Ann Curry could get the last laugh on her bosses at NBC.
Curry, recently dumped as “Today” show co-anchor after only a year on the job, has been approached to compete in the annual “New York’s Funniest Reporter” contest — and she hasn’t said no.
“Since 2006, we’ve approached Ann every year and . . . she hasn’t been able to make it,” says contest co-creator Ryan McCormick.
“However, this was the first year they reached out to us and asked a bunch of questions about the show.”
While the words “Ann Curry” and “laugh-out-loud funny” aren’t generally used in the same sentence, Ryan McCormick says Curry is actually quite the cut-up.
McCormick was PR manager for Comic Strip Live in 2009 when he and comics Gilbert Gottfried and Jeffrey Gurian helped Curry prepare a spot for “Today” in which she’d do a stand-up routine at Caroline’s comedy club.
“Collectively, everyone gave her a crash course in stand-up comedy and, when the test came, she aced it,” he says. “Ann gave an incredible performance with lots of energy and passion and she was an absolute natural. People were laughing so hard Ann could easily tour as a professional comedian if she wanted to.”
Who knew?
Curry, who was in Colorado over the weekend covering the Aurora theater shooting, hasn’t committed yet — McCormick expects to hear something this week — but the list of people who are confirmed for the contest is an eclectic one: Ch. 5 anchor Greg Kelly, Fox News channel contributor Dr. Manny Alvarez, WWE wrestler Mick Foley and ESPN’s Michelle Steele among them.
Here’s how it works: each participant — offered the assistance of one or two professional “comedy mentors” to help them prepare material and work on their performance skills — will perform five minutes of stand-up comedy, with a winner declared at the end of the night.
McCormick, who co-created the contest with Mark Goldman, is still awaiting confirmations from former Gov. David Patterson, Rush Limbaugh, Curtis Sliwa, Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers, FNC’s Steve Doocy and Ch. 7’s Ken Rosato.
(HLN producer Marlaina Schiavo won last year’s contest.)
This year’s edition of “New York’s Funniest Reporter” will be held Sept. 27 at Comic Strip Live and will benefit The Humane Society of New York.
Past performers have included HNL’s Jane Velez-Mitchell, The Post’s Robert George, NBC’s Cat Greenleaf and Ch. 11’s Tiffany McElroy.