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The Thalians is a charitable organization dedicated to mental health causes. [1] It was founded by Hollywood actors in 1955, and takes its name from Thalia, Greek Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. [2] [3]
Over 60 years, the Thalians held Annual Galas, honoring a Mr. or Ms. Wonderful with an award designed by Walt Disney. The coveted trophy is given to a member of the entertainment industry not only for their work on stage and screen but also for their behind-the-scenes philanthropy. A partial list of the honorees includes Frank Sinatra, Mary Martin, Lana Turner, Ed Sullivan, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, James Stewart, Rita Hayworth, Count Basie, Liza Minnelli, Carol Channing, Carol Burnett, Sally Field, Mary Tyler Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Red Buttons, Clint Eastwood, Mickey Rooney, Kenny Rogers, Hugh Hefner, and Smokey Robinson. [1] [4]
They used to be connected with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. [5] [6] [7]
The Thalians current focus is the mental health of the military men and women and their families of UCLA Operation Mend. The President Emeritus of the organization was the late Debbie Reynolds. [1] [4] Current President is Kira Reed Lorsch; Past President: Debbie Reynolds; Chairman: Dr. Irwin Lehrhoff; Chairwoman Emeritus: Ruta Lee; Treasurer: Andrew McDonald; Recording Secretary: Stephanie J. Hibler; Board Members: Frank Sheftel, Brian Theobald, Barbara Cohen-Wolfe & Larry Wolfe, Patrika Darbo, David Snowden, Rico E. Anderson and George Pennacchio. The Board of Governors: William & Patricia Anton, Sandy Krause, Dr. Lawrence Piro, Jackie Rosenberg.
The Thalians library of documented Thalians Galas is being preserved at the Academy Film Archive. [1] [8]
It is headquartered in Mission Hills, California. [9] The Thalians now mainly supports mental health programs for wounded military men and women and their families of UCLA Operation Mend.
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer with her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words. Her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Her other successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), Bundle of Joy, The Catered Affair, and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her performance of the song "Tammy" topped the Billboard music charts. In 1959, she starred in The Mating Game and released Debbie, her first pop music album.
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)—a posthumous release that was dedicated to her—and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), through the use of unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Her other film credits include Shampoo (1975), The Blues Brothers (1980), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), The 'Burbs (1989), When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Soapdish (1991), and The Women (2008). She was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performances in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (2007) and the Channel 4 series Catastrophe (2017).
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital has a staff of over 2,000 physicians and 10,000 employees, supported by a team of 2,000 volunteers and more than 40 community groups. As of 2022–23, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cedars-Sinai among the top performing hospitals in the western United States. Cedars-Sinai is a teaching hospital affiliate of David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), which was ranked in the top 20 on the U.S. News 2023 Best Medical Schools: Research.
Ruta Lee is a Canadian-born American actress and dancer of Lithuanian descent. She was born in Montreal, Canada, to Lithuanian immigrant parents. Ruta Lee appeared as one of the brides in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama Witness for the Prosecution and Stanley Donen's musical comedy Funny Face, and also is remembered for her guest appearance in a 1963 episode of Rod Serling's sci-fi series The Twilight Zone called "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain."
The University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, also known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM), is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1951, it is the second medical school in the University of California system, after the UCSF School of Medicine. The school was renamed in 2001 in honor of media mogul David Geffen who donated $200 million in unrestricted funds.
The Circle Star Theatre was a performing arts venue in San Carlos, San Mateo County, California. Its name is based on it being a theater in the round, featuring a rotating circular stage with none of its 3,743 seats further than 50 feet from the stage. Unlike similar venues across the United States, the Circle Star Theatre stage had the ability to rotate in either direction without limit, thanks to the slip ring and brush system that supplied electrical/audio to and from the stage. The theatre's address was 2 Circle Star Way, San Carlos, CA 94070.
The UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health is the graduate school of public health at UCLA, and is located within the Center for Health Sciences building on UCLA's campus in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has 690 students representing 25 countries, more than 11,000 alumni and 247 faculty, 70 of whom are full-time.
Harbor–UCLA Medical Center is a 570-bed public teaching hospital located at 1000 West Carson Street in West Carson, an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County, California. The hospital is owned by Los Angeles County and operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, while doctors are faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who oversee the medical residents being trained at the facility.
Clarion Hotel and Casino was located near the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It included a 12-story hotel with approximately 200 rooms, and a small casino. The property opened as a Royal Inn on April 19, 1970. It was renamed Royal Americana in 1980, and then Paddlewheel in 1983.
Paula Jane Meehan was an American businesswoman, executive and philanthropist. She co-founded the Redken hair care products company. She briefly worked as an actress and fashion model.
Kira Reed, also known as Kira Reed Lorsch, is an American actress, television host, television writer, and television producer.
Ricardo Azziz is a Uruguayan-American higher education and biomedical executive administrator and researcher who serves as Principal of SPH Consulting Group. He also serves as Executive Director of the non-profit Foundation for Research and Education Excellence and Director of the Center for Higher Education Mergers and Acquisitions at the Foundation.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States. It is currently ranked by U.S. News & World Report, as the best in California and the West Coast. The hospital provides tertiary care to Los Angeles and the surrounding communities.
William "Willie" Warren Brien is an American politician who was the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer of University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. Previously, he was the Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedic Center and also served as the Chief of Staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was elected as a Council Member of the City of Beverly Hills in 2009 and became Mayor of Beverly Hills in March, 2012.
Todd Emmanuel Fisher is an American business executive, architect, sound engineer, and filmmaker. He is the son of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds.
Carol Aneshensel was an American sociologist. She specialized in the sociology of mental health, focusing especially on how social inequalities lead to corresponding disparities in mental health. She was professor and vice chair for the Department of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), before becoming professor emeritus.
Warrior Care Network is a mental health program that provides care, travel, and accommodations at no cost for United States veterans and their families. Treatment options consist of intensive outpatient care, mainly focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), and related conditions such as anxiety and depression. Warrior Care Network began accepting veterans into the program on January 15, 2016. It was created by a joint effort between Wounded Warrior Project, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and partners consisting of four academic medical research hospitals located throughout the United States. The four programs are Operation Mend at UCLA Health, the Veterans Program at Emory Healthcare, Road Home at Rush University Medical Center, and Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program.
Ronald Okun is an American physician and pharmacologist. He testified before the United States Congress three times on behalf of tobacco industry in the 1960s and 1970s, attempting to discredit the fact that smoking causes illness. He was also the co-editor of the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology from 1977–1989. For at least twenty years, he was the director of clinical pharmacology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Beth Young Karlan is an American gynecologic oncologist. In 2008, she was named editor-in-chief of the medical journals Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology Reports. In 2012, Karlan was appointed by the White House to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board, and in 2015, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.