campaign, was giving him another $15,000 to finish producing the special.
The special will tape at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles on April 4 and air in the spring.
