It was an evening of smooth jazz, glitz and laughter under the stage lights and ruby red curtain of McKenna Theater.

A performance by award-winning actress Carol Channing and the comedy of SF State alumni Ronnie Schell and other celebrity personalities tickled the funny bones of Friday night’s full audience.

With a lineup that also included Steve Landesberg, Tom Ammiano and Ron More, stand-up comedy routines featured jokes about the culture of San Francisco with zany and hilarious solutions to many social problems of the city.

Channing shared a riveting tale of how she made it big, performed her own hit songs like “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” and did a touching soft shoe dance with husband Harry Kullijian.

“It feels good to be home. I remember I went to Lowell High School. Oh, you went there too,” Channing said beaming into the cheering audience.

For the past nine years, Schell has gathered his entertainment biz buddies like Jonathan Winters, Phyllis Diller, Tim Conway and many more to put on the Veterans of Comedy Wars benefit.

“This event is mainly for young athletes that can’t afford to go to our school,” Schell said.

The proceeds from this year’s benefit will include an added bonus for SF State. Channing will be establishing a scholarship for the advancement of the arts.

“Carol’s providing a scholarship in every one of the 23 CSUs to bring an emphasis to the arts,” Kullijan said. “She signed a contract donating her own money because she believes in this so much.”

Joining Schell in the show was Bay Area radio performer Carter B. Smith who also graduated from SF State in 1958. Smith went on to a 48-year career in the broadcast industry and worked for Bay Area stations KSFO, KNBR, KFRC and KNBL.

“If you really love this you can do it,” Smith said as he commented on the competitiveness of the broadcast industry. “It takes total love and commitment to succeed.”

Before the performance Smith and Channing gave lectures in several classrooms full of students who hope to have careers as illustrious as theirs have been.

“Everything she said was moving,” commented theater student Katie Cruz who attended a lecture given by Channing. Cruz remembers Channing from when she was younger and was excited to see the performance.

Over the years the jokes and antics of Schell and friends have raised $250,000 for the College of Creative Arts and the athletic department. In addition to raising money for SF State, Schell also enjoys gathering his aging friends whom he calls the veterans of comedy.

“I always say please come and see these people because this is the last time you might get to see us,” Schell said.