SAN FRANCISCO (October 17, 2019) — The Elios Charitable Foundation today announced plans for the upcoming biennial Hellenic Charity Ball, scheduled for Saturday, November 16 at San Francisco’s historic Westin St. Francis hotel on Union Square. This year’s formal dinner dance and awards show will honor four prominent Greek-Americans for their extraordinary work in the arts and entertainment industry: Broadway and Hollywood actor Dennis Boutsikaris; award winning author and HBO writer/producer George Pelecanos; acclaimed dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Constance Stamatiou; and world-renowned film and television animation director and creator, Aliki Theofilopoulos.
This year’s sold-out Hellenic Charity Ball, the 12th since its inception in 1997, will be hosted by popular television and Broadway stars, Marilu Henner and Constantine Maroulis. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a lavish cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, and will include a silent auction of one-of-a-kind sporting, travel and leisure, and entertainment opportunities.
Beginning at 7 p.m., guests will be seated for a three-course dinner and enjoy a lively-awards show with this year’s honorees. Live dinner music will be provided by Mediterranean Soul featuring Christos Sarantakis on bouzouki and Venetia Phillipson trumpet. Mediterranean Soul returns for live Greek dancing following the Award Show featuring special guest vocalist Evgenia. Cloud 9, the Bay Area’s premier party band, tops off the evening with its high-energy Top 40 favorites, Pop hits, and more.
Elios Charitable Foundation President and Chair John Gumas commented, “On behalf of the Elios Charitable Foundation, it is my honor to announce the details of this year’s Hellenic Charity Ball, a biennial evening that rallies and unifies Greek Americans while reaffirming the essence of our being Greek, our philotimo. I’m proud we can celebrate our distinguished honorees and at the same time, raise financial support and awareness of our Hellenic beneficiaries. It is the support of these programs that truly informs our path forward as proud Greek Americans and Philhellenes.”
ABOUT THE 2019 HONOREES
Dennis Boutsikaris has received the prestigious Obie Award twice for his theatrical work. He was the first American to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on Broadway in Amadeus. His Broadway credits include Filuemna (directed by Sir Laurence Olivier), Bent and the 2009 revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs. His many films include The Bourne Legacy, Money Monster, Oliver Stone’s W, Dream Team and Crocodile Dundee 2. On television, he can currently be seen as Richard Schweikert in Better Call Saul, as President Roarke in Quantico and many appearances on Law and Order. He has earned numerous awards for his work on over 140 audiobooks.
George Pelecanos is a novelist, screenwriter, film and television producer, and the recipient of numerous international writing awards. He is the author of 21 novels set in and around Washington, D.C., and was a producer and writer on the HBO series The Wire, Treme, The Pacific, and The Deuce. In Entertainment Weekly, author Stephen King wrote that Pelacanos is “perhaps the greatest living American crime writer.” Pelecanos quickly pointed out that King used the word “perhaps.”
Constance Stamatiou is a dancer with the world acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a company she first joined in 2007. She has performed at the White House Dance Series and has been a guest performer on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, TED Talk, Logo’s Trailblazer Honors, and The Today Show. On film, she danced in Shake, Rattle & Roll and in Dan Pritzker’s Bolden. She is a certified Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis instructor.
Aliki Theofilopoulos, a native of Southern California, launched her career animating on iconic Disney films including Hercules and Tarzan before moving into the world of television as a story artist, writer, director and executive producer. Theofilopoulos co-directed, wrote and storyboarded the first Minnie Mouse driven short on Disney’s Disney Mickey Mouse and received an Annie nomination for the episode. Recently, she worked at DreamWorks as the co-executive producer on the upcoming “Unannounced” series as well as serving as the supervising producer on the Harvey Girls Forever. For Walt Disney Animation, she served as the storyboard artist, writer and Emmy-nominated lyricist for the acclaimed and long-running cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, helping to give shape to the characters, their stories and overall tone of the show. Her many credits include work with Nickelodeon Animation, Warner Brothers Television Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions and others.
ABOUT THE 2019 HOSTS/MCs
With the energy of a teenager, the wisdom of a sage, and the memory of a super hero, Marilu Henner proudly owns her Greek heritage! Along with starring in over fifty films, seven Broadway shows (including Chicago and last year’s Gettin’ the Band Back Together!), two National Tours (Annie Get Your Gun and Grease), and two hit classic sitcoms, (“Taxi” and “Evening Shade”), this five-time Golden Globe-nominee is also a New York Times Best Selling author of ten books on health, parenting, memory, and lifestyle improvement (including Total Health Makeover, Total Memory Makeover, Changing Normal: How I HelpedMy Husband Beat Cancer!). Henner has hosted and executive produced her own nationally syndicated talk shows (Marilu and Shape Up Your Life) and her own radio show, The Marilu Henner Show. As a two-time competitor on “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars,” Marilu made it to the Final Five and played for The Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the Alzheimer’s Association. She also competed on the 23rd season of “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC reaching the quarterfinals. Henner currently co-stars with Candace Cameron Bure in the ongoing Hallmark Murders and Mysteries series “Aurora Teagarden” written by Charlaine Harris, and they will be shooting movies 13-16 in Vancouver this winter and spring. Also, in 2020, while she works on her eleventh book and workshops her next New York play, she can also be seen across the country in her one-woman show, A Memorable Evening with Marilu Henner!
Marilu Henner is one of 12 individuals in the world diagnosed with “hyperthymesia,” a highly superior autobiographical memory that allows her to recall every minute aspect of her life from the past to present, an ability that has been the subject of many national and international press interviews including “60 Minutes.” Henner was a past Hellenic Charity Ball honoree in 2009.
Constantine Maroulis is an accomplished actor, producer, singer and songwriter best known for his Tony-nominated performance on Broadway in Rock of Ages, and his epic run as a finalist during the heyday of American Idol. His new original album, “Until I’m Wanted,” is expected to be released later this year. Maroulis was a past Hellenic Charity Ball honoree in 2011.
The 2019 Hellenic Charity Ball is made possible in part by the generous sponsorship and support of: George and Judy Marcus Family Foundation, Bank of the West, Gerry & Jeannie Ranglas, Angelo & Sofia Tsakopoulos, Vrionis & Son, LLC, AT&T, Anthony & Betty Saris, Byron & Stephanie Scordelis, Dean & Marianne Metropoulos, First Republic Bank, and Union Bank.
At the heart of the not-for-profit Elios Charitable Foundation, the group’s mission is to preserve and foster the values of Hellenic culture. Through its grants and sponsored projects and programs, the Foundation strives to position Elios as a leader in the community and to make a positive impact in the lives of Greek Americans and Philhellenes.
Past and current Elios Charitable Foundation beneficiaries and partnerships include: the Center for Modern Greek Studies at San Francisco State University; the Center for Tebtunis Papyri (CTB) at the University of California, Berkeley; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Ancient Art Council and Get Smart with Art program; the Hellenic Heritage Institute; the Hellenic Journal; Hellenic Research Fellowship Program at California State University, Sacramento; partnership with The Heritage Greece/National Hellenic Society; Oakland’s Kairos Music Academy; Los Angeles Greek Film Festival; Loyola Marymount University’s Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies; the Metropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Programs; San Francisco Greek Film Festival; Nemea Center at the University of California, Berkeley; and United Hellenic American Society.
Leadership for the Elios Charitable Foundation includes: John Gumas, president and chair; Patrick Mockler, vice president; Philip Economopoulos, secretary; and Michael Kasolas, treasurer. Frosene Phillips, executive director.
For additional information about the 2019 Hellenic Charity Ball, visit www.elios.org.