Celebrities Get Competitive for Charity During 2nd Annual SAG Foundation Golf Classic
“Actors Fore Actors” Golf Tournament Hosted by Criminal Minds’ Joe Mantegna Raises Nearly $200K for the SAG Foundation Catastrophic Health Fund
Event Welcomes New SAG Foundation Executive Director Jill Seltzer
The clubs were in full swing as competitive celebrity golfers Ray Romano, Andy Garcia, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Dennis Haysbert, Adam Baldwin, Gabriel Aubry, Tom Welling, Kevin Nealon, Michael Pena, Joe Pesci and more joined host Joe Mantegna of “Criminal Minds” Monday at the “Actors Fore Actors” 2nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Foundation Golf Classic held at El Caballero Country Club. The stars tee’d up to raise funds for the Foundation’s Catastrophic Health Fund, which provides financial relief to actors when illness or injury threatens their ability to work as well as their access to affordable health insurance. The star-studded event raised nearly $200k which will provide critical help to many in need.
“This event is an opportunity to both work and play in order to help our fellow actors who experience a health crisis,” said Mantegna. “It’s nice to know that if an unexpected illness should happen in our lives, we can rest assured knowing the SAG Foundation is there to lend a helping hand.”
A regular at the El Caballero course, Ray Romano came out to show his support for the worthy cause.
“I wanted to come out today because I’m a member of SAG and I feel very fortunate that I’m working, I have my health and my benefits and it’s good to help your fellow actors,” said Romano. “This business has a lot of ups and downs and a lot of people aren’t as fortunate, so any time I can help the foundation and play golf – it’s a no-brainer really!”
In addition to 18 holes of competitive play, the day’s activities included a live auction and an Awards gala with prizes and special honors hosted by “The Insider’s” Kevin Frazier. The team fielded by John W. Carson Foundation, which included “Smallville” star Tom Welling, took top honors as first place winners with a score of 25 under par on the challenging PGA-level course.
“I’m happy to be a part of this great event to help raise funds for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation,” said Welling. “I came out because I’m an actor, I’m a member and I appreciate the great work that they do.”
Other winners included the Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills team, which took second place with 23 under par and the TNT-sponsored team with 21 under par.
The live auction, led by Mantegna and host committee member Ron Perlman, featured luxury prizes with something for everyone: an LA Dodgers Suite for 30 people or four dugout seats; a Fendi package with leather handbag and shades; a “Sons of Anarchy” set visit; a “Family Guy” memorabilia package with table read visit; and a Palm Springs get-away package with choice of villas.
The golf classic was made possible by the generous support of several sponsors, including presenting sponsor Integrated Wealth Management, a financial planning services firm; The John W. Carson Foundation, Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills, TNT, FX Network, Disney/ABC, CBS Television Network, Kevin Costner, Medco, JoBeth Williams, Jim Tasker, ION Television, KiKi Productions and Empire CLS.
The event also introduced new SAG Foundation executive director Jill Seltzer, who began her new role this week. Seltzer previously served as vice president, institutional advancement at WBEZ Chicago Public Media where she helped to exceed the station’s $15MM capital campaign goal during a recession. From 2005 to 2008, Seltzer worked with the Los Angeles-based Weingart Foundation which supports programs in six southern California counties addressing the needs of underserved communities in the areas of education, social services, arts & culture, and community programs.
“I am thrilled to be back in Los Angeles and working with such a respected and involved non-profit as the Screen Actors Guild Foundation,” said Seltzer. “For every actor that you see in film or on television there are hundreds of additional actors struggling to make it big in this challenging industry. We are proud to provide actors with resources through the SAG Foundation Catastrophic Health Fund, which will make their journey a little easier, particularly in times of crisis.”
The host committee brought together an impressive roster, including Scott Bakula, James Casey, Kevin Dobson, Tom Dreesen, Robert Hays, SAG President Ken Howard, David Hutton, Richard Karn, Richard Kind, Ron Perlman, Pamela Reed, Bill Smitrovich and SAG Foundation President JoBeth Williams.
“This is all about supporting actors who find themselves behind the 8-ball if they get really sick,” said Karn. “We’ve got a profession where we love our job and we will do our job 16, 17, 18 hours a day for very little pay sometimes. The SAG Foundation Golf Classic is an opportunity where those who are a little more fortunate can help out the rest of us.”
Other celebrities lending their support yesterday include Brendan Fehr, Christopher McDonald, Christopher Rich, CS Lee, Dan Lauria, David Leisure, Greg Itzin, Jason Olazabal, Joe Flanigan, Joel Gretsch, Joel McHale, Kevin Dobson, Mason Gamble, Matt Willig, Michael O'Neill, Matt Craven, Nestor Serrano, Paula Trickey, Powers Boothe, Russ Courtnall, Tom Bower and Vinnie Jones, among others.
SAG Foundation President JoBeth Williams underscores the importance of the health fund and other key services the organization provides.
"Because actors' careers are always changing, a number of our most cherished performers have found themselves in need of our Catastrophic Health Fund,” Williams stated. “This and all the SAG Foundation programs are vitally important to champion our actors' lives, careers, and creativity."
