Brendan Fraser and Jean Smart to Star in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life Table Read Benefit for the Ed Asner Family Center (EXCLUSIVE)

Happy holidays, indeed!

Brendan Fraser, Jean Smart, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen and Ken Jeong will star in this year’s virtual table read of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” benefitting the Ed Asner Family Center, on Dec. 11. The cast also includes JK Simmons, Jim Beaver, Brent Spiner, Phil LaMarr, Chelsea Darnell and Ben Mankiewicz.

“As the parents of autistic children, [my husband] Matt and I saw a desperate need to create a safe and welcoming community for Special Needs families,” Ed Asner Family Center co-founder Navah Asner said in statement Wednesday. “The Center provides arts and vocational enrichment and critical mental health services to these individuals and their families, creating a unique space to learn, interact and thrive. In that spirit, I’m thrilled to announce that we have developed an incredible, interactive and inclusive adult day care program that combines job training, life skills and expressive arts to foster self-confidence, independence and purpose.”

Tom Bergeron hosts the festivities, which will also honor Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann.

“I am amazed and deeply grateful that this incredible group of actors have volunteered their time and talent to support The Ed Asner Family Center, a cause near and dear to my dad’s heart. He would be so very proud. I would like to thank this year’s honorees, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, for their generous dedication and commitment to the autism community. In addition, my heartfelt thanks to Turner Classic Movies and Whatnot for partnering with us this year and helping to make this very special event a huge success,” said Matt Asner, son of Ed Asner and Center co-founder.

Sponsors of the event include Funko, Tito’s Vodka, Trebek Family Foundation, Robert & Renee Kelly Foundation, UTA, Whatnot, Turner Classic Movies and Jeff and Leslie Frost on behalf of Bristol Circle Entertainment. 

For more information, go to edasnerfamilycenter.org/wonderful/.

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