ICON award
recipients Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse Martin, and Dr. William Dignam
with Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging.
Dr.
William Dignam and Hollywood legends Cyd
Charisse Martin and Tony Martin honored as ‘Icons’ of successful
aging
BEVERLY
HILLS, CA, June 8, 2004 – The UCLA Center on Aging raised nearly
$360,000 during its ninth Annual ICON Award event. Held at the
Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 4, more than 400 people gathered to
honor this year’s ICON Award recipients, Dr. William Dignam, long
time faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine, and Hollywood legends
Cyd Charisse Martin and Tony Martin.
“Tonight’s ICON Award marks the UCLA Center on Aging’s ninth year in
applauding individuals who have continued to make outstanding
contributions to society throughout their lives,” said Dr. Gary
Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging. “This year’s honorees
fulfill the promise for this evening—to show us the results of
‘living better longer’—Bill Dignam representing the best in medical
education, and Cyd Charisse Martin and Tony Martin as the finest in
musical entertainment.”
Dr. Dignam has been on the faculty of the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA before the first class of medical students was
admitted. A professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Dignam is a role
model to hundreds of medical students and physicians. He has
participated in more than 30,000 births and trained dozens of
leading physicians in his field, many of whom came to UCLA
specifically to learn from him. He has served on numerous boards
and committees, and has taught and conducted research on three
continents. Today, at age 85, he is active as a teacher and serves
on various committees that shape medical education at UCLA.
Both Cyd Charisse Martin and Tony Martin are world renowned
entertainers who personify elegance and sophistication. Trained in
ballet since the age of eight, Cyd Charisse Martin is best known for
her dance roles opposite Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in such popular
Hollywood musicals as The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, It’s Always Fair
Weather, and Silk Stockings. After the Hollywood musical
passed from popularity, she continued to work abroad through the
1960s and ‘70s, and later introduced a nightclub act with her
husband, Tony Martin. In 2000, she received the Nijinsky Award from
Princess Caroline of Monaco for her lifelong contributions to
dance.
Tony Martin is known for his work as an actor and musician, but
primarily as a vocalist. He landed his first job as a vocalist on
George Burns and Gracie Allen’s radio show, and later starred in
several musicals as well as made a number of hit records on the
Decca label. But it wasn’t until the late 1940s when he went on to
great success in the recording industry, earning 17 gold records. He
also made 25 films, many of them musicals. He received the “Ella”
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 and remains an active
entertainer, still charming audiences with his famous voice and
debonair presence.Former ICON recipients include Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Robert
Ahmanson, Colonel Buzz Aldrin, Norman Corwin, Hugh Downs, Nanette
Fabray MacDougall, Art Linkletter, David Haft, George Page, Pascal,
Dr. S. Jerome Tamkin, and John Wooden.
In addition to dinner and dancing, the evening’s program included a
special performance by Tony Martin, who sang some of his favorites
including ”There’s No Tomorrow” (O Sole
Mio), “Begin the Beguine,’” and “You Stepped Out of a
Dream.” Renowned philanthropists and former ICONs
Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer as well as
television and radio personality Art Linkletter were the program
presenters.
The Annual ICON Award was established as the Center’s key
fund-raising event to recognize older adults who continue to make
outstanding contributions to society and serve as icons for healthy
and active living. Philanthropist Patricia Dunn Grey, who serves on
the board of directors for the UCLA Center on Aging, chaired the
ICON event for the third year. The event was sponsored by
Ortho-McNeil Neurologics and produced by EventsbyOne.
Founded in 1991, the UCLA Center on Aging is a non-profit
organization that aims to enhance and extend productive and healthy
life through research and education on aging. The renowned Center
brings geriatrics and gerontology to the forefront of public
awareness and support. The UCLA Center on Aging is entirely
supported by private and corporate donations.
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Dr.
William Dignam and Hollywood legends Cyd
Charisse Martin and Tony Martin honored as ‘Icons’ of successful
aging