Look To The Stars News: William Shatner

Celebrity-Signed Books Up For Grabs For Charity

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Whether you are looking for a good book to read while stretched out on the beach, or – for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere – searching for something to curl up with in bed on a frosty winter’s night, there will be something for you in the SAG Foundation’s Celebrity Autographed Book Auction.

The Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation is raising money for it’s literacy programs by auctioning off books signed by your favorite stars. Going under the hammer are titles such as The Olsen Twins’ Influence, Michael J. Fox’s Always Looking Up, Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge, Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, Tom Colicchio’s Craft of Cooking, William Shatner’s Quest For Tomorrow, Alison Sweeney’s All The Days Of My Life, Kirk Douglas’ Let’s Face It, Jenny McCarthy’s Healing and Preventing Autism, Larry King’s My Remarkable Journey, Tori Spelling’s Mommywood, Sean Astin’s There and Back Again, John Lithgow’s The Poet’s Corner and many more.

Proceeds from the auction benefit the Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s literacy effort, which began in 1992 and now includes such programs as:

BookPALS, a volunteer program comprised of performing artists who read aloud to students in schools, hospitals and libraries.
We The Children, which teaches children the value of books and the importance of their lives by giving them the opportunity to write and illustrate their family history.
Storyline Online, an online interactive website which brings the excitement of books into the classroom and home.

The auction runs until July 28 and can be accessed here.

Stars For A Cause To Raise Charity Funds Tonight

Thu, 28 May 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A selection of items designed and decorated by some of Entertainment’s biggest stars will go under the hammer at Bonhams and Butterfields Auction House in Los Angeles tonight, May 28.

The Stars For A Cause Auction features a wide range of rare and collectable items, such as posters signed by Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anna Paquin, David Duchovny, Rumer Willis, Jonas Brothers, P. Diddy, America Ferrera, Hayden Panettiere, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway, Steve Carell, Emma Thompson, Marisa Tomei, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Tina Fey, Steven Spielberg and many more.

There are also shoes from William Shatner and Ludacris, and bags adorned with kisses from Al Roker, Nancy O’Dell, Nicollette Sheridan, Marcia Cross, Hugh Laurie, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Geena Davis, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Reese Witherspoon, Kelly Clarkson, Green Day, Keira Knightley, Paula Abdul, John Legend and many more.

And if that is not all, there are also cufflinks from Miley Cyrus and Trace Adkins, and jewelry from many others.

A public preview of the lots will take place between 12pm and 5pm today, at the Bonhams and Butterfields Auction House at 7601 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. The auction will begin at 8pm.

Half of the proceeds of the auction will go to charities chosen by the participating stars, such as the The Art of Elysium, Keep A Child Alive, Red Cross, Elton John AIDS Foundation, UNICEF and many many more. The other half will go to the Prince’s Trust, which helps young people develop confidence, motivation and skills to find work.

More information can be found here.

William Shatner To Host Charity Horse Show

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0000

For the past nineteen years, William Shatner has spearheaded the Hollywood Charity Horse Show to raise money for a worthy children’s charity.

It was back in the late 1980s that Shatner first watched an exhibition by children who were so severely handicapped that some of them could not hold their head up, yet there they were going through intricate exercises on the back of a horse. The program was sponsored by Ahead With Horses, a therapeutic riding group for handicapped children.

When the exhibition was over, Shatner sat, deeply affected by what he had seen. “You can’t watch these kids without knowing you have to help, somehow.” And so, in March of 1990 came the birth of the first Hollywood Charity Horse Show. Soon, other charities in need of help were added, small, grass root charities doing big time jobs.

Today, the Hollywood Charity Horse Show is an ongoing event that garners national press coverage. On one special Springtime Saturday afternoon each year, HCHS brings together world-class reining horses and riders in breathtaking slides and spins as they compete for top honors in their respective classes. Then, as the sun sets, the much anticipated auction and music show put on by headline groups such as Brad Paisley, The Ben Folds Five, Lyle Lovett and Randy Travis, kick off right after an amazing array of food & fun.

This year’s HCHS will take place at 480 Riverside Drive in Burbank, California, this Saturday, April 25, with a special performance by Willie Nelson. The show will benefit Ahead with Horses, Camp Max Straus and other children’s charities. More info can be found here.

Henry Winkler Wins Cash For Charity

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actor Henry Winkler has won £40,000 (US$56,000) for an education charity in a radio competition.

