Friday, November 30, 2001 10:53 PM
Reviving and reinventing a L.A. Press Club tradition, an outstanding group of Southern California and national newsmakers will be honored at the 2001 Headliner Honors on Dec. 5 in Hollywood. They are Mayor James Hahn, Sheriff Lee Baca, L.A. Sparks Coach Michael Cooper, state Energy “Czar” S. David Freeman, World Airports Executive Director Lydia Kennard, businessman and civic leader Eli Broad, talk show host Tavis Smiley and the new Screen Actors Guild President Melissa Gilbert.
There will also be a special tribute to the L.A. firefighters who went to New York City to perform rescue duty at Ground Zero, as well as patriotic musical tributes.
This year’s event is being dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attack on America. The club Board of Directors voted at the October meeting to share a portion of any profits in honor of those who died as a result of the terrorist attacks.
“Donating a portion of the profits from our Headliner event is the L.A. Press Club’s part of an important national effort to help victims of terrorism fight back,” says club VP and Acting President Jim Foy, a veteran of NBC news. “We join millions of other Americans helping the nation recover from the unprecedented Sept 11 tragedy.“
To commemorate this special evening, the club is creating the 2001 Headliiner September 11 Memorial plaques, one of which will hang permanently in club offices. Other plaques will be given to the Mayor to hang in City Hall, and to the fire department for display. There will also be a special 2001 Headliners collector’s edition of the December 8 Ball, which goes to members and will be distributed at the event.
The M.C.’s for the Headliners are a couple of headliners themselves: L.A. Times Columnist, best-selling author and KCET host Patt Morrison, and Adelphia Cable TV public affairs host, producer and executive Bill Rosendahl, who is also a former L.A. Press Club President.
The Headliner will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the modern 340-seat Los Angeles Film School Auditorium, in the same historic landmark building which houses club offices, at 6363 Sunset Blvd. (at Ivar, across from The Dome project) in Hollywood. Following the show, there will be a private buffet dinner for ticket holders on an adjoining sound stage.
Reserved tickets for the program and dinner are $250, $100 and $50. There are also a limited number of general admission tickets, which include the dinner, available for L.A. Press Club members and affiliates at $10 each. Non-member general admission is $25. The $10 seats are being sold on a first come, first served basis.
The Los Angeles Film School, under the leadership of Paul and Diana Derycz Kessler, has become a sponsor of the 2001 Headliners, and is playing a key role in making the evening possible. “We have been very impressed with what the L.A. Press Club has accomplished and welcomed an opportunity to support that effort,“ says Derycz Kessler. “We are happy to share in this prestigious event.”
The Headliner Honors carries on a longtime L.A. Press Club tradition. The Headliners began in 1962, as a way to help raise funds for journalists in need after the closing of two of the city’s four daily newspapers. The directors decided to establish an annual event, honoring Californians who had made headlines during the preceding year. The first Headliner honoree was newly elected Mayor Sam Yorty. It turned out to be a great success, attracting a large and enthusiastic crowd.
The list of those honored over the past decades is an impressive one. It includes Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, Bob Hope, Gov. Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Shirley Temple Black, Mayor Tom Bradley, Burt Reynolds, Muhammad Ali , Gov. George Deukmejian, Sybil Brand, Gene Autry and Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, the father of the current Mayor, who will lead off the parade of newsmakers we honor this year.
Each honoree this year has been asked to talk briefly about the media, and how they have been covered. “We have invited the newsmakers to talk back to the journalists,” says veteran reporter and editor, and L.A.P.C. Executive Director Alex Ben Block, who is Producer of the 2001 Headliner Honors. “We hope they will share what they have always wanted to say to the reporters who cover them.”
For information, tickets or to advertise in the very special December 8 Ball, contact the club offices (323-469-8180) or Email info@LAPressClub.org. Members are also needed as volunteers that evening. There will be an organizational meeting at the LAPC offices on Tuesday, November 27, at 7 p.m. Please RSVP to the club office.
