| Make-A-Wish
Foundation Of Greater Los Angeles To Honor Nancy Cartwright,
Voice Of Bart Simpson, At Wish Night 2007 Gala
LOS ANGELES (September 24, 2007) - - Perhaps her alter ego
Bart Simpson would say that it was “rad, man,”
upon discovering that the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater
Los Angeles has chosen Nancy Cartwright to receive the Wish
Icon Award at their annual Wish Night Gala on Friday, November
2, 2007, at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
“Nancy has given of herself for both our children’s
wishes directly and towards our fundraisers for years,”
said Kelli Seely, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation
of Greater Los Angeles. “Her significant commitment
to the mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los
Angeles makes her an unquestionable Icon to our chapter.”
Cartwright will join previously announced award recipients
Manny Mashouf, (Chairman and Founder of bebe Stores, Inc.)
who will receive the Individual Wish Granter Award, and My
Name Is Earl television program creator Greg Garcia and
the show’s cast, who will receive the Entertainment
Industry Wish Award.
Also adding a special note to the evening, musical icon
and Make-A-Wish Foundation supporter Micky Dolenz will be
playing hits such as “I’m a Believer” and
“Last Train to Clarksville,” from his 1960s musical
group and television show, The Monkees.
Emcee for the evening will be Joel McHale, widely known
as the hilarious host of E! Entertainment Network’s
television program The Soup.
Thanks to Mattel, the MusiCares Foundation and The Grammy
Foundation, guests at Wish Night will be able to bid on an
extraordinary GRAMMY Package, including two platinum-level
tickets to the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2008, two passes
for a VIP backstage tour during rehearsal, and airfare. Platinum-level
tickets are reserved for celebrity guests and sponsors…and,
of course, the winning bidder.
Showtime Networks, Inc., has generously donated “A
Night at the Emmys” package for the auction, including
two tickets to the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards, two tickets
to the Entertainment Tonight post-Emmy celebration, limo transportation,
and celebrity hair styling and makeup, from the Warren Tricomi
Salon on Melrose Avenue.
The Wish Night Awards Gala has been named one of the top
100 events in Southern California by Biz Bash magazine; it
recognizes those individuals and businesses that provide exemplary
support to the chapter. The event also serves as a fundraiser
to allow the chapter to fulfill the wishes of children in
the greater Los Angeles community who have life-threatening
medical conditions and qualify for a wish. Past Wish Night
celebrity honorees have included: Halle Barry, Brad Garrett,
Nick Lachey, Luc Robitaille, David Foster, Eric McCormack,
Penny Marshall, and Mariah Carey.
The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. and individual tickets for
the evening are $425. To purchase tickets for Wish Night visit
www.wishla.org or contact
Tessa Bowser at 310-788-9474 x 138 or tbowser@wishla.org.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available at www.wishla.org
or by contacting Amber Hill at 310-788-9474 x.133 or ahill@wishla.org.
Poker, Bart Simpson, and Charity –
A Night Out in Northridge
October 04, 2007
John Caldwell
 Having
been to a fair number of charity poker events over the last
couple years, there was one on my calendar that for a myriad
of reasons, I was really looking forward to going to. The
'Monte Carlo Night' being held at the home of Nancy Cartwright
(the voice of Bart Simpson) was going to be different to me
for a number of reasons.
First off, I have long believed The Simpsons to
be the television show with the best writing in the history
of TV. I could answer many (though not all) trivia questions
about the minutiae of the show, and I have been to the Fox
lot a couple times over the last 10 years to watch the actors
voice the show. To play poker with those affiliated with a
show that meant so much to me was going to be a lot of fun.
Secondly, I lived in Northridge for the better part of 10
years. My association with Northridge ended abruptly on January
17th, 1994, when the Northridge earthquake destroyed my home.
I hadn't really been back to Northridge much since the earthquake,
and it was nice to see many of the changes in the community.
Lastly, the charity being benefited was close to my heart.
The charity was the Devonshire PALS (Police Activities League
Supporters) Youth Center for at-risk children. One of my closest
friends in high school's father was a Devonshire Division
Detective, and he had a big influence on my life.
So, off we went to Northridge, and the home of Nancy Cartwright.
The word 'compound' may have been a better description of
Nancy's digs, as there were no fewer than three separate living
structures on the property, which had a country ranch feel,
complete with a horse brought in just for this event.
The scale of the event was surprising. The centerpiece of
the event was a big stage, complete with lights, sound, and
a 6 piece band playing for most of the evening. The stage
was right in the middle of Nancy's backyard, and dozens of
tables were set up around the dance floor, along with the
auction and raffle prizes.
The evening kicked off with Nancy, and the 'emcee' for the
evening, Tom Kenny – known to most people as the voice
of cartoon character 'SpongeBob Square Pants'. Nancy and Tom
kicked the evening off telling stories and jokes, sometimes
in their normal voices, sometimes in their cartoon voices,
and more often then not, shifting back and forth between their
'real' voice, and their more famous character voices.