The former Happy Days star was chosen in a public vote for the “Who’s Calling Christian?” competition on Absolute Radio in the UK, in which people had to get stars to call the station in order to win £20,000 for themselves, and £40,000 for the charity of the celebrity’s choice.

“I’m just so grateful to everyone who voted for me… and you can all start your weekend knowing you’ve done a very good thing,” said Winkler on Friday. “The Teaching Awards really deserve it. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to win this for teachers.”

Winkler chose the Teaching Awards Trust – which recognizes inspirational teachers – as the recipient of the prize money. Winkler is a patron of the Trust, and an ambassador for excellence in education.

“It’s the teachers that make the difference; there is nothing more important than getting a good education,” said Sophie Byatt, managing director of the Teaching Awards Trust. “It’s the key to helping young people grow up to lead happy and fulfilled lives and it is the teachers that achieve this. We don’t thank teachers enough for the essential work that they do, the Teaching Awards gives us all a chance to say thank you.”

Winkler was up against celebrities such as Simon Cowell and William Shatner in the competition.

Kristen Bell Attends Alzheimer's Event

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Kristen Bell was one of the many stars to attend the 17th annual Alzheimer’s Association A Night At Sardi’s event in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, March 4.

Held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the event attracted stars such as Jason Alexander, Vanessa Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Michelle Pfeiffer, P. Diddy, Greg Kinnear, Zachary Levi, Michael Chiklis and William Shatner, and honored the producers of Fox Sports and the TV show “Friday Night Lights”.

The charity event is one of the biggest annual fundraisers for the Alzheimer’s Association, garnering over $17 million since it was first held.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Their mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. More information about their work can be found at their website.

William Shatner Helps Children With Horse Show

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Written by Catrina K. Sally

William Shatner is probably best known for his rendezvous in outer space and his diligence in protecting people from high hotel prices, but the high-profile actor has another project near and dear to his heart—and this venture involves horses.

Since March 2009, Shatner has been the organizer of the Hollywood Charity Horse Show. The idea for the program birthed from the actor’s viewing of a 1980 exhibition by severely handicapped children. The children – including some who could barely hold their heads up – were performing complex calisthenics on the back of a horse. The program was sponsored by Ahead With Horses, a therapeutic riding group for handicapped children. Shatner commented, “You can’t watch these kids without knowing you have to help, somehow." And help he did.

Today, the Hollywood Charity Horse Show is an annual, nationally-covered event. HCHS begins with world-class reining horses and riders competing for honors by performing spectacular stunts and tricks. The competition is followed by an auction and music show put on by popular artist such as Brad Paisley, The Ben Folds Five, Lyle Lovett and Randy Travis.

Mark your calendars! April 25, 2009 is the next date for Shatner’s event. Willie Nelson is the scheduled musical guest. The show will benefit Ahead with Horses, Camp Max Straus and other children’s charities. More info can be found here.

Mandy Moore To Attend Friendly House Awards

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Mandy Moore is just one of the celebrities expected to attend Friendly House’s 19th Annual Awards Luncheon this Saturday, October 18.

Hosted by 8 Simple Rules’ Katey Sagal, the event will honor Candy Spelling – mother of Tori Spelling – as Woman of the Year. Spelling is a well-known civic leader in Los Angeles, as well as a Commissioner for the Department of Recreation and Parks, and a member of the board of L.A.’s Best, the Mayor’s group that provides reading programs to schools in L.A.

Friendly House is an organization that provides a safe place for women to overcome addictions and be reintegrated into the community. Founded in 1951, the facility was the first treatment center in the US devoted to women recovering from substance and alcohol abuse, and became a model for similar facilities around the world. Over 6,500 women have been treated at Friendly House, with a success rate of 72%. The current location of the facility was donated by William Shatner in 2001, in honor of his late wife.

The Woman of the Year Award will be presented by last year’s recipient, Anne Douglas – the wife of Kirk Douglas.

Information on attending the ceremony can be found at the Friendly House website.

Stars Hit The Catwalk For St. Judes

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A bevy of stars stepped out on the catwalk on Saturday night for the 5th annual Runway For Life benefit in Beverly Hills.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ross McCall, Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, Jonny Lee Miller, Daisy Fuentes, Jason Alexander, Nancy O’Dell, Cybill Shepherd, Natasha Henstridge and Jaime Pressley were among the stars to show their fashionable sides in the fundraiser for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and William Shatner was spotted in the audience.

