Event Details
Please join Childhelp’s Southern California Auxiliary as we add an historic and patriotic touch to our popular Red Dress Ball fundraising event to present a
Red, White and Blue USO-Themed Revue
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Childhelp,
Friday May 1, 2009,
aboard the majestic USS Midway in San Diego, CA, from 6:30 pm until 11 pm.
This momentous and historic event will recreate the excitement of a 1950’s era USO-Themed Revue with legendary celebrity entertainers such as television actress Joyce Bulifant and actor Roger Perry and comedian Norm Crosby, as well as San Diego’s own Grammy-nominated composer and singer Stan Beard and multi-award-winning show and dance band the HEROES. Childhelp Founders Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson will also join the USO-Themed Revue for a very special and not-to-be missed appearance re-creating their original act from 1959. In addition numerous military, local and state government dignitaries and celebrities will be on hand to salute the Founders and honor the work that Childhelp is doing on behalf of so many children in our San Diego and Southern California community and across the nation.
For more information about Childhelp or to purchase tickets for this event, please visit our CONTACT US page.
Celebrity Entertainers
Sara O'Meara & Yvonne Fedderson
Stan Beard
Beginning with the legendary Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Stan’s career reads like a who’s-who of American popular music. His talents took him around the world and the USA with both the Ray Conniff and the Johnny Mann Singers. Stan was a musical member of the Carol Burnett Show for its last five seasons. He has written, produced, or directed more than 20,000 radio or television jingles. He’s sung with the likes of Sinatra, Streisand, Manilow, and been a featured vocalist with Doc Severinsen and Jerry Lewis in their Las Vegas acts. Still serving as Musical Director for Disney–on-Ice, the Television Academy (the Emmy people), and a half dozen shows in Branson, MO, Stan and his wife, Heidi, live in Solana Beach where they raised their three children. In addition to the aforementioned credits, you will find him weekly in his long-running role as Minister of Music at Calvary Lutheran Church.
Della Reese
Early on, Della Reese’s singing captivated audiences from small clubs to grand stages and led to her first exposure on television, where she appeared on all the musical variety shows. Surprisingly to many, but not to herself, Della soon displayed excellent comedic and dramatic skills.
Della had her first major hit with “And That Reminds Me (of you)”. Della signed a new recording contract in 1959, with RCA, and subsequently enjoyed her biggest hit, a tune adapted from Puccini’s “La Boheme”, entitled “Don’t You Know”.
A generous amount of television exposure followed Della’s first recording successes. In the late 50’s and early 60’s, she appeared on many television shows that are now considered classics, including “The Perry Como Show”, “The Jackie Gleason Show”, as well as more than twenty appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. She was the first female to host “The Tonight Show”. One of her most famous roles has been in her three-time Emmy nominated co-starring role as “Tess”, on the CBS dramatic series “Touched by an Angel”.
Della’s television work was honored in 1994, as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Roger Perry & Joyce Bulifant
Roger Perry was discovered by Lucille Ball, who put the young actor under contract at her Desilu Studios in Hollywood. It was there that he co-stared with Pat O’Brien in the television series “Harrigan and Sons”. He then moved to Universal Studios where he co-starred with Chuck Connors and Ben Gazzara in “Arrest and Trial. Since that time he’s starred in over 200 shows including: the “Star Trek’s” Tomorrow is Yesterday, which was one of Gene Rodenberry’s favorite episodes, “Love American Style”, “Ironsides”, “The F.B.I”, “Hawaii 5-0”, “Barnaby Jones”, “Bob Newhart”, and CHIPS. He also co-starred as a regular on “The Facts of Life” and “Falcon Crest”. His movie and theater credits are noteworthy including: “Follow the Boys” with Connie Francis and “Annie”, “Gypsy”, “Anything Goes” to name a few. In addition to being a legendary and talented actor, Perry is an established music composer. Barbara Streisand sang his song, A Kid Again, in her first TV special called “My Name is Barbara.” He also composed the score for the musical version of George Bernard Shaw’s “You Never Can Tell”, starring Perry and his wife, Joyce Bulifant.
Joyce Bulifant has performed in more than 100 films, TV and theatrical productions in her profession career. She was also a frequent panelist on the popular television game show, “Match Game”. Among her many roles she played Marie (Murray’s wife) on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show”, starred in the feature film “Airplane” and Disney’s “Happiest Millionaire”. For HBO, she starred in “Charley’s Aunt” and the “Haircut”, a short film honored at the Cannes Film Festival. Recently, she played her real-life son’s mother in “Weird Science” and David Spade’s mother on “Just Shoot Me.” Bulifants’s extensive credits in television, stage and films have made her a familiar face and a popular personality. In the past few years, Joyce has added another credit—that of an educator in the filed of public awareness for Dyslexia. Diagnosed as Dyslexic as an adult, Bulifant now serves as the Executive Vice President for the Dyslexia Foundation. Bulifant is also a Charter Member of Childhelp and serves as a Childhelp Celebrity Ambassador, along with her husband, Roger Perry.
Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby is a comedian with more than 40 years of experience in show business. You may recognize him from his numerous appearances in nightclubs around the country, from "The Dean Martin Roasts", or also as the host of the once-syndicated "Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop." He is often called "The Master of Malaprop", which is the unintentional use of a word by confusing it with one that sounds familiar. Crosby started out his career as a solo stand-up comedian, adopting a friendly, blue-collar, guy-next-door attitude where, he often opened for top Vegas entertainers like Tom Jones.
Joe Lizura
Joe Lizura arrived on San Diego television in 1990 as one of the city’s only AMS certified meteorologists. Deeply committed to community involvement, Lizura has spoken to tens of thousands of local students and helped to set up weather networks for dozens of schools and hundreds of students across San Diego County over the past 17 years. In addition, Lizura has helped charity organizations raise millions of dollars including Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Toys for Tots, the MS Society, Alzheimer’s Foundation, Salvation Army and, now, Childhelp.
Joe Lizura is a native of New Jersey, having graduated from Rutgers University with a BS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, a BA in Communications and Human Relations and a BA in Advertising.