The real estate developer and his longtime friend Adam Carolla shared laughs and pain at a taping for the veteran radio jock’s show
They are both Italian-Americans. They both love Los Angeles. And are fans of one another.
But even famed entertainment personality Adam Carolla couldn’t get real estate titan Rick Caruso to open up about his political future at a live event Monday night, the taping of the former’s show held in a movie theater at the latter’s mall: The Americana at Brand in Glendale.
Comedian Adam Carolla (L) appears on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno at NBC Studios on December 7Credit: (Photo by Kevin Winter/NBCUniversal/Getty Images)
They did, however, talk about the city, homelessness, and the deadly Palisades fire. Earlier in the day, Caruso’s philanthropic startup, Steadfast LA, delivered five homes to families who had lost everything in the wildfires.
“It was just one of the greatest days of my life,” Caruso told host Adam Carolla during a live taping of The Adam Carolla Show, according to the Westside Current. “I left there thinking, ‘Why isn’t the government doing more for these people? They have no options.’”
“Raised in West L.A.,” Caruso said. “My grandparents on both sides were immigrants, came through Ellis Island. My paternal grandfather ended up in Uniontown as a coal miner … and my dad was actually born in the coal mining camp.”
Boyle Heights, he said, “was like the old Italian-Jewish neighborhood of L.A.”
Scroll to continue reading
Carolla, himself Italian-American, asked a question that has been on the minds of many with roots in Italy: Why doesn’t L.A. have a Little Italy? Caruso then barked: “I’m on it.”
For weeks, City Hall politicians and campaign insiders have repeated a persistent rumor that Caruso was going to announce a run to replace Gavin Newsom this time instead of repeating a race against Karen Bass for a seat in City Hall. Sources in philanthropic circles told Los Angeles, asking for anonymity, that Caruso has met with deep-pocketed donors but that he has remained vague about what position he wants to occupy in 2028.
Even with Carolla, his old friend, Caruso declined to offer up any insight into his political future – even if he was behaving like a man about to undertake a mission of overhauling Los Angeles. He has been heavily critical of both Bass and Newsom, especially as it pertains to the handling of the deadly and devastating wildfires.
“Well, there’s no announcement tonight,” he said with a smile. “The only announcement I might make tonight is where I’m going to dinner afterwards.”