Over 1,000 guests attended the event – held at the Beverly Hilton – which raised well over $1 million for St. Judes. Runway for Life is one of the biggest fundraising events of the hospital’s calendar, and has netted over $6.5 million since it was first staged.

Past events have included appearances by Cindy Crawford, Anna Kournikova, Alison Sweeney and many more.

New York Giants' Michael Strahan Hosts Charity Golf Tournament

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

The Michael Strahan & Dreier LLP Charity Golf Tournament is set to kick off on June 29 with a gala pairings party at TAO Restaurant in midtown Manhattan, which will include a private concert featuring a Grammy Award-winning performer, and auctions to benefit abused and neglected children in the New York area and children suffering from AIDS in Africa.

“Hosting this event is a great way for us to give back and help improve the lives of children,” stated Mr. Strahan. “Helping kids is the most important thing about this event.”

Proceeds from this year’s auction of sports memorabilia and the celebrity golf tournament will benefit Children’s Rights, a watchdog organization that advocates on behalf of abused and neglected children in the United States, and Keep A Child Alive, which provides medical care and life-saving drugs for African children suffering from AIDS.

“Our tournament’s mission is to make a significant difference in the lives of abused, disadvantaged and sick children,” stated Marc S. Dreier, the founder and managing partner of Dreier LLP. “This tournament allows us to both alleviate suffering and to provide children with a chance for a better life.”

The celebrity golf tournament will be held June 30 at the Century County Club in Purchase, New York. Past celebrities who have participated include: Eli Manning, Julius Erving, Warren Sapp, Marcus Allen, Clyde Drexler, Ahmad Rashad, Greg Anthony, Sterling Sharpe, Marshall Faulk, Luis Castillo, and William ‘Captain Kirk’ Shatner among others.

The event, now in its third year, raised more than $300,000 for children’s charities last year.

Eat From Your Favorite Celebrity's Plate!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:35:18 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

“Let them eat cake,” said Marie-Antoinette, the Queen consort of Louis XVI, and now you have the chance to do just that – eat cake from a plate designed and signed by one of Tinsletown’s finest.

The auction, currently underway at the Auction Wire website, features one-of-a-kind plates from stars such as Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and Carmen Electra, and is raising money for the Parkinson Society Maritime Region – an organization in Canada that aims to be the voice of Maritimers living with Parkinson’s disease. Funds will be used to supply services such as exercise programs, speech therapy, massage therapy, conferences, and workshops, and will also be used towards the National Research Program of the Parkinson Society Canada.

“The Parkinson Society is thrilled that so many celebrities from a variety of backgrounds – movies, television, politics, the arts – have come together to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and raise funds through this auction of celebrity designed plates,” said Paul McNair, executive director of the Parkinson Society Maritime Region.

The auction – which also includes plates from Johnny Depp, Dwayne Johnson, William Shatner, Dakota Fanning, Martha Stewart, Henry Winkler, Jordin Sparks, Stephen Colbert, Sarah McLachlan, Muhammad Ali, Phil Collins, Chris Daughtry, and Rob Lowe – runs until May 11.

Celebrity Auctions For Christmas

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:34:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

As the clock counts down to Christmas, celebrities have been keeping busy and warm by signing as many different items as humanly possible and donating them to a plethora of auctions. The holiday season may be at fever pitch now, but there is certainly a wide range of gift ideas to ease the stress of last minute shopping.

The VH1 Holiday Auction is currently being held at www.vh1auctions.com, and includes a long list of memorabilia from the music industry. All proceeds from the auction will go to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, an initiative dedicated to restoring music programs in schools across the US.

Items up for grabs include a harmonica signed by Alice Cooper (which has already attracted bids of $250), signed photos of Aerosmith and Chris Cornell ($300), and a guitar personally autographed by Ryan Adams ($1500). Signed clothing is also big on the agenda, with a jacket from Snoop Dogg, a vest from Iggy Pop, and sneakers from Amy Winehouse.

Signed guitars are also available as part of the Private Sessions Charity Auction, with all proceeds to benefit the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Avril Lavigne, the Goo Goo Dolls, Meat Loaf, the Barenaked Ladies, and Toby Keith are among the stars to sign both an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar for the auction, which also includes movie clapper boards autographed by Queen Latifah, Michael Douglas, and Anthony Hopkins.

