The 40th Anniversary presentation of “The Vision Awardsâ„¢” took place tonight (Sept. 23, 2010) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. The event presented its 2010 awards to a number of pioneering visionaries across the fields of film, television, music, research, technology, sports, and leadership. The event was produced by Helen Harris, founder of Retinitis Pigmentosa International, the presenting organization behind those awards.
2010 “Vision Awards†were presented to legendary TV news journalist Dan Rather, renowned music producer Quincy Jones, Apollo 11 Moonwalking astronaut Buzz Aldrin, humanitarian/businessman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, longtime entertainment industry figures Stanley Jaffe (producer, “Kramer Vs. Kramer†and “Fatal Attraction,†) and George Schlatter (creator, “Laugh-In†), Steve Jobs & Apple, Inc., “Precious†director Lee Daniels, “The Blind Side†producer Molly Smith, Showtime executive Melinda Benedek, world renowned inventor Ray Kurzweil, comedian Norm Crosby, U.S. Gold Medal winning athlete Steve Holcomb, and Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, the Beverly Hills-based doctor who restored Holcomb’s vision from near blindness, and others.
Celebrity Presenters for the 2010 “Vision Awards†included Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.am, Billy Bob Thornton, Lily Tomlin, actor John Cho, director/producer Jerry Zucker, Sherry Lansing, writer/producer Clyde Phillips, director Luke Greenfield, “Sideways†director Alexander Payne, athlete Tristan Gale, and “Extreme Makeover†dentist Dr. Bill Dorfman, among others.
Mrs. Harris, herself blind, launched both RP International and The Vision Awards in 1970 as high profile vehicles by which to raise awareness of the millions of people who fight against the gradual loss of their vision from both RP and Macular Degeneration. The Vision Awards also raise funds for medical research. (Please see: www.visionawards.org and www.rpinternational.org )
Past recipients of “Vision Awards†include Bob Hope, Aaron Spelling, Bill Cosby, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Joel Schumacher, Oliver Stone, Richard and Lauren Shuler-Donner, Lawrence Bender, William Friedkin, Tim Burton, John Frankenheimer, Roone Arledge, Sherry Lansing, Robert Towne, Tom Cruise, Bill Mechanic, Phil Collins, and Jon Landau, among many others.
The 2010 Recipients of the “VISION AWARDS†were:
Lifetime Achievement in Film: Stanley Jaffe
Producer of Vision: Chris Weitz
Woman of Vision: Business Leader: Melinda Benedek
Woman of Vision: Producer: Molly Smith
Director of Vision: Lee Daniels
Composer of Vision: Rolfe Kent
Steve Allen Gift of Sight Award: Norm Crosby
Humanitarian of Vision: Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD
Lifetime Achievement in Television: George Schlatter
Lifetime Achievement in Media: Dan Rather
Athlete of Vision: Steven Holcomb, 2010 Gold Medal Olympian-Bobsled
Jules Stein Living Tribute Award-UCLA: Brian Boxer Wachler, MD
2010 Film of Vision: James Cameron’s “Avatarâ€
Lifetime Achievement in Technology: Steve Jobs & Apple, Inc.
Pioneer in Technology Award: Ray Kurzweil
Lester Sill Humanitarian Award: Quincy Jones
American Spirit Award: Buzz Aldrin
Visionary Corporation Award: Subway & Dave Kenny
Agrama Harmony Gold and Light Award: Father Boni Wittenbrink, OMI
ABOUT HELEN HARRIS:
Helen Harris has been a tireless advocate on behalf of people with visual impairments for the past 40 years. Herself a victim of Retinitis Pigmentosa, and legally blind for more than three decades (when she was a young mother, two of her three sons, ages 2 and 5, were also afflicted by the disease), Mrs. Harris personally knows all too well the helpless and hopeless feeling of having a disease that is little known. She is the founder of Retinitis Pigmentosa International and The Vision Awards, which she has dedicated to the “preservation and restoration of sight.â€
Mrs. Harris is also an author of the book, “How to Survive Losing Vision,†as well as a poet, a painter, and a member of the Producers Guild of America. She has testified before Congress about major issues facing the blind, and has also enlisted the aid of hundreds of major Hollywood directors, producers, and stars — as well as that of former President George H. W. Bush — in the creation of “TheatreVision™†presentations, in which blind audiences can experience a major motion picture in a theatre that offers them a special audio soundtrack.
ABOUT RPI:
From modest beginnings, RPI has grown into a global organization, committed to focusing world attention on eye problems, and to promote research, public awareness, education, and human services for victims of degenerative eye diseases. With the support of dedicated volunteers, including many entertainment, political, and sports figures, RPI has raised over $ 5-million to date for eye research and education during the past 40 years of telethons and special events, including its annual “Vision Awards†fundraiser. In addition, RPI has also enlisted other donors into contributing more than $ 300-million directly to medical research for eye health.
Said Mrs. Harris, “RPI has made a real difference. Within just the past several years alone, great strides have been made in retinal transplantation. What was impossible to even imagine five years ago will almost certainly become a reality within the next decade. New technologies and medical techniques have brought us to the threshold of hope, to the day when Retinitis Pigmentosa or Macular Degeneration will no longer carry with it a lifetime of darkness.â€
For more information, please visit: www.rpinternational.org and
www.visionawards.org
