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Everything at Variety the Children's Charity of St. Louis' "Dinner with the Stars" Saturday night in the opulent Khorassan Room of The Chase Park Plaza Hotel was predictable except word that the preceding week-long celebrations of Variety Club's fundraising and dinner would gross a whopping $1 million for mental and physically disabled children. Variety president David Steward and his wife, Thelma, made a red-carpet entrance. Steward spoke of his World Wide Technology Inc. firm, which is now focusing on "cyber security." "We've moved into Singapore, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Brazil and in Mexico," he said. Not too shabby for the founder of WWT, who pointed out, that his humble beginning was as a laborer with the old Missouri Pacific Railroad. Following the Stewards was daughter Kim with Earlmika Jones.
Pat Mercurio, president of Bank of America Missouri and Variety's 2011 Woman of the Year, vamped in her Carmen Marc Valvo-designed gown. She gushed, "This is the same gown that Beyonce wore when she met Nelson Mandela." Accompanied by wife Lelia, David Farr (pictured at left), chairman and CEO of Emerson and Variety's 2010 Man of the Year, shared that his company is now focusing on southeast Asia, following the firm's major plunge into China. FOX 2 reporter and co-anchor Mandy Murphey dripped with charisma as she explained that she's now 43 years old and has been with the station for 20 years. With her was husband Paul Brown (pictured at right), who said he's turned from broadcasting to writing a column for The Ladue News.
Hometowner and actor Jim Byrnes, a surprise guest, strummed his guitar. The performer, who once appeared as a lifeguard in the TV series Wiseguy and as Joe Dawson in two Highlander movies, proudly boasted that he had received the Juno Award in Canada for Blues Album of the Year. Seated next to John Wuest, president and CEO of the St. Louis Equity Fund, philanthropist and singer Nancy Kranzberg hyped the June 4 concert at the Route 66 Festival on Chain of Rocks bridge, where she'll warble along with a band consisting of Wuest on the drums, Gary Dammer on trumpet, and UMSL Chancellor Tom George playing jazz on piano. "Tom would rather play piano than serve as chancellor," she pointed out and then turned to Wuest to ask, "Is it okay that I said that?" Wuest shook his head in approval.
Tom Schweich, who defeated incumbent Susan Montee in the Missouri state auditor race, was displeased at the request for a photograph. "I have had too many pictures in the paper," he insisted. Former President George Herbert Walker Bush paid tribute via film to his first cousin and former Ambassador to Hungary George Herbert (Bert) Walker III, Variety's 2011 Man of the Year, when he said, "We disagree on one thing—our choice of baseball teams." Emcee Joe Buck introduced Walker by wisecracking about his children's names: "I went through grades 5–7 with his son, Chip, whose real name is George Obama Clinton Walker and knew his daughter Fairfax Carter Walker, whose other brother is Rufus."
The highlight of the evening was a performance by the "queen of rock and soul," Patti LaBelle. Jan Albus, Variety's executive director, said that LaBelle performed gratis. "We only paid for her expenses and those of her 25-member group," said Albus. LaBelle opened with "New Attitude," but the crowd-pleaser was "Lady Marmalade," during which she pulled three men on stage to sing and dance with her. Little did she realize that she brought up Tony Award nominee Lara Teeter, Variety Children's Theatre's director, who tap-danced his heart out and did a number of splits. Another highlight of the evening was a special story from Variety child Alex, whose leg was amputated due to bone cancer. Variety provided him with a prosthetic leg worth $20k and got it months earlier than the insurance company could. His story so touched the audience that special equipment pledges worth more than $334k exceeded the goal of $250k.
