Minnelli Honored by Actors' Fund at LA Tony Party, 6/11

The legendary Liza Minnelli will receive the Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement from The Actors' Fund of America on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at the 10th Annual Tony Awards Party at the Skirball Center (2701 North Sepulveda Blvd.) in L.A.

Film star Brittany Murphy (who appeared on Broadway in A View from the Bridge) will present Minnelli with the award. Sam Harris (The Producers, The Life) will host the evening, which is sponsored by Variety.  

A veteran of numerous Broadway hits, Minnelli has been nominated for Broadway's highest honor, the Tony Award three times - winning as Best Actress in a Musical for Flora, The Red Menace, and The Act, as well as receiving a special Tony in 1974.

The daughter of Judy Garland and movie director Vincente Minnelli, she made her film debut at three years of age in the movie In the Good Old Summertime. Her first recognition came for Best Foot Forward in 1963 and Minnelli won a Tony Award at age nineteen and was nominated for her first Academy Award at age twenty-three for the role of Pookie Adams in The Sterile Cuckoo. Other dramatic roles followed, and in 1972 she won the Oscar for her performance as Sally Bowles in the movie Cabaret. Over the past years, her career has included a long list of musical albums and multiple stage performances including the Actors' Funds benefit tribute to Kander and Ebb in 2003. She has also appeared on Broadway in Chicago and Victor/Victoria.

The evening's festivities will feature a wine tasting by Tzalis Fine Wine as well as an open bar, and a silent auction featuring Broadway memorabilia, Collectibles and Travel packages (beginning at 3:30 PM), dinner and the only live feed of the Tony Awards broadcast from New York (from 5 to 8 PM). The presentation of the award will take place at 8 PM. Previous recipients have included Julie Harris, Gwen Verdon, Charles Durning, Rita Moreno, James Earl Jones, Tyne Daly, Lauren Bacall, Stockard Channing and Carol Channing. Approximately 500 industry guests and theater enthusiasts will attend the event.

The Actors' Fund of America is the national nonprofit human service organization that provides for the welfare of all entertainment professionals. Founded in 1882, The Fund serves those in film, theater, television, music, opera, and dance, and assists both performers and those behind the scenes with a broad spectrum of programs designed to address the needs of the community, including comprehensive social services, health services, supportive and affordable housing, employment and training services, and skilled nursing and assisted living care. The Fund also makes emergency grants for essential needs. Administered from offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, The Actors' Fund's mission is "to advance, foster and benefit the welfare of all professionals in the entertainment community who are in need of help, ensuring that these efforts are accomplished with compassion, confidentiality and preservation of dignity for the individuals concerned." Visit www.actorsfund.org for more information.

Celebrating their 60th Anniversary, the 2006 Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network Sunday, June 11th. The 2006 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards are presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

Tickets to the Tony Awards Party are $200 and can be purchased directly by calling The Actors Fund Office at (323) 933-9266 x 54.