Stella by Starlight Gala to Honor Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones and More

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting announced today that the Seventh Annual Stella by Starlight Benefit Gala will be held May 20^th at The Players Club in New York City. This year's honorees include Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Daryl Roth, Ed Schultz and Masa Tanaka.

 

Grammy and Emmy Award Winner Harry Belafonte will receive the "Marlon Brando Award," Academy®, Emmy and Tony Award Winner James Earl Jones will receive "The Stella Adler Award," Tony Winner Daryl Roth and television and radio host Ed Schultz will receive "The Harold Clurman Spirit Award," and CEO for the Americas, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ,Masa Tanaka, will receive "The Stella Adler Corporate Award."

 

All funds raised from the evening will be used to support the studio's charitable programs including Outreach Division Program, which provides free actor training to low-income, inner-city youth. The Outreach Division has served and trained more than 3,000 students since its inception in 2004. 

 

"I am especially honored by the commitment of our prestigious honorees at Stella by Starlight this year. Each in their own way, Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Daryl Roth, Ed Schultz and Masa Tanaka are groundbreakers who held fast to courageous positions, confronted injustice or atrocity and paved new paths that made important differences in our time," Artistic Director of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Tom Oppenheim, stated today. "They are wonderful role models for young theater artists who must fortify themselves with a commitment to truth, beauty and the conviction that they have a voice that can and will make a difference for the audiences they serve."

 

Over the years, the Stella by Starlight Gala has honored some of the most distinguished artists in the entertainment and media industries. They have included Whoopi Goldberg, Liz Smith, Warren Beatty, Liza Minelli, Martin Sheen, Annette Bening, Harold Bloom, Tony Kushner, Elaine Stritch, Sidney Lumet, Ruby Dee, the late Ozzie Davis and the late Roy Scheider, as well as other key entertainment, theatrical and business leaders.

 

Since 1949, The Stella Adler Studio of Acting has been the premier actor training program in New York City and around the country. They have trained thousands of actors and artists, including the likes of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Elaine Stritch, Benicio del Toro, Alvin Ailey, andSalma Hayek. The studio encourages its students to be well-versed in not only theater, art, music and literature, but also to be involved in social, humanitarian and community-related issues.

 

To purchase tickets, starting at $1,000 for general admission, contact The Stella Adler Studio at(212) 689-0087.