Television’s biggest night took place in Century City, CA Saturday, September 19th, where the entertainment industry came together for the ninth annual “Evening Before” party, benefitting MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund).
The television industry, from Emmy presenters and nominees, to other TV industry members, helped raise funds to support their industry colleagues and friends who benefit from MPTF’s charitable programs and services such as financial assistance, crisis counseling, care giving support and of course the legendary retirement facility in Woodland Hills that is “home” to television and film veterans alike.
“The Evening Before is a celebration of the achievement of a few, and an opportunity for the generosity of many, so that MPTF can provide care and service to everyone in our business. We are very grateful for the extraordinary support of our sponsors and industry donors at the Evening Before that supports the millions of dollars for the MPTF charitable programs and services conducted each year,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DWA and Chairman of the MPTF Foundation.
The Ninth Annual “Evening Before” Host Committee consisted of Christina Applegate, Matt Bomer & Simon Halls, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Kathryn & Kyle Chandler, Viola Davis & Julius Tennon, America Ferrera & Ryan Piers Williams, Tony Goldwyn, Mariska Hargitay & Peter Hermann, Allison Janney, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Louis Dreyfus & Brad Hall, Jim Parsons, Amy Poehler, Taylor Schilling, Kevin Spacey, Octavia Spencer, Eric Stonestreet, Jeffrey Tambor, Kerry Washington, and Naomi Watts & Liev Schreiber.
The Executive Host Committee included J.J. Abrams, Matthew C. Blank, Linda & Jerry Bruckheimer, Charlie Collier, Roma Downey & Mark Burnett, Nancy Dubuc, Robert Greenblatt, Bonnie Hammer, Ted Harbert, Doug Herzog, John Landgraf, Paul & Deirdre Lee, Michael Lombardo, David Nevins, Gary Newman, Richard Plepler, Roy Price, Kevin Reilly, Peter Rice, Peter Roth, Josh Sapan, Ted Sarandos, Ryan Seacrest, Ben Sherwood & Karen Kehela Sherwood, Nina Tassler, Dana Walden, and Dick Wolf.
This year’s presenting sponsors were Delta Air Lines, essie, the FIAT Brand, Netflix, PEOPLE, and Target.
“This year MPTF will serve thousands of industry workers and their families in countless ways from counseling services, financial assistance and even child care scholarships for parents in between shows. The Evening Before is the perfect reminder of Hollywood’s big heart that has supported the commitment of caring for our own for 94 years,” said Ken Scherer, CEO of MPTF Foundation.
Among the celebrities who attended this year’s event were Uzo Aduba, Khandi Alexander, Sasha Alexander, Will Arnett, David Arquette, Jonathan Banks, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Mayim Biyalik, Diego Boneta, Kate Bosworth, Josh Bowman, Lorraine Bracco, Betsy Brandt, Amy Brenneman, Beau Bridges, Adrian Brody, Danielle Brooks, Dan Bucatinsky, Tituss Burgess, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Capshaw, Justin Chambers, Anna Chlumsky, Erika Christensen, Gwendoline Christie, Louis CK, Gary Cole, Chris Colfer, Laverne Cox, Chase Crawford, Jackie Cruz, Alan Cumming, Joan Cusack, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, Dana Delaney, Loretta Devine, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Rosemarie DeWitt, Alfred Enoch, Edie Falco, Scott Foley, Vince Gilligan, Lauren Graham, Clark Gregg & Jennifer Grey, Tony Hale, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Hamm, Angie Harmon, Christina Hendricks, Miles Hizer, Gaby Hoffmann, Derek Hough, Vanessa Hudgens, Avan Jogia, Don Johnson, Minka Kelly, Michael Kelly, Keegan-Michael Key, Jimmy Kimmel, Jaime King, Aja Naomi King, Regina King, Jane Krakowski, Peter Krause, Lisa Kudrow, Padma Lakshmi, Ron Livingston, LL Cool J, Justin Long, Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Lyonne, Andie MacDowell, Mia Maestro, Taryn Manning, Tatiana Maslany, Kelly McCreary, Kyle Maclachlan, Katharine McPhee, Alyssa Milano, Cristin Milioti, Kate Mulgrew, Trevor Noah, Timothy Olyphant, Adam Pally, Mandy Patinkin, Nasim Pedrad, Jordan Peele, Chelsea Peretti, Evan Peters, Ellen Pompeo, Zac Posen, Jaime Pressly, Josh Radnor, Retta, Lisa Rinna, Doc Rivers, Gina Rodriguez, Tracee Ellis Ross, Fred Savage, Paul Scheer, Pablo Schreiber, John Slattery, Karla Souza, David Spade, John Stamos, Lily Tomlin, Lorraine Toussaint, Emily VanCamp, Kate Walsh, Matthew Weiner, Ming-Na Wen, Paul Wesley, Shane West, Bradley Whitford, Mae Whitman, Jesse Williams, Casey Wilson, Bellamy Young, Constance Zimmer, among many others.
Robyn Leuthe Norris produced the “Evening Before” for the ninth consecutive year, with designs of a relaxed town square atmosphere in the park, by Silver Birches.
The event is designed after the highly successful “Night Before,” another fundraiser held annually before the Academy Awards for the past thirteen years to benefit MPTF.
