Village Care of New York’s 30th anniversary Legends of the Village Nov. 12 benefit at New York University’s Kimmel Center was chock-full of longtime local luminaries. Clockwise from above left, from left to right, two Legends of the Village award honorees, writer Anthony Heilbut and culture critic, author and teacher Elizabeth Kendall, with Assemblymember Deborah Glick; Dr. Charles V. Vialotti, 98, another Legends honoree, who didn’t retire from his practice at Sixth Ave. in the Village until age 97; Tony-winning actress and singer LaChanze, left, and honoree Broadway actress and singer Daphne Rubin-Vega. Rubin-Vega received Village Care’s William F. Passannante Award for her contributions to the world of entertainment, and LaChanze gave a special, feature performance.
Also recognized at the Legends event were Charles B. Persell, former Village Care of New York chairperson, who received the distinguished Lenore Zola Award; Phyllis Newman, the Tony award-winning actress, director, playwright and women’s health advocate; New York City cabaret singer Joanne Beretta; actor Farley Granger; director Robert Calhoun; actor/teacher George Bartenieff; actor, producer, civil rights activist Madeline Lee Gilford; civil rights activist Bob Kohler: feminist activist/writer Ann Snitow; humorist Paul Krassner; culture critic, author/teacher Elizabeth Kendall; and actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith.
The Legends honorees will appear in Village Cares’s 2008 Legends of the Village Calendar. The event raised funds for SeniorChoices, Village Care’s comprehensive programs that promote senior independence. Village Care of New York is a community-based, nonprofit healthcare organization that every day serves more than 1,600 seniors, persons living with H.I.V./AIDS and individuals in need of medical and rehabilitation care.
