The 2016 Visionary Ball, sponsored by Edie Baskin Bronson and Richard “Skip” Bronson and benefiting the UCLA Department of Neurosurgery under the direction of department chair and professor Dr. Neil A. Martin, W. Eugene Stern Chair in Neurosurgery, will honor Michael V. Lewis with the Visionary Award; Linda M. Liau, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., with the Medical Visionary Award; Donald P. Bellisario with the Courage Award and Jon Lovitz with the Rodney Respect Award on Thursday, October 27, 2016 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills.
The always star-studded evening features Emmy Award-winning television personality Larry Wilmore as host and a performance by India Carney. Honorary chairs are Roma Downey and Mark Burnett; gala chairs are Edie Baskin Bronson and Susan Dolgen.
The evening raises critical funds and awareness in support of the millions of patients who battle the most complex neurological disorders of this era. “We are excited to be celebrating our amazing honorees and raising funds to advance the most sophisticated neurosurgical treatments in the nation,” said Dr. Martin. “Our joint efforts will further our ability to help more patients and their family members with some of the most complicated neurological disorders.”
Visionary Award honoree Michael V. Lewis is CEO and co-founder of RealD and is a globally recognized leader in visual technology. His cutting-edge advances have been used for robotic medical procedures, piloting the Mars Rover and pioneering digital 3D cinema to become the world’s largest 3D cinema platform with over 32,000 RealD equipped theaters in 72 countries. RealD is now offering its technology to consumer electronics companies around the world for use in the home and mobile device markets. Under Lewis’s leadership, RealD has twice been named by Fast Company as one of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies.” Lewis has received multiple awards, including being named among The Hollywood Reporter’s “Digital Power 50” and as one of the publication’s “Innovative Voices.” His many accolades include the Vanguard Award from the Producers Guild of America, the Special Award of Achievement for Technical Contributions to the Motion Picture Industry at ShowEast, and the YPO and Edison Innovation Foundation’s Thomas Alva Edison Innovation Award. He is a marquee donor to the Motion Picture Television Fund, serves on the City Year Los Angeles Board of Directors and is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
Linda M. Liau, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., Medical Visionary Award honoree, is vice chair of research and a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She also directs the UCLA Brain Tumor Program, one of the world’s leading programs for brain tumor research, diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Liau holds a B.S. and B.A. from Brown University, received her medical degree from Stanford University, and completed her residency in neurosurgery at UCLA. She also received her doctoral degree in Neuroscience at UCLA, as well as her M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dr. Liau’s clinical expertise is in intra-operative functional brain mapping and the use of intra-operative imaging for resection of brain tumors (gliomas, meningiomas and metastatic tumors). Dr. Liau and her research team have developed the first personalized brain cancer vaccine in the United States. The vaccine is made by isolating a specific immune cell in the patient and combining it with the patient’s own tumor tissue.
Prolific writer, producer and director Donald P. Bellisario, Courage Award recipient, has been crafting words and stories for more than 30 years—long before he gained notoriety as the creator/producer of groundbreaking television series such as Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap, JAG and NCIS. His story began in 1961. After serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduating with a degree in journalism from Penn State, Bellisario started his writing career at Pennsylvania’s Centre Daily Times and then as a copywriter for a local advertising agency. He next moved to Dallas for a position with the famous Bloom Agency where he rose to senior VP, head of film production, creative director, and board member. In 1976, Hollywood beckoned and Bellisario became story editor of the hit series Baa Baa Black Sheep. After five episodes, he was promoted to serve as the show’s producer. He went on to become supervising producer of Battlestar Galactica, before developing his own highly successful series of television hits. Named the 2001 Producer of the Year by the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors, Bellisario also is the recipient of a “star” on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Rodney Respect Award honoree Jon Lovitz is an Emmy Award-winning comedian who has enjoyed remarkable success as a television, film and stage actor. During his tenure at Saturday Night Live, Lovitz created some of the most memorable and inventive characters in the show’s history: Hannukah Harry, The Devil, Master Thespian and Tommy Flanagan of Pathological Liars Anonymous. His most prominent film credits include A League of Their Own, The Wedding Singer, Big, and The Producers: The Musical. Some of his numerous television credits include Friends, Seinfeld, Just Shoot Me and The Simpsons. He also performed at Carnegie Hall three times and has sung the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium and the U.S. Open. In 2004, he pursued his dream of doing stand-up and in 2009 opened the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal Citywalk.
Previous Visionary Ball honorees include: Elon Musk; Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D.; Ted Gagliano; Kate Berg; Chelsea Handler; Sidney Kimmel; Louis Ignarro; Doriana Sanchez; Bob Saget; Gerald S. Levey, M.D.; Beth and Josh Friedman; Burt Bacharach; Louie Anderson; David T. Feinberg, M.D.; Anthony N. Pritzker; Jim Carrey; Joan Hyler; Peter Morton; Tim Allen; Donald Becker, M.D.; Thomas Barrack and Jay Leno.
Visionary Ball ticket packages begin at $2,500; limited individual tickets begin at $500. For more information, please call (310) 267-9447, email rebecca@grantevents.com, or click here.
