During the Oscars this year, I loved it when host Billy Crystal made the statement "In a tough economy, there's nothing like watching millionaires give each other gold trophies and awards, eh?" The economy is still struggling, and yet we have another awards event scheduled...the Comedy Awards 2012. Maybe the laughter will help us forget our financial woes.

Nominations for the second annual “The Comedy Awards” were just announced yesterday with “Modern Family,” “Bridesmaids,” “30 Rock,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and Louis C.K. leading the way with the most nominations. The annual event dedicated to honoring and celebrating the world of comedy will be taped at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday, April 28 and will premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

The nominees for the second annual event reflect an extensive range of comedic talent in film, television, stand-up and animation. “Modern Family,” recipient of the “Comedy Series” award during last year’s inaugural show, is once again nominated in the “Comedy Series” category, one of its five total nominations. Rightly deserved too, in my opinion! That show makes me laugh out loud every week. Other nominees for “Comedy Series” include “30 Rock” (five total nominations), “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (four total nominations), “Parks and Recreation” (three total nominations) and “Happy Endings.”

Leading the way in the “Comedy Film” category are “Bridesmaids” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” with five total nominations each. Rounding out the “Comedy Film” nominees are “Midnight in Paris” and “Horrible Bosses” (four total nominations each) and the Academy Award-winning “The Artist,” which received three total nominations. The recipients for the “Johnny Carson Award,” the “Comedy Icon Award” and The Comedy Awards Digital / Best Viral Original nominees will be announced in the coming weeks.

Reactions from The Comedy Awards nominees include:

"I want to thank everyone connected to the award and I want '30 Rock' to win."- Alec Baldwin, nominated for "Performance by an Actor - TV"

"Does this mean I have to go?" - Larry David, nominated for "Performance by an Actor - TV"

"I'm hyped because I can finally wear my tuxedo." - Kevin Hart, nominated for "Stand-up Tour"