Recap Of Farrah Fawcett Foundation 1st Annual ‘Tex Mex-Fiesta’ Benefitting Stand Up For Cancer
The Farrah Fawcett Foundation hosted its first annual “Tex-Mex Fiesta,” benefitting Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), Wednesday, September 9, 2015, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills. Actress Jaclyn Smith, Lipstick Angels and innovative cancer immunotherapy company, Advaxis, Inc. was honored. Multi-Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett performed and Access Hollywood host Billy Bush emceed. Wallis Annenberg and Dr. Lawrence Piro chaired the inaugural event celebrating the life and legacy of iconic actress Farrah Fawcett and her unwavering commitment to funding research for a cure for cancer that took her life in 2009. Farrah established the Farrah Fawcett Foundation after being diagnosed with anal cancer, which is caused in 90% of cases by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
In true Texas style, Farrah’s home state, the fiesta inspired evening included a dinner catered by award-winning El Cholo Restaurant and a one-of-a-kind silent auction featuring two unique donated works of art – a sculpture designed and created by Farrah Fawcett and “The Farrah Fawcett Orchid,” the first in a series of sculptures, hand painted by internationally respected artist Keith Edmier. Cheryl Alpert and the artists at 14 KARATS designed and donated 150 turquoise bracelets to be sold at the event with 100% of the proceeds going to support the work of the Stand Up To Cancer/Farrah Fawcett Foundation Research Team.
“I know how thrilled Farrah would be to see her dream of working toward a cure for this insidious form of cancer come to fruition,” said Alana Stewart, President and CEO of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, and producer of the Emmy nominated documentary “Farrah’s Story,” “She was a fighter to the very end, but remained strong enough to make her vision known. We are especially proud to collaborate with Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, that is dedicated to funding the cutting edge research that will save lives now and in the years to come.”
After her death, the Farrah Fawcett Foundation went on to join forces with Stand Up To Cancer, committing $1 million to fund The SU2C-Farrah Fawcett Foundation Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Translational Research Team helmed by Drs. Ellis Reinherz and Robert Haddad, Professors of Medicine and Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School. The current goal of the foundation is to raise an additional $1 million to continue research. Dr Reinherz and Dr. Connie Trimble from John Hopkins University were on hand and spoke movingly of their collaboration with the Translational Research Team and the ground-breaking research being done to develop immunotherapies and a new cancer vaccine targeted for HPV cancers.
Alana Stewart presented the “Shining Star Angel Award” to her friend and multi-talented actress, designer, businesswoman and cancer survivor Jaclyn Smith, a long-time friend of Farrah’s. Another Texas native, she first set her sights on New York and a career in dance before being spotted by an enterprising agent who recognized her classic beauty as a natural for television, introducing her to home audiences as the Breck shampoo girl.
Hollywood soon beckoned and guest appearances in a host of popular shows followed, before landing the role of ‘Kelly Garrett’ one of a trio of adventurous beauties along with Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson in the hit series “Charlie’s Angels.” Frequently called the “Queen of the Mini-Series,” she has starred in such critically acclaimed television features as “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy,” for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, “The Bourne Identity,” “Rage of Angels,” and “Florence Nightingale.” Off-screen, Jaclyn is a successful businesswoman, launching a popular collection of women’s apparel for Kmart stores in 1985 that continues today along with the Jaclyn Smith Home Collection, also for Kmart; Trend, a fabric collection and, partnered with celebrity hairstylist Jose Eber, the Style collection of wigs and hairpieces. A skin care collection created with husband, Dr. Bradley Allen was recently introduced. A long-time supporter of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, Jaclyn is also active with Susan G. Komen®.
Founded in 2012 by Renata Helfman, a highly-respected makeup artist, Lipstick Angels is the recipient of the inaugural “Community Leadership Angel Award” presented to her by her good friend and cancer survivor Toni Staton Harris. Believing in the power of beauty to transform and heal, the organization’s mission is to restore dignity and hope to seriously ill patients in a hospital setting, where they are most vulnerable. Comprised of a host of professional and dedicated make-up and skin care specialists, Lipstick Angels provides bed-side weekly beauty make-over sessions to patients in the Women’s Oncology Ward at Cedars-Sinai as well as in their Samuel Oschin Cancer Center and Rehabilitation Unit. Lipstick Angels also provides make-up services to dependent seniors residing at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s retirement community in Woodland Hills and most recently, to patients in the Infusion Center at Long Beach Memorial Hospital’s newly opened Todd Cancer Institute.
Dr. Lawrence Piro, Chief Medical Advisor of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation and President and CEO of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, presented the “Medical Visionary Angel Award” to Daniel O’Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Advaxis, Inc. Based in Princeton, N.J., Advaxis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multiple cancer immunotherapies based on its proprietary LmTechnology™. Advaxis recently announced preliminary data from an ongoing Brown University Oncology Research Group investigator-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical study investigating the company’s Lm Technology immunotherapy ADXS-HPV in HPV-associated locally advanced anal cancer. The study has the potential to transition to a Phase 2/3 registration quality study. ADXS-HPV is also in clinical trials for two other indications: invasive cervical cancer and head and neck cancer.
About the Farrah Fawcett Foundation
The mission of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation is to provide funding for cutting edge cancer research, to support prevention and awareness, and to help those struggling with cancer today. Farrah Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. She established the Foundation before her death in 2009. For more information, visit www.thefarrahfawcettfoundation.org and follow them on Facebook.
About Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in the United States in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.
For more information about Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.standup2cancer.org. For information about the SU2C-Farrah Fawcett Foundation HPV Translational Research Team visit: http://www.standup2cancer.org/translational_teams/the_su2c_farrah_fawcett_foundation_human_papillomavirus_hpv_translational_r.