But if these items whet your appetite, you have to be quick. The auction ends on December 12.

For those people celebrating Christmas in Australia this year, the Starlight Children’s Foundation Australia is auctioning Christmas decorations signed by various celebrities. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, The Rock, Delta Goodrem, Missy Higgins, and rugby league stars Matthew Johns and Benji Marshall have all put their names on baubles to raise money for sick children in the country.

An auction is also being held by Russell Simmons’ Diamond Empowerment Fund, to raise money for education programs in African countries where diamonds are a natural resource. A variety of fine diamond pieces are up for sale at www.ebay.com/diamondsgive, including an exquisite diamond-encrusted Ohm watch from the Simmons Jewelry Company. The opportunity to take part in exclusive photo shoots with celebrities such as Petra Nemcova, Naomi Campbell, LL Cool J, and Cedric the Entertainer are also up for grabs in the auction.

Actress and environmental activist Daryl Hannah is also doing her bit to ease the shopping blues this year, and has launched a brand new online store. www.dhlovelife.com offers goods picked with serious consideration of their environmental, social, and animal welfare impact. And if special holiday items such as an organic peace wreath and 100% recycled cards do not excite you, the store also offers compost buckets, surfboards and guitars made from hemp, bamboo snowboards, organic dog treats, and even a solar powered boat. The actress will also sell her personal bio diesel car and home fueling system on the site on December 20.

And finally a little news from the recent Lightspeed Fine Art Celebrity Charity Auction, held in Lake Forest, California, on the weekend of December 1 and 2. Lightspeed specializes in artworks relating to science fiction, and their eighth annual auction attracted guests from shows such as Stargate, Voyager, and Battlestar Galactica.

A surprise guest at the auction was Leonard Nimoy, better known as Mr Spock from Star Trek. Nimoy, who is reputed to have a huge personal collection of Star Trek memorabilia, donated several items to the auction signed by himself and William Shatner, including a plaque awarded from NASA for “inspiring a generation of scientists and explorers”.

Nimoy’s contributions made over $14,000 of the total $40,000 raised during the auction, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society and the Nimoy Foundation, an initiative that gives grants to artists-in-residence programs in museums and galleries around the US.

In the words of Mr Spock – “live long and prosper”.

Celebrities Back Charity Video Game

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:48:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A charity venture with a difference, involving the voice over talents of some of Hollywood’s biggest names, is to hit the internet in the next few months.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Bob Saget are among a group of celebrities to lend their voices to a new PC game being developed by Legacy Interactive and Animax Entertainment. The Tuttles’ Madcap Misadventures is an initiative of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping seriously ill children and families cope through entertainment, education, and family activities.

“Starlight is taking a giant step forward, away from run-of-the-mill charity events into the rapidly growing realm of online entertainment and casual gameplay,” said Patty Evans, Vice President of the Starlight Starbright Foundation, which serves over 180,000 children every month, distracting them from their pain and helping them better understand and manage their illnesses. “This inventive approach gives anyone with internet access the chance to participate together in a fundraising event through online casual gaming. Traditional barriers to charity event participation such as geographic location, cost, and finding the time to partake become virtually obsolete.”

Starlight describes The Tuttles’ Madcap Misadventures as “a hilarious arcade adventure about a thoroughly modern family trying to bond on a road trip to see the Amazon”. The 40 levels of side-scrolling action are brought to life by comic book style animated sequences, which feature the voices of Ashley Tisdale, Dominic Scott Kay, Dave Thomas and Dave Coulier. William Shatner is also involved, and plays a character named Vance Shepherd, described as a TV action star whose self-involved persona has been downloaded into the on-board computer of the family’s mini-van.

The game will be available to download from various PC game portals, and is also expected to receive retail distribution in the future. It will sell for $20, with $4.75 per unit going to the Starlight Starbright Foundation.

More information on The Tuttles’ Madcap Misadventures can be found at www.starlight.org and www.tuttlesfamilygame.com.

William Shatner Reads For Charity

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:49:00 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

On February 23rd, William Shatner will read a fairy tale at Once Upon A Chair, the annual fund raiser for the Canadian Intensive Care Foundation Of Calgary.

For the fundraiser, 10 chairs are turned into works of art, five of which are auctioned off. Four of the chairs go to patients who have survived due to care they received at the Calgary intensive-care unit, and one chair is given to the family of a patient who could not be saved.

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