On October 6, philanthropist and billionaire Barbara Davis hosted her legendary Carousel of Hope Ball at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The ball supports the Children’s Diabetes Foundation that Davis established in 1977. Since then, Davis has thrown the bi-yearly ball honoring a different celebrity every year for their work in helping end child diabetes. This year Robert De Niro was honored at the epic event, which was MC’d by Jay Leno, with performances by Gladys Knight, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and David Foster, who was the musical director.

Some of Hollywood’s most legendary stars, new and old, came out in support of Davis, De Niro and the organization to help raise money for the cause.

Actress Suzanne Somers, who isn’t just well known for her role on ‘Three’s Company,’ but also for her self-help and health conscious books, spoke to MEAWW about why this cause is so important to her.

“At some point they are going to find a cure.  I just finished my 27th book but nine of my books have to do with eliminating sugar, white flour, etc.  I think that if people become educated about diet and lifestyle that diabetes (not the genetic kind) could probably be decreased in a big way.”

‘American Idol’ producer and judge of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Nigel Lythgoe was also thrilled to be at the event and support De Niro. terming it an evening of fun for a great cause.

“Why I love coming to this event is that Robert De Nero knows that he is going to be given a wonderful award tonight. There is no pressure on anybody, it’s a great evening. Gladys Knight is singing who I am a huge fan of, David Foster is the musical director, Jay Leno is the host, it’s just a wonderful night.”

We also spoke to Kathy Hilton, who was thrilled to be at the event in support of the cause and of Davis herself as she is her sister Kim’s mother-in-law and has been supporting the event for years.

“Barbara Davis is our family, in fact she is my sister Kim’s mother in law and diabetes is a big problem.  I have been involved for many years and we are raising a lot of money and it thrills me to be here, I wouldn’t miss it.” 

At the ball, hundreds of people congregated in support of Davis and to help earn money for the cause. At every ball, patients from the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes in Colorodo attend the event with their parents and get to take part in this star studded evening. De Niro gave a heartfelt speech, praising Davis and all that she has done for the children who suffer from the disease. After bypassing most of the press before the event, De Niro couldn’t help but take a jab at the current state of the country in his speech. 

“I haven’t had many occasions to speak publicly since the Tony Awards. It’s very brave of you Barbara to give me this opportunity. I think everyone is afraid I’m gonna come out and say…don’t worry I won’t do it this time, I’m not gonna say it, not tonight anyway. Though I might be thinking of it right now and pretty much every waking moment. One reminder, the drinks, wine and beer are flowing, but be careful, if you have too much you may end up on the Supreme Court.”

For more information on the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, be sure to follow on social media and join the conversation using #CarouselOfHope.

Facebook: Childrens Diabetes Foundation

Twitter: @CDFdiabetes

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