Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins will be honored as the 2004 Caritas Award recipient on May 21 at the Saint John’s Health Center Caritas Award Gala.
The annual black-tie event, which benefits the emergency Department of the Santa Monica-based hospital, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.
“Anthony Hopkins has been a very dear friend and longtime supporter of Saint John’s, so we are particularly pleased to be able to honor him at this event,” says Sister Marie Madeleine, president of Saint John’s Health Center. “In addition, we are delighted to present the first Spirit of Saint John’s Award this year to another special individual, Dr. Ruben F. Mettler, who has always given so much of his time and commitment to the health center.”
Hopkins, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “Silence of the Lambs,” has appeared in nearly 90 films for the large screen and television, and more than 20 stage productions in the United States and England, where he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1993. He also has received multiple Emmy and BAFTA Awards.
A U.S. citizen since 2000, Hopkins is an active volunteer and philanthropist within the theatre world and his community. Within the last year, he has worked with an extensive array of organizations, donating his time, name and resources to such groups as The Hope Center Clinic, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Screen Smart Set/Motion Picture Television Fund, Motion Picture Mothers Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research International Foundation, The Angel Guardian Foundation and Vital Ground.
Mettler, the retired chairman and CEO of TRW, Inc., is a past member of the Saint John’s Health Center Board and is active on the Foundation Board of Trustees. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Mettler also served as co-chair of the capital campaign to rebuild Saint John’s Health Center, which was severely damaged by the quake.
The Caritas Award Gala is hosted by the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and the Irene Dunne Guild, a support group of the hospital. This year’s event is chaired by Santa Monica resident Su-z Schneider, a member of the Irene Dunne Guild.
With a membership of 90 women, the Irene Dunne Guild provides a variety of volunteer services and philanthropic support to Saint John’s, including the “Angels of the ER” program to provide non-medical assistance to emergency room patients and their families. The year-round program is staffed by guild members and community volunteers.
Tickets to the 2004 Caritas Award Gala are $375 each. For more information call Saint John’s Health Center Foundation at (310) 829-8424.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 26, 2004. Read the original PDF.