"This is such an incredible and important event. It should be on the front pages of all the papers of the world," said Elton John, one of the honorees of the "So the World May Hear" 2004 Awards Gala. Last week's event in Minneapolis raised over $2.7 million for the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which provides over 20,000 hearing aids a year to needy children.
Sir Elton quipped with the star-studded crowd, bemoaning that "Mickey Rooney looks younger than I do, which I hate," and dedicating his classic tune "Rocket Man" to the two astronauts (Scott Carpenter and Gordon Cooper) in attendance. John also sang a special "Happy Birthday" to Tani Austin, who along with husband Bill runs the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Other guests being honored were Sharon Osborne, Leslie Nielsen and Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman. Gavin DeGraw and Nita Whitaker also performed.
Sharon Osbourne bid $75,000 to fund the Mission to Mexico. Elton John topped that and bid $100,000 to fund a Starkey Hearing Mission to Guatemala that will help 1,000 children hear. Among the many other stars on hand were Lorraine Bracco, Robert Culp, Bob Feller, Lou Ferrigno, Marlee Matlin, Peter Graves, Hugh O'Brian, Abby Dalton, George Kennedy, Al Unser Sr., Hal Linden and the Gold Medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Comedian Norm Crosby served as master of ceremonies.
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Starkey Hearing Foundation: Gala Enormous Success!
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