Seth Meyers Brings Good Humor to Bedford

The comedy both literally and figuratively took center stage, yet it was the meaning of the evening that brought Seth Meyers back to Bedford and tears to the eyes of many of those in attendance.

Best known for his standout role on Saturday Night Live, where he hosts the popular Weekend Update segment, Meyers, who moved to Bedford in fourth grade and graduated from Manchester West High School, had returned in honor of his mother, Hilary, who is retiring this month after 28 years as a French teacher in the .

And honor her he did. Not only did he help the Bedford Education Foundation raise more than $42,000 in ticket sales from the roughly 850 in attendance (minus ticket service fees, etc.), but he auctioned off two pairs of Saturday Night Live tickets for $3,000 each.

And then came the big surprise: a $25,000 endowment in his mother's name.

Indeed, the SNL star, shocked the audience with a delivery more powerful than even his best joke of the night when he announced the creation of the Hilary Meyers Endowment for Excellence in Foreign Language.

"Did you know about this," asked a still shocked soon-to-be retiree, following the event.

"Yep," nodded a grinning Larry Meyers, wearing both his husband and father hats. "I knew about everything."

"I feel like everyone knew but me," said Hilary Meyers. "It's overwhelming. I mean, I had him as my student my first year, he and all his friends, and we continue to be great friends with all those kids ... But to realize there's an endowment in my name, it's crazy. I'm shocked."

Hilary said she always knew her son had a knack for humor. The fact he, and his brother Josh, were able to make careers out of their talents was a pleasant surprise.

"What makes me very proud is that his comedy never relies on the cheap dirty jokes. He's more of a storyteller, I think, than a joke teller. I think everybody can listen to him tell ... I mean, so much of it is just so smart. And that, to me is a reflection of him. His work ethic and the stuff he has in his head, the reading that he does, he brings so much of that in it, and it just makes me very proud.

"Education has always been very important to us, obviously, and it's reflected in how he conducts himself and how he's gotten to be so successful," she continued. "I think the writing has really been a fallback for him. No matter what happens, he has the writing in his back pocket."

In addition to a heavy political focus mixed with some healthy self-deprecating humor, Meyers dedicated an entire portion of his routine to his Bedford and education roots, specifically chastising taxpayers for waiting until after he had graduated to build a new high school and poking good-natured fun at Bedford High School students.

At one point, in fact, he suggested that while most high school students look forward to something better after graduation, BHS students may have to lower their expectations.

Still, after the event, Meyers conceded his time and education at West proved invaluable to his success.

"I really meant what I said, which is I loved going to West ... I had great teachers ... I met great kids there," he said. "I mean, look, this is a beautiful school, but I feel like a lot of who I am is because of West. And part of West is it's the first place I got on stage and was doing comedy with my brother. And West High is a tough room. If you can do OK at West, you can probably make it anywhere.

"I feel like the New England culture reflects on what you do, you know, there's a real honesty to New England ... a real New England sarcasm, and those are such nice qualities to have in a comedian ...  and I think the best comedy is honest and some of the best, most honest comedians have come from here," said Meyers who said he believes Boston-area comedians have a more sarcastic edge than even New Yorkers.

While her son heads back Manhattan, Hilary Meyers said she'll likely do a lot of traveling. In fact, she's already planning on learning Italian and taking her sisters to Italy.

"I don't have a specific plan. See, I'm always off in the summer, but when the fall comes, who knows, I may just throw up my hands and say what am I going to do," she said. "But very few retired people you speak to say 'this is the worst, I wish I was back working again.' So I think I'm going to be fine."

Follow Bedford Patch on our Facebook page, Twitter feed, and daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.