The 2008 Princess Grace Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street.
On
Wednesday, October 15, 2008, the Princess Grace Foundation–USA hosted
the Princess Grace Awards Galaat Cipriani 42nd
Street in New York City and presented 21 Awards to emerging artists
in theater, dance and film, as well as two Princess Grace Statue Awards
to artists who haatve previously won Awards and have shown achievement
and growth in their respective fields. Every year, the Princess
Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) proudly awards these grants at its
annual gala to support its mission of providing crucial
support to emerging artists in America. PGF-USA was proud
to present award winning actress Glenn Closewith
the Prince Rainier IIIAward in recognition of
her outstanding career and contribution to the arts. This
award was presented to her by award winning actor Ted Danson,
her Damages co-star. Tony® Award winning actor
and Glenn Close co-star in Barnum, Jim
Dale served as the evening's emcee. The Gala
took place in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a not-for-profit, publicly-supported
foundation headquartered in New York City founded more than 25 years
ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess
Grace [Kelly]. The Foundation's mission, that mirrors Princess
Grace's in Her lifetime, is to support emerging artists in theater,
dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships
and fellowships. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded
more than $5 million in grants to nearly 500 recipients.
This year the Princess Grace Foundation-USA awarded more than $750,000
to Award recipients. The Princess Grace Awards Gala raised
more than $400,000 (net), with the funds directly
benefitting the Foundation's mission to provide support to
artists in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships.
At the Gala, the awards for theater were presented by the evening's
emcee, Jim Dale, the dance awards were presented by Bebe Neuwirth
and the film awards were presented by Mariska Hargitay.
Co-chairs for the Gala (and Platinum Sponsors) were Noelle Wolf and
Dick Wolf, Emmy® Award winning writer/producer of the Law & Order drama
series and Dolly Lenz, Vice Chairman of Prudential Douglas
Elliman. Presenting Sponsor for this year's Princess Grace Awards
Gala was Hermès. Crown Sponsors this year
were American Airlines, Ana Tzarev Gallery and Mrs.
Edmond J. Safra. Corporate Chair for the Princess Grace Awards Gala
is Gérard Cohen, of HSBC Private Bank (Monaco) S.A. Entertainment
for the evening included a performance by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
followed by dancing to DJ Tom Finn. The Gala was produced by Scott
Mauro of Scott Mauro Entertainment, Inc. for the fourth consecutive
year.