Nancy (Bart) and Tom (SpongeBob) kick the evening off
In the back of the property, the 'poker room' was set up.
There were 15 tables in all, and the demand was such that
they had to take alternates for the $500 + rebuys event. The
mix of players was what you might expect at an event like
this. Poker pros, Hollywood heavyweights, and 'average joes'
all sat down for an evening of poker. Some of the top names
in the poker world were there, including Jennifer Harman and
Marco Traniello, Men 'The Master' Nguyen, Sammy Farha, Kenna
James, Jamie Gold, 2006 Ladies Champ Mary Jones, Barbara Enright,
Marsha Waggoner, and Todd Brunson.
Or, was Todd there? Well, his stack was there, but due to
a mix up in dates, Todd found out the event was happening
only a couple hours before. Reportedly, Todd tried to hop
a plane the moment he found out, but couldn't find a flight,
so he made the four hour drive at the drop of a hat, arriving
about an hour into play. Floorperson Justin Huxley had been
given permission to rebuy to Todd's stack as he saw fit –
all on Todd's dime – and 'the Hux' used that privilege
early and often.
The poker staff from the Commerce Casino donated their time
to deal and administrate the tournament, under the watchful
eye of Commerce Tournament Director Cheri Dokken. The event
was organized by Nancy's people with the poker tournament
being produced by Annie Van Bebber of PokerCares.
Chips were flying, the term 'rebuy' was being heard a lot,
and lots of money was being raised for a good cause. Meanwhile,
over on the stage items were being auctioned off, and raffle
tickets were being called out to lucky winners. Speaking of
lucky, despite there being hundreds of people at this event,
and thousands of raffle tickets sold, one guy at my table
won three of the ten packages being raffled off. I learned
the man in question produced infomercials for a living –
let's hope his next 'magic blade', or 'Miracle Scalp' is as
lucky as his raffle tickets were on this night.
The tables slowly combined, with the poker pros, and Hollywood
figures like Brad Garrett and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from
the Fox show '24') a distant memory. When we reached the final
table, one familiar poker face was left standing. 2006 WSOP
Champ Jamie Gold made the final table, finishing fifth. For
his trouble, Jamie won a super satellite seat at the WSOP
next year. Players chided Gold with comments like 'Good luck
in the super, Jamie'.
The winner was not a pro poker player, but someone very familiar
to Nancy Cartwright. Jack Thomas, who produces a Disney Channel
show called 'The Replacements' that Nancy voices the lead
character for, took down the tournament, and picked up some
nice prizes.
Overall, a good time was had by all, and a lot of money was
raised for a great cause.
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You win some you lose some
It’s award season again. And with The Simpsons finally
being on both television and on the big screen, there are
plenty of chances for the yellow kids to take home some gold.
At the 34th Annual People's Choice Awards, held Tuesday January
8th at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, The Simpsons
was nominated for and took home the award for top animated
TV comedy.
Congratulations to everyone involved in making the show a
continued television icon and industry success.
On the same night, at the 13th Annual Critic’s Choice
awards, The Simpsons Movie was nominated for Best Animated
Feature and was up against some stiff competition. In the
end, Ratatouille won out.
A very special congratulations to Brad Bird and Pixar on
all of their success. And if you are looking for any voices
on your next feature film…
Animation Icon Launches New “Toon”
On Nascar Big Screens And For Webcast
LOS ANGELES, CA – August 7, 2007
On the heels of the $100 million opening week of “The
Simpsons Movie,” Nancy Cartwright, the iconic voice
of Bart Simpson, announced the inception of a new cartoon
series slated to air on the “big screens” during
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events across the country.
The series, entitled Haley’s SportsScopes, is the
latest venture for Cartwright’s SportsBlast franchise
following production of the web series The Kellys
and its FOX affiliate spin-off Brenda’s RaceScopes.
Haley Johnson, star of the animated series, made her NASCAR
debut live on the Nextel Vision “big screens”
at Daytona International Speedway before the Pepsi 400, and
will appear again August 12th at Watkins Glen International
Raceway in upstate New York.
The series will also air on International Speedway Corporation’s
Internet site www.racingone.com
and on www.SportsBlast.com.
The SportsScopes ™ franchise delivers topical branded
entertainment to fans of various professional sports leagues,
providing horoscopes to create a funny and provocative take
on predictions of who will win or lose. “Sometimes she
picks them and sometimes she doesn’t, but it’s
all in good fun,” said series producer Peter Kjenaas.
The series features voice-acting superstar Kath Soucie (The
Replacements, Pirates of the Caribbean: World’s End,
Curious George, Futurama, Kim Possible) as Haley, and is executive
produced by Nancy Cartwright. “We’ve streamlined
our production line until we can deliver these fully animated
shorts in just a couple days,” said Cartwright. “Look
for lots more of Haley and friends appearing across the sports
world and beyond.”
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