Jane Fonda To Host THE WALLIS DELIVERS: A BENEFIT EVENING TO SUPPORT WILDFIRE RECOVERY

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) will hold The Wallis Delivers: A Benefit Evening to Support Wildfire Recovery on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at The Wallis, beginning at 6:00pm. The event is hosted by actor, producer, author, and activist Jane Fonda.  
 
Wallis Annenberg said, "The recent Los Angeles wildfires ravaged far too many of our communities, neighborhoods, and homes, but they could not dim our hearts. The outpouring of help and support has been truly extraordinary, and a lot more is needed. That's why we are dedicating this special evening to helping Los Angeles rise from the ashes of the Eaton and Palisades fires.”   
 
She continued, “Inspired by its history as a neighborhood Post Office, The Wallis was created to be a gathering place where people from throughout Los Angeles could come together, and work together, around the arts. This year, we are coming together, and working together, for those who need it most."
 
Robert van Leer, Executive Director and CEO of The Wallis, said, “Contributing to the civic and cultural life of Greater Los Angeles is an essential component of The Wallis' mission. We are committed to using our unique resources as a community and arts center to support Los Angeles as it rebuilds itself.  Through the arts, we can share hope for a path to better times ahead.”

For information and tickets, please visit thewallis.org.

The event also honors philanthropy — the extraordinary generosity of the Annenberg Foundation and Ms. Annenberg.  Dominic Ng, Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, a recognized community leader, will be named the first recipient of The Wallis Icon Award, for his visionary leadership in the realm of corporate philanthropy. 

The efforts of supporting community during this time are particularly meaningful to Ms. Annenberg herself whose organization is on the Westside, and Mr. Ng, who resides in Pasadena — two communities impacted by the devastation from the fires.  Many Wallis audience members, artists, Board members and staff have been impacted as well.   

On January 8, the Annenberg Foundation and the Wasserman Foundation immediately provided $1 million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation for equipment and supplies. The East West Bank Foundation also supported fire relief and recovery by providing timely funding to the Pasadena Community Foundation, the YMCA of Metropolitan LA and the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, with the Bank's employees actively donating to and volunteering in disaster relief efforts.  

The Wallis Delivers fundraising event traditionally benefits The Wallis' programs, including its extensive arts education offerings. Anonymous donations have made it possible to turn the focus and fundraising efforts of this year's events to benefit urgent wildfire recovery efforts.

About The Wallis Delivers: A Benefit Evening to Support Wildfire Recovery

Honorary Chairs are Shelli and Irving Azoff, and Honorary Vice-Chairs are David Bohnett and Regina and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten. Gala Co-Chairs are Cathy and Mark Louchheim, and Susan Strauss, and Gala Vice-Chairs are Halle and Oliver Hammond.

The Honorary Committee includes Senator Ben Allen, Lauren Bon, Renee Fleming, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, Willow Bay and Robert A. Iger, Cinny Kennard, Terri and Jerry Kohl, Kris Levine, Stephanie and Stuart Liner, Sandra and Peter Lowy, Thomas Melcher, Daphna Nazarian, Meeghan and Michael Nemeroff, Debbie Allen and Norm Nixon, Eleanor and Jim Randall, Phylicia Rashad, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, The Honorable Nicole Avant and Ted Sarandos, Stephen Schwartz, Susan and Dean Spanos, Eva and Marc Stern, Jamie Tisch, Marjorie and Joe Walsh, and Charles Weingarten.

Host Jane Fonda is a national luminary of our era. At the time of The Wallis Delivers, she will have just been honored with the 60th annual SAG Life Achievement Award to be presented during the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards streaming live on Netflix Sunday, February 23, 2025. 

Wallis Annenberg herself most recently received one of the nation's highest honors.  She is among nine recipients of the 2022 National Humanities Medal by President Joseph R. Biden on October 21, 2024, in a private ceremony at the White House.

The Medal “honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens' engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.”

Recognizing the need for more performing arts venues in the Los Angeles area, Ms. Annenberg in 1994 funded the renovation of the historic Beverly Hills Post Office to establish the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis).  This event also celebrates the fifteenth anniversary to the day of the groundbreaking of The Wallis, now one of the region's most celebrated performing arts centers.

Since its doors opened in 2013, The Wallis has become a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international performers share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences, and offers a diverse arts curriculum.

About Dominic Ng

Dominic Ng is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West Bank (Nasdaq: EWBC), the largest publicly listed independent bank headquartered in Southern California. Since joining the Bank in 1991, Mr. Ng has transformed East West from a small savings and loan association with $600 million in assets into a global full-service commercial bank today with total assets of $76 billion. Its 3,000+ employees serve more than 550,000 customers. S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bank Director ranked East West as the #1 Best Performing Bank in 2023, a distinction Bank Director renewed for 2024.

Mr. Ng was Chair of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He currently serves on the governing boards of Mattel, Inc. and University of Southern California and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Ng's previous board service includes the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch; PacifiCare Health Systems, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. 

Mr. Ng's contributions to culture and social impact have earned him significant recognition. The Los Angeles Times named him one of its most influential Angelenos in 2024. Mr. Ng received the Alexis de Tocqueville Award—United Way Worldwide's highest distinction—for his leadership as a long-time board member and campaign chair for United Way of Greater Los Angeles, where he led a record-breaking $66 million fundraising campaign in 2000. His innovative fundraising approach was considered a best practice for United Way chapters nationwide. On furthering cultural engagement, Mr. Ng pioneered efforts to expand East-West cultural understanding which inspired collaboration between East West Bank and mainstream institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Huntington Library; the Bowers Museum; and The Broad. 

About The Wallis

Since its doors opened in 2013, The Wallis, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international performers share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. Distinguished by eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented nearly 500 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, comedy, performance arts, and family entertainment programs, boasting nominations for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards, as well as six architectural awards.

The breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, was named after philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, who's original $25-million-dollar donation was instrumental in transforming the beloved former 1934 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) into an arts complex. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF: architects), the restored building features one of two sets of eight towering original WPA frescos, these by Charles Kassler, remaining in the entire California Federal Building system. The Wallis' lobby, now known as Jim and Eleanor Randall Grand Hall, serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming entryway to the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace both the region's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for Los Angeles area visitors and residents alike.

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