The Show Goes On for St. Jude

Supporters of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital gave the late Danny Thomas the kind of tribute he would have loved: They put on the show without him.

The 12th annual black-tie fund-raiser at the Century Plaza on Saturday night marked two milestones for the Memphis hospital. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of the medical facility Thomas founded, and it was the first gala “that Danny is not at my side,” said his widow, Rose Marie.

This was, in a sense, a rebirth. Last year’s affair had been canceled when it came “too soon after losing dad,” said Marlo Thomas. “We didn’t have the heart to do it.”

The entertainer died Feb. 6, 1991.

The gala made a strong comeback with the Thomas family--Rose Marie and children Marlo, Tony and Terre--chairing the evening. And although family members stressed that the hospital has the wherewithal to survive on its own (with an annual budget of $104 million) and “doesn’t need a Thomas at the helm any more,” said Tony, “we feel a strong desire to help. After all, this was my father’s life work.”

Considering how emotional an evening this could have been, there was an effort “to limit the tears,” said Thomas’ son-in-law, Phil Donahue.

Rather than melancholy, it was a vigorous, up-beat evening. Even the decor, including a light-studded rainbow one guest likened to “the one the Vegas Hilton has over the slots,” was lively.

All the Thomases made brief speeches. There was an eight-minute film, including newsreel footage, on Danny Thomas, the hospital and its work; an acknowledgment of the diligence of Baddia Rashid, the outgoing director of the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, the fund-raising arm of St. Jude’s, and the in absentia presentation of the Founders Award to John Goodman, who was filming on location.

By far, the main part of the evening was the entertainment.

Bill Cosby did a sharp, hourlong set that touched on cholesterol, his age (“When you hit 55, don’t get a doctor’s checkup. Just die. They’re going to find something”), the burial of relatives, marriage and dentists.

Among the 1,200 guests were George Burns and Carol Channing, Faye Dunaway, Helen Hunt, Julie Warner, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Milton Berle, Peter and Louise Bogdanovich, Wendy and Leonard Goldberg, James Coburn, Jan Murray, David Kissinger, Jean and Casey Kasem, Buddy Rogers, Phyllis George and Sid Caesar, who praised Danny Thomas as “one of those few people who leave a legacy.”

“A lot of people go out and buy a museum,” said the comic. “But what Danny did is about something more than money.”