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Tony Bennett, Ray Romano and Phil Donahue highlight St. Jude gala

By April MacIntyre Jan 7, 2012, 20:14 GMT

Tony Bennett - Tony Bennett, Ray Romano and Phil Donahue are set to honor the 100th birthday of late entertainer, and St. Jude founder Danny Thomas on January 7th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. © Steve Solis / PR Photos

Tony Bennett, Ray Romano and Phil Donahue are set to honor the 100th birthday of late entertainer, and St. Jude founder Danny Thomas on January 7th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital celebrates its 50th anniversary with a benefit gala honoring the late entertainer and St. Jude founder Danny Thomas ‘ 100th birthday for saving the lives of children across America.

The event also features a special presentation from the United States Postal Service.

Attending are Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm, Mila Kunis, Amanda Seyfried, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Vanessa Williams, William Shatner, Hill Harper, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jaime Pressly, Alison Sweeney and Rashida Jones.

Additional guest expected to attend include: Diahann Carroll, Marc Cherry, Eric Christian, James Denton, Daisy Fuentes, Will Gulick, Lance Gross, Rachel Hunter, Mitch Hurwitz, Christopher Lloyd, Adrienne Maloof, Rickey Minor, Elisabeth Moss, Elise Neal, Kristin Davis, Raven-Symoné, John Slattery, Amber Valletta, Patrick Warburton, and heroic pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Marlo Thomas, Tony Thomas, Terre Thomas and Robert Ellis serve as co-chairs of the gala.   The Boucher family, whose 10-year old daughter, Jordyn is undergoing treatment for ALL, the most common form of childhood cancer, also will share their story.

About St. Jude

St. Jude visionary and founder, entertainer Danny Thomas wanted to create a hopeful place that was accepting of all children whether or not the family could afford treatment. Today, St. Jude is the only children’s hospital where a child is never turned away if a family can’t pay. For 50 years, St. Jude has made great discoveries in how to treat deadly childhood diseases like cancer, saving the lives of kids around the world.

The hospital’s research has helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the institution opened to almost 80 percent today. It is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, and no family ever pays St. Jude for care. For more information, go to www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.