Terre Blair Hamlisch presents Michael Douglas with the first Marvin Hamlisch Memorial Award

Arlene Dahl and Marc Rosen

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Celebrate A Centenary Of Service
With Tribute To Marvin Hamlisch

STORY BY JASON GRANT
PHOTOS BY ANNIE WATT

I

RVING BERLIN wrote There’s No Business Like Show Business, but in A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch showed us there are no people like show people. Several dozen of them gathered at the Hudson Theatre in June for One Singular Sensation, a celebration of what would have been Hamlisch’s 69^th birthday and the American Cancer Society’s 100^th birthday.

The Society presented the first Marvin Hamlisch Memorial Award to Michael Douglas, a survivor of fourth stage throat cancer. In the 24 hours prior to the evening’s tribute, Douglas had become in his words, "the poster boy for throat cancer." He had been quoted in the (Manchester) Guardian citing the source of his disease as "oral sex."

Whether it was accurate or not—previously he blamed cigarettes and liquor—Douglas did call attention to how lifestyle can affect cancer. Well aware that behavior affects the disease, the Society has begun Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3), an anonymous program that seeks to prevent cancer by studying everyday behavior.

Chairmen for the evening were Diana and Richard Feldman, Terry Allen Kramer, Suzanne Mados and Lily Safra.

Honorary chairman Terre Blair Hamlisch, the composer’s widow, invited a few of Marvin’s friends to entertain. The performance, which followed a seated dinner at the Hudson Theater, was a seamless cornucopia directed by Dori Berinstein with musical direction by J. Ernest Green.

As might be expected, many of the songs came from the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Chorus Line. Among the performers were Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein reunited for the title song from their hit musical They’re Playing Our Song. Bernadette Peters sang a torch version of The Way We Were.

Guests included Fabienne and Charles Abrecht, Sherri and Joe Abruzzese, Anne and David Altchek, Jules Asner and Steven Soderbergh, Yanna Avis, Mitchell Beja, Gigi and Harry Benson, Arriana and Dixon Boardman, Ebs Burnough, Cricket and Richard Burns, Geoffrey Bradfield, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Robert Bradford, Hilary and Joe Califano, David Patrick Columbia, Tara and Luis Cortes; Roni and Howard Cowan, Gretchen Cryer, Arlene Dahl and Marc Rosen, Sandy and Ron Diamond, Kathy and Don Distasio, Muffin Dowdle, Charlotte Ford, George Hamilton, Joy Ingham; Lynn and Steven Jacobson, Eleanora and Michael Kennedy, Jessica and Bill Koenigsberg, Niki and David Levy, Michael Mailer, Elizabeth Major, Dona R. Miller, William Mitchell, Margo and Jimmy Nederlander, Rabbi and Mrs. David Posner of Temple Emanu-El, Samuel Rodriguez, Mara and Ronnie Rothstein, Betsy and David Rowe, Susan Ness and Larry Schneider, Robert Scully, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Nancy Shaw, Melinda and Tim Shea, Sydney and Stan Shuman, Jeanne and Herb Siegel, Nick Simunek, Maria and Joseph Smith; Donald Stannard; Ursula and Dr. Paul Striker, Topsy Taylor, Barbara and Donald Tober, Arlene and Ed Weidberg and Robert Zimmerman.