Medley was shot at the midnight premiere of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." He remains in critical condition as of Thursday.
Just two days earlier, he had advanced in the Comedy Works New Talent contest. It is the same contest that helped begin the career of famed Denver-native comedian Josh Blue, winner of NBC's "Last Comic Standing."
Now, Blue and other comedians are rallying around Caleb Medley, whose wife gave birth to their first child this week. The comedians are helping raise money to cover Medley's medical bills.
"We're a very close community," Blue said. "We're very tight, and when something like this happens to one of our own, it really hits home."
Comedy Works will ask for donations at the end of each show, nightly. Two internationally-recognized comedians are also helping. Rob Schneider, of "Saturday Night Live" fame, will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from his Sept. 12 show at Comedy Works South to a fund for Medley. Doug Benson will also donate the proceeds from his show on Aug. 12 at Comedy Works Downtown. Tickets are now on sale for both shows at www.comedyworks.com.
Comedy Works is also planning two more benefit shows. Proceeds from one show will be donated to Medley's fund. Proceeds from the other show will be donated to a fund for all victims. The dates are still being planned.
Friends also created a website called www.calebmedley.com/help to collect donations for Caleb Medley. Blue says, in less than a week, the site has raised nearly $300,000.
"It's amazing to feel the community coming together," said Blue.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)