ALONG COMES MARY

Growing up, I lived in a very fun and artistic household. There was always records playing or a musical movie going on the VCR. My Grandma was the Queen of “Columbia House Video Club” and I feel fortunate that I was exposed to all of it. Among our faves, though, were the Disney movies. And, one that got HEAVY rotation in the living room, was the 1961 classic, The Parent Trap.

While there are countless films I adored, The Parent Trap, with Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith, has always stayed with me and continues to be a favorite of My Mom and I to this day. We have the DVD set, and even went to a retro screening of it last year at LACMA.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I interviewed One Starry Night co-founder, Juliana Hansen, and found out that Hayley Mills herself, along with fellow Disney royalty, Richard Sherman, would be joining forces to duet on the film’s theme song, Let’s Get Together, at The Pasadena Playhouse event! Mind you, Mills has NEVER performed this song outside of the film. This was seriously an event 50 years in the making, and I am so thrilled that I was able to go, with my Mom, to witness Disney history go down!

Having covered One Starry Night since its inaugural performance in 2014, each year has found this all-star charity soiree improving and finding new turns with each event, while never abandoning the reason that we have all joined together in Pasadena: To fight ALS and bring awareness to the ALS Association’s Golden West Chapter.

This year found One Starry Night awarding The Spotlight Award to the creative team behind Gleason, The Sundance award winning documentary chronicling NFL champ, Steve Gleason, and his heartbreaking battle against Lou Gehrig’s disease. All, while raising his newborn son with his wife.

One Starry Night’s Honorary Co-Chairs were Miley Cyrus, and her dear friend, Mari Winsor. While most recall Mari as the lady behind the “Winsor Pilates” empire, many of you may not know that she is fighting ALS herself. While Miley was unable to be in attendance, we were treated to a beautiful speech from Winsor, who will not quit until there is a cure for this devastating disease.

The One Starry Night Award went to long time Young and the Restless actress, Kate Linder. She has been an advocate for ALS and raising funds to get us closer to a cure, since 1982.

When the moment arrived for Hayley Mills to grace the stage, the crowd went wild. Giving a heart warmmg speech about ALS, and, urging us to focus on the “good guys” more than all the negativity that is in our world, she soon revealed that when she was cast as both Sharon and Susan, respectively, in The Parent Trap, she went to Richard Sherman scared to death to sing, since she is an actress. “Act as if you are a singer” the pianist advised, and, as we know, the rest is history.

Sherman shortly joined Mills on stage for an adorable duet of Let’s Get Together….they even got out their lyric sheet to ensure they were singing the lyrics right!

While I thought seeing Petula Clark perform Downtown, one of my favorite songs, at last year’s One Starry Night could not be outdone I think it is safe to say  that they did indeed out do themselves this year. While I pray for the day fundraisers like One Starry Night are no longer necessary (as we are certainly closer each day to a cure for ALS), I could not be more grateful for all who come together to make this event happen and bring more outreach to the cause. Bravo, One Starry Night! xo