At the Gilda’s Club benefit Tuesday at the Hotel Allegro, a bittersweet night was made a little easier by laughter for the many who have been touched by cancer.
Gilda’s Club was founded by Gene Wilder and cancer psychotherapist Joanna Bull after Gilda Radner succumbed to ovarian cancer in 1989. The club is a place where cancer patients and their families can participate in social or therapeutic activities. Yoga, chi kung — an energy-balancing movement practice that focuses on the importance of the mind-body connection — writing workshops and improv classes for adults and children taught by Second City, and lunch-and-laughter programs are among the healing services provided.
Actors Gary Beach and Roger Bart from “The Producers”; Mary AnnChilders and Jay Levine of WLS-TV Ch. 2; and Steven Molo, board president of Gilda’s Club, and his wife, Dr. Mary Wood Molo, were among those attending the event. A reception featured a silent auction, a buffet and music by the Larry Novak Jazz Trio. Then the crowd was ushered to the Cadillac Palace Theatre for a benefit performance of the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers” starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. The evening was sponsored by Credit Suisse First Boston. Tickets were $250. Proceeds of more than $160,000 will benefit programs at Gilda’s Club.
– Former state legislator and Park District chief Jesse D. Madison was honored as humanitarian of the year Friday at the Abraham Lincoln Centre’s (ALC) dinner at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel.
ALC, a social service agency that provides cultural and social services to South Side communities, hosted the evening. WGN-TV director of community relations Merri Dee was master of ceremonies at the event, which featured dinner, dancing and a roast. Among the roasters were Rep. Danny K. Davis and Jerry Butler, commissioner of the Cook County Board. George Galland, board of trustees chairman at the center, presented Madison the award for his 32 years of public service.
AON Corp., BP and Walgreen’s Corp. sponsored the event. The dinner chair and toast master was Cordell Reed, retired senior executive at ComEd. Tickets were $250. Proceeds, which have not yet been tabulated,benefit the Abraham Lincoln Centre.
– The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design held its “Art from the Heart” benefit in honor of the children of Chernobyl on Valentine’s Day at the museum. Since its inception in 1992, the Children of Chernobyl Project at the museum has provided educational information about the effects of the 1986 nuclear disaster through a series of international exhibitions that feature works of art by children from Chernobyl hospitals.
This year, 100 international artists and architects were invited to design a valentine to be exhibited at the “Art from the Heart” benefit. The evening included a reception that featured a display of the children’s artwork and a silent auction of the celebrity valentines.
Museum officials say that the public is invited to continue bidding on remaining valentines, which are on display at the Chicago Athenaeum Museum at 307 N. Michigan Ave. Tickets for the evening were $25.
– The DuSable Museum of African-American History held its “Night of 100 Stars” gala at the museum Saturday as part of its Black History Month celebration. Lynette Cole, Miss USA 2000, Cook County clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown, and Larry Wert, president and general manager of WMAQ-TV Ch. 5, attended.
The gala used the museum’s 10 galleries as food stations to cater to the 600 attendees. Entertainment was provided by jazz musician Orbert Davis, Joan Collasso and African drummer Tony Carpenter.
The evening also included the Chicago African-American history makers awards presentation that honored the late Gwendolyn Brooks, Jerry Butler, Rev. George Clements, Marva Collins, Thelma Smith, Peggy Montes, Ramon Price and Margaret Burrows. The awards are given to African-American Chicagoans who have made outstanding contributions to society in fields ranging from the arts to community service.
The event was co-chaired by Dave Duerson, former Chicago Bear and president and CEO of Fair Oak Farms, and co-founders of Loop Capital Markets Jim and Sandy Reynolds. The awards presentation was co-hosted by news anchors Marion Brooks and Art Norman of WMAQ-TV Ch. 5. Tickets were $225. The proceeds of approximately $135,000 benefit the DuSable Museum’s education and exhibition funds.
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