A CURE FOR SURE
Eight hundred fifty well-heeled guests gathered for a night of music and merriment at the Hyatt Century Plaza for Cedars- Sinai Medical Center’s fourth annual “Road to a Cure” fundraiser, which raked in $1.3 million to benefit the center’s Heart Stem Cell Center.
The affair was emceed by suspender-wearing talk show legend Larry King, and featured an honorary presentation to American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest and real estate bigwig John Bendheim.
King is used to seeing celebs, but it’s the cause that’s close to his heart. Cedars-Sinai hopes to break new ground by regenerating ailing organs using advanced cell-based treatments, which utilize a patient’s own nonembryonic cells.
After snapping up a few raffle tickets for a spiffy 2009 Lexus luxury hybrid sedan, it was time for dinner and a show.
Dishy Dallas star Priscilla Presley presented Bendheim, president of Bendheim Enterprises, with the “Philanthropic Leadership Award” for his generosity on behalf of a multitude of worthy causes.
Media whiz Ben Silverman took the stage to congratulate Ryan Seacrest with the “Heart of Hollywood Award.” Seacrest seemed a good choice for the honor, since the American Idol, E! News, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve, American Top 40 and KIIS FM multitasker seems to be everywhere you turn these days.
The evening ended with a special musical performance featuring Idol’s season seven runner-up David Archuleta and pop music vet Lionel Richie. The bash didn’t exactly go “all night long,” but they grooved well into the p.m. busting moves for medicine and rocking out for research.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Local notable Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be generating a big buzz everywhere he goes these days. The Titanic star won critical acclaim for his role as Frank Wheeler in Revolutionary Road. Now he’s being feted for his efforts to improve the environment.
A couple of weeks ago, LD was the man of the hour at the eighth annual “Cinema for Peace Awards” in Berlin, Germany. He picked up the “International Green Film” award, also known as “the green Oscar.” The ecofriendly honor was presented by Soviet boss-turned-Louis Vuitton poster guy Mikhail Gorbachev.
Leonardo has been at the forefront of environmental issues for years. Along with pal Mikhail, he sits on the board of Global Green as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council. At the age of 24, he set up the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation for environmental issues. In recent years, he has financed and produced several environmental films including his global-warming warning, The 11th Hour. He may have missed out on Oscar gold, but landing the green gong has got to feel good.
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