It was a who’s who of the baseball world at the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s annual New York Dinner at The Pierre Hotel last week, which raised over $6 million to support ground breaking discoveries in cancer research.
And I guess it was no surprise that rock legend John Fogerty accompanied by his son on guitar, completed the extraordinary night with hits including Proud Mary, Have You Ever Seen the Rain, Down on the Corner, and the fitting Centerfield.
Milken and his lovely wife Lori couldn’t help but kick up their heels as well as jewelers David & Sybil Yurman, and Bonnie Pfeifer Evans; Trustee, of the Charles Evans Foundation.
Whoopi Goldberg, a good friend of Michael Milken returned as host, along with John O’Hurley for the dinner which honored the 20th Season the Prostate Cancer has partnered with Major League Baseball and its team owners for the PCF Homerun Challenge, with Baseball Hall of Fame Managers Joe Torre, Tommy Lasorda and Tony La Russa.
Following a baseball themed Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s On First” comedy sketch, Milken, invited MLB attendees including Mark Attanasio, Todd Boehly, Jerry Cohen, Tommy Lasorda, Scott Minerd, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Mark Walter and Fred Wilpon to the stage for a special rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” while wearing special Prostate Cancer Foundation baseball jerseys.
“If you buy a baseball team next year, you could be up here,” said Milken.
Milken, a financier who made headlines back in 1989 for his securities fraud conviction which lead him to spending 2-years incarcerated, started the Foundation after his own 1993 diagnosis.
Immediately following the baseball players and before Fogerty, opera group Forte from America’s Got Talent performed their version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” before singing the classic “Il Sole Mio.”
Event Co-Chairs and other VIP’s included ultra-wealthy pharmaceutical businessman Stewart Rahr who donated mucho dinero, CEO of Prostate Cancer Foundation; Dr. Jonathan Simons, Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, John Paulson, Larry Leeds, Dr. James Allison, one and only music scribe Jim Bessman, Seth Bernstein, Dr. Richard Merkin, Artie & Selma Rabin, Neal Rodin & Sharon Schutte-Rodin, Mark Walter, Joel Paschow, Debbie Attanasio, and David Cohen of Comcast, a cancer survivor who received an award for his philanthropic endeavors.
Pictured:
John Fogerty