Los Angeles, U.S.A. – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBSLA) will honor media titan Sumner M. Redstone at its Rising Stars Gala on October 26, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. The evening recognizes individuals who are outstanding members of the Los Angeles community and inspiring and positive role models for young people.

Sumner M. Redstone, Executive Chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation, will receive the Walt Disney Man of the Year Award. Mr. Redstone has been Chairman of the Board of National Amusements since 1986, and CEO of National Amusements since July 1967. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation and is on the Board of Trustees for The Paley Center for Media. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Theatre Owners, and is currently a member of its Executive Committee.

Before that, he was President of the Theatre Owners of America. Mr. Redstone was recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mr. Redstone has devoted himself to a wide variety of civic and community affairs efforts, contributing over $130 million to worthy charities around the world over the last several years.

“Sumner Redstone is a true role model for civic involvement and commitment to philanthropy,” said Tiffany Siart, President and CEO of BBBSLA. ”We are extremely grateful to him for working with us to highlight the dramatic impact of BBBSLA on our youth, making it possible for them to achieve their dreams.”

Since 1955, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles has been the leader in providing children facing adversity, often those of single or low-income households with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships with carefully screened adult volunteer mentors that change their lives for the better, forever. The results are clear — children in our programs improve in school, avoid risky and delinquent behaviors, and achieve higher self-esteem and aspirations. Philanthropedia, a GuideStar company, recently named BBBS as the #1 high impact national nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth. BBBSLA is committed to serving more children and changing more lives by partnering with those in the community. Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life by visiting www.BBBSLA.org.

Image Courtesy of  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The Estate of Michael Jackson has announced  that Michael Jackson will be immortalized in a hand and foot print ceremony at Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on January 26, 2012, starting at 11:00am, in a giant celebration of the legacy of the King of Pop and the Los Angeles debut of Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, the critically acclaimed Cirque du Soleil production and top grossing tour in the United States, according to Pollstar.

The Estate will be joined by Michael Jackson’s three children, Prince, Paris and “Blanket” who will use their father’s sequined glove and shoes to make impressions in the cement in the famous forecourt of the theatre as family, friends and fans celebrate the legacy of the King of Pop.

The event is produced by the executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson, John McClain and John Branca. A special live presentation from the cast of THE IMMORTAL World Tour will be performed, and the event will be M.C.’d by Access Hollywood and Access Hollywood Live’s anchor Billy Bush.

The entire event will be streamed live via Twitter @michaeljackson with additional photos and live coverage of the event tweeted from Twitter’s music channel @twittermusic.

Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour performs in Los Angeles at Staples Center January 27-29, 2012. The production is a riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael’s creative world. The show literally turns his signature moves upside down, unfolding his artistry before the eyes of the audience.

USA Today called it “A Thriller of a show!” and Rolling Stone raved about ‘the hit-packed King of Pop spectacle.” Commenting on IMMORTAL’s success, Forbes noted “That should come as no surprise, given the extraordinary spectacle that audiences witness with each performance” while Entertainment Weekly said that, “Even the most casual of Jackson followers will be entertained, and Jackson acolytes will revel in every glittering, peculiar moment.”www.cirquedusoleil.com/MichaelJackson

Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael’s creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations. “His legend lives on,” wrote US Weekly. The album, IMMORTAL, available on Epic Records, is the soundtrack for Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour.

Michael Jackson is one of the most beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time. To date Jackson has sold an estimated 1 billion records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 17 Grammy Awards including 8 in one year, a record in itself, and received 26 American Music Awards, including the Artist of the Century Award.

Jackson defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking short films as “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the classic “Thriller,” which in 2009 became the first and only music video inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Jackson’s sound, style and dance moves continue to inspire today’s performers and new generations of fans worldwide continue to discover his artistry.

At Grauman’s  Michael Jackson’s legacy will be enshrined alongside such entertainment icons as Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Sidney Poitier, Clark Gable, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Michael Jackson’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located on the sidewalk in front of the theatre.

The Grauman’s Chinese Theatre forecourt is one of the most photographed tourist sites in the world, annually attracting as many visitors as the Taj Mahal in India and the Prado Museum in Madrid. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre hands and footprints ceremony is rich in tradition and provides the four million plus people a year who visit the site an up close look at the hand and footprints of Hollywood’s most notable talents.

Movie exhibitor Sid Grauman, one of Hollywood’s most creative showmen, opened The Chinese in 1927 and launched the handprints-footprints ceremony a year later. The event is one of the most selective in the world, and very few are chosen to be honored.

Follow the coverage at: Michael Jackson @michaeljackson and Twitter Music @twittermusic

Fans can go to findeventdetails.com/mjlegacy on January 19 for line up information.

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After 17 years of artistic work, Melissa Lou Etheridge received a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on September 27. Etheridge, American rock singer-songwriter and musician, received the 2,450th sidewalk star on Hollywood boulevard. To celebrate, she she gathered with her family, mother Elizabeth and two children, Bailey and Beckett.

Etheridge dedicated her star to anyone who has difficulties in life to overcome. She said her star provides proof that anything is possible in life. ”Let my life be an inspiration to anyone, gay, straight, breast cancer, woman, mother, any human being who receives the inspiration from my story,” Etheridge said during the ceremony.

“You can have a dream that you can grow up in a small Midwestern town and believe, and desire and create a life and end up with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.” According to ABC News, the ceremony took place in front of the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood and was refined with the Pinktober campaign, a series of concerts and events which aim to raise money and awareness about breast cancer.

The mission of the Pinktober campaign is of specific importance to Etheridge. The star has been an ambassador of it for six years since she  was diagnosed with breast cancer herself in 2004. The 50-year-old Etheridge is recognizable and treasured in the music world for her unique husky voice and for writing very personal lyrics.

She is also a devoted environmental advocate and iconic gay and lesbian activist since coming out publically in January 1993. Her most recognizable songs are “Come to My Window” and “I’m the Only One.” “I learned very early on that I could write truths,” Etheridge told CNN. “I could write about sadness or anger, where I couldn’t actually speak it.”

According to Sheknows.com, Etheridge appeared at the 2005 Grammy awards after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. In one of the most memorable moments in Grammy history, Etheridge performed for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer. She awed the audience with her touching interpretation of Janice Joplin’s Piece of My Heart.

In 2005, Etheridge received an Oscar for the song “I Need to Wake Up,” a soundtrack to An Inconvenient Truth of Al Gore. “When I realized that my music was being listened to internationally, it meant so much to me. It started to become very obvious to me that music is an international language.” Etheridge said when she received the award.

According to Biography, Etheridge released her thirteenth album, Icon, this year.
Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

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