Last night Hollywood and Broadway came together taking the stage at the Beverly Hilton for the 21st Alzheimer's Association fundraiser and awards dinner. Thanks to Laurie Burrows Grad, (event Co-Chair) this annual event was founded to honor her father, the playwright/director Abe Burrows. Since inception it has raised more than $21 million dollars.
This year the Abe Burrows award was presented to Brian Grazer, Oscar and Emmy winning producer and Chairman of Imagine Entertainment. His mother suffered from Alzheimer's. Ron Howard, director/producer and former child actor, presented the award. Jill Gascoine, British actress and advocate received the Sargent and Eunice Shriver Profiles in Dignity Award. She is living with the disease.
1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia. In 2012, 15.4 million caregivers provided more then 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $216 billion. In 2013, Alzheimer's will cost the nation $203 billion. This number is expected to rise to $1.2 trillion by 2050. There is no cure for AD, there is however, prevention.
Appearances and performances by Jason Bateman (Identity Thief), Emmy Rossum (Shameless), Jason Alexander (Clipaholics), the cast of The Big Bang Theory including Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik, Mitch Hurwitz (Writer & Producer), Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls), Scott Porter (Hart of Dixie), Zachary Levi (Chuck), Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls), Robert Morse (Mad Men), Shanola Hampton (Shameless), Christine Ebersole (Royal Pains), Alexandra Chando (The Lying Game), Sharon Lawrence (Drop Dead Diva), Stephen Weber (2 Broke Girls), Sarah Rafferty (Suits), Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained), Norm Lewis (Scandal), Colin Donnell (Arrow), Leslie Odom, Jr. (SMASH), Linda Hart (The Winner), Nita Whitaker (The Ides of March), Barrett Foa (NCIS: Los Angeles), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal), Alexander Dipersia (90210) Rob Morrow (CSI: NY), China Chow (Work of Art: The Next Great Artist), and Alfred Molina (Monday Mornings) among others.
And to wrap up the evening, the cast of The Big Bang Theory got everyone on their feet during a one of a kind performance of “The Time Warp,” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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