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Town and Gown of USC Scholarship Benefit Celebrates the Arts

The Town and Gown of USC Scholarship Benefit "Celebrating the Arts," will be held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles, April 10, 2012. Honorees for this year's Benefit are

Debbie Reynolds and Rod Gilfry, both of whom represent excellence in the arts.

Town and Gown looks forward to awarding Debbie Reynolds the Town and Gown of the University of Southern California Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms Reynolds is known the world over as a consummate performer. She will be the fourth person to receive the award since its inception four years ago. Her lifetime devotion to the arts as a singer and an actress who has entertained in the world's great venues is a significant achievement.

Among other achievements is an Oscar nomination for the Unsinkable Molly Brown and a Tony Nomination for the Broadway musical Irene. These prestigious nominations were given by her peers and are an inspiration to all of us, but especially to those USC students who strive for a career in music and the arts. We are grateful and honored that she has accepted our invitation.

In addition to her achievements as an artist, Ms Reynolds has been generous with her time, volunteering as a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts. She is the founding President of the Thalians, a charitable organization located at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, that has raised millions of dollars for emotionally disturbed children and AIDS patients.

Town and Gown is honored that Rod Gilfry, a fellow Trojan and professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, accepted our invitation to create a scholarship named in his honor. Mr. Gilfry is best known as an opera singer and has performed in all the world's music capitals, including Vienna, Paris, London, Munich, Zurich, Milan, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He is equally known as a recitalist and concert artist. He has also had great success in crossover musicals. He has been acclaimed by reviewers when playing lead roles in such musicals as Oklahoma, Carousel, The Most Happy Fellow, and most recently, as Emile de Becque in South Pacific, performed here in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre. Mr. Gilfry is respected by his colleagues, an inspiration to his students and a real treasure for the USC Thornton School of Music. The Rod Gilfry Scholarship will be awarded to a merit scholar in the Thornton School.

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What would a luncheon be without a fashion show? The designer for this year's event will be a loyal Trojan and alumnus Robert Ellis. The Robert Ellis Boutique for women is located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.

Robert Ellis Boutique
12439 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 769-9666

The shop offers a complete range of clothing: sportswear to ball gowns. If you are looking for a special occasion piece, you will find it here. Upon entering Robert Ellis Boutique, guests are pampered by the warm, inviting staff. Robert has made the following offer to members of Town and Gown of USC and their friends:

Visit the boutique and make a purchase March 26, 2012, through April 15, 2012, and he will donate 20% of the total purchases made by Town and Gown of USC members and their friends to Town and Gown of USC Scholarships.

Please take advantage of this great offer that will benefit our scholarship program.