Actors Fund 2013 Gala Honors Robert De Niro Tonight

The Actors Fund's annual gala tonight, April 29, 2013 at the New York Marriott Marquis will honor Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro, the pay television company HBO and entrepreneur/film producer and Fund trustee Steve Kalafer. The trio will receive the Medal of Honor, the highest award from the 130-year old non-profit human services organization.

Mr. De Niro is the co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, and his legendary film career includes Oscar wins for his performances in The Godfather, Part II (1974) and Raging Bull (1980) as well as five additional nominations.

HBO (Home Box Office, Inc.) is known worldwide for its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programs. Among its current and most popular series are Game of Thrones, Girls, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire and Veep. Additional award-winning programs include the miniseries MildrEd Pierce and Generation Kill; HBO Films' Too Big To Fail, Temple Grandin, Taking Chance, Grey Gardens, Game Change and You Don't Know Jack. CEO Richard Plepler is slated to accept the award.

Entrepreneur and film producer Steve Kalafer has served as a trustee of The Actors Fund since 1997. He has been a producer of eleven documentaries and has earned three Academy Award nominations, including the Oscar nominated Curtain Call (2000) about seniors at The Fund's Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey.

The event begins with a 6 pm reception, with dinner and entertainment at 7 pm. The evening will include special tribute performances by guests to be announced.

For tickets to tonight's April 29 gala evening, call 212.627.1000 or email actorsfund@resevt.com. For more information and updates, visit www.actorsfund.org.

Robert De Niro launched his prolific motion picture career in Brian De Palma's "The Wedding Party" in 1969. By 1974 he had won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor in recognition of his critically acclaimed performance in "Bang the Drum Slowly" and from the National Society of Film Critic for Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets."

In 1974 De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone in "The Godfather, Part II." In 1980 he won his second Oscar, as Best Actor, for his extraordinary portrayal of Jake La Motta in Scorsese's "Raging Bull."

De Niro has earned Academy Award nominations for his work in five
additional films: as Travis Bickle in Scorsese's acclaimed "Taxi Driver;" as a Vietnam vet in Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter;" as a catatonic patient brought to life in Penny Marshall's "Awakenings;" in 1992 as Max Cady, an ex-con looking for revenge, in Scorsese's remake of the 1962 classic "Cape Fear;" and as a father to a bi-polar son in David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook."

De Niro takes pride in the development of his Production Company, Tribeca Productions, the Tribeca Film Center, which he founded with Jane Rosenthal in 1988, and in the Tribeca Film Festival, which he founded with Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 as a response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. The festival was conceived to foster the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music, and culture; the festival's mission is to promote New York City as a major filmmaking center and help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audiences.

Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world's most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services - HBO and Cinemax - to approximately 114 million subscribers worldwide. The services offer the most popular subscription video-on-demand products, HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand as well as HBO GO and MAX GO, HD feeds and multiplex channels. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 70 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. CEO Richard Plepler is slated to accept the award.

Steve Kalafer is the founding Chairman of the Flemington Car and Truck Country family of automobile dealerships, The Somerset Patriots and other privately held companies. In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Mr. Kalafer has made his imprint in the film industry with production companies that include New Jersey Pictures. He has earned three Academy Award nominations for the short film "More" and the documentaries "Curtain Call" and "Sister Rose's Passion", which he produced with Peter LeDonne. "Sister Rose's Passion" won the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival Short Documentary Award. His most recent production is the film "Barrymore", starring Christopher Plummer. Mr. Kalafer is also involved in many civic and philanthropic initiatives that include serving as Chairman of the Somerset Medical Center Foundation, trustee of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, and as a executive committee and board member of the New Jersey Manufactures Insurance Companies. He additionally serves as Treasurer and a trustee of The Actors Fund.

The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone-performers and those behind the scenes-who works in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 13,500 people directly each year, and hundreds of thousands online. Serving professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance, The Fund's programs include social services and emergency assistance, health care and insurance, housing, and employment and training services. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Actors Fund has-for 130 years-been a safety net for those in need, crisis or transition. Visit www.actorsfund.org.