Nationally known comedian Gabriel Iglesias will appear at the Denver Improv next Wednesday in a fundraiser for Caleb Medley, an aspiring comic who is hospitalized after being shot in the head during the Aurora theater rampage Friday.
Iglesias doesn’t know Caleb, whose wife Katie escaped uninjured from the massacre that killed 12 and injured 58. Katie gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday.
After the boy, named Hugo, was born, Caleb’s brother, Seth, told reporters that Caleb, 23, is making small improvements.
The couple doesn’t have health insurance, and his brother said recovery could take several years and generate “insurmountable” bills.
Iglesias called out of the blue and said he want to come and do a benefit for Caleb and asked if he could do it at the Denver Improv, said Al Canal, the Improv’s general manager.
On Tuesday, Hugo, who is named for a character in the TV series “Lost” was brought into Caleb’s hospital room. Seth said his brother responded, moving his right hand toward the baby, and his heart rate increased slightly.
The club seats 350 people, Canal said.
Caleb is one of five patients injured in the incident at Century Aurora 16 who remain in critical condition at University of Colorado Hospital.
The hospital in Aurora received 23 patients after James Eagan Holmes, 24, allegedly shot up the theater killing 12 and injuring 58.
The hospital has treated and released 14. Two patients remain in good condition, one in fair and one patient died, according to a hospital release Wednesday morning.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee
