Melora Hardin was among the entertainers at the 20th Anniversary Alzheimer's Association's A Night at Sardi's.
Every 68 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and by 2050, that frequency will increase to every 33 seconds. These sad statistics have already struck close to home for many of us, and that’s why we support fundraisers such as the Alzheimer’s Association’s A Night at Sardi’s held recently at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA. Each year, top film and television stars lend their voices to the cause.
Laurie Burrows Grad first staged the event 20 years ago in honor of her late father, Broadway playwright/director Abe Burrows, and has since raised more than $20 million for research, awareness and support for patients and caregivers. “Alzheimer’s is much more in the forefront today,” Grad says. “People are much more aware of it. And the Obama administration has given us much more money to put towards it, so we’re very grateful,” she adds, referring to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), that mandates a federal strategy to address Alzheimer’s and the coordination of the nation’s research, treatment and caregiving efforts. This year’s event, which has a “Show Stoppers” theme, raised $1.3 million.
Former VIVmag cover model Melora Hardin, who spent five months in Chicago on Broadway, performed “Roxie Hart,” her character’s eponymous song. “I’m just glad to be here to help support,” she says. If you missed the glimpses of Hardin’s vocal talent as Jan Levinson on The Office, you can hear her in the upcoming TBS summer comedy series Wedding Band, playing an event planner and occasional performer, opposite Brian Austin Green and Harold Perrineau.
Marilu Henner attended to sing a fun medley of songs about body parts and present the Abe Burrows Entertainment Award to the producers of the CBS drama Unforgettable. Henner serves as a consultant to the TV show, as she has the same rare super-autobiographical-memory ability as the series’ central character. Her book about the subject, Total Memory Makeover: Uncover Your Past, Take Charge of Your Future (Gallery Books, 2012), comes out April 24.
Other show highlights included a duet between married Broadway vets Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs on “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a medley from Hair by the cast of The Big Bang Theory, Scott Porter (Hart of Dixie) singing “Lost in the Wilderness,” Chuck star Zachary Levi’s “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and “Oklahoma,” and amusing numbers from Steven Weber (“Tchaikovsky”), Jon Lovitz (“The King of Broadway”) and host David Hyde Pierce (“You Won’t Succeed on Broadway”).
Also on hand were Jane Seymour and her husband, James Keach, who are making a feature documentary about country legend Glenn Campbell’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. “We’ve been following Glenn everywhere and talking to the doctors and scientists,” says Seymour. She can next be seen in the Hallmark movie Lake Effects (May 6), as well as in the film Austenland, playing the woman who runs a British destination for Jane Austen fans, and in ABC Family musical Elixir.
Former VIVmag cover model Eva LaRue (CSI: Miami) confided that even though Alzheimer’s hasn’t touched her personally yet, now that “my parents are getting older,” it’s a concern. One in eight older Americans currently has Alzheimer’s.
Do you support the recent signing of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA)?
Photo credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
