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Academy Award Winning-Director Ron Howard To Present Garry Marshall with Award at West Coast GalaFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org
*Nicolas Cage To Be Inducted into Italian American Hall of Fame*
*Tommy Lasorda & Jack Valenti Join Celebrities* (LOS ANGELES, CA – April 9, 2002), Academy Award-Winning Director Ron Howard will present TV Producer/ Director and Movie Writer Garry Marshall with a National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Career Achievement Award at the Foundation’s West Coast Gala Dinner, Thursday evening, May 2 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The fund-raising event will begin with a reception and silent auction at 6 PM, followed by dinner.Actor Nicolas Cage will be the first inductee into the NIAF’s new “Italian American Hall of Fame.” Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association, will present Cage with the award. In 1994, Cage received a NIAF Special Achievement Award in the Performing Arts at the NIAF Gala Awards Dinner in Washington, DC.
Additionally, Enzo Torresi, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and managing partner of the venture capital company myQube USA, will receive a NIAF Special Achievement Award in Technology.
Dodger great Tommy Lasorda is the master of ceremonies. Among the celebrities on the host committee are: Ernest Borgnine; Cher; Joe Mantegna; Bette Midler; Luciano Pavarotti; and Sylvester Stallone. Los Angeles attorney Thomas Girardi is the NIAF West Coast dinner chairman.
Dinner tickets are $250 to $1,000 based on table location. Proceeds from the event will benefit the NIAF scholarship and education programs. For tickets, contact Michael Sanzi at 202/387-0600 or michael@niaf.org