Blue Jean Ball Supports Autism Speaks, Honors FX’s Chuck Saftler
Hollywood fundraisers can sometimes spark moments of cognitive dissonance, but despite some elaborate nightclub trappings — including a burlesque dancer on a swing and some Vegas-style bottle-service booths — Oct. 24’s Blue Jean Ball in support of Autism Speaks nonetheless managed to get its message across.
Held at Hollywood’s Boulevard 3, the event saw Michael Chiklis work up a heavy sweat auctioning off items for the org, videos and speeches underlined the foundation’s four pillars of activism and the alarming spread of the disorder, which now affects one out of every 88 children, and honoree Chuck Saftler (COO of FX Networks) spoke movingly of his teenage son Jackson’s struggle with autism spectrum.
While Dave Grohl, Rick Springfield, the White Buffalo and Ryan Bingham offered acoustic sets – “you all seem awfully busy,” Bingham noted to the audience whose accumulated conversations often drowned out his music – some serious funds were raised from a crowd that also included Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson and Matthew Lillard. A ’59 Gibson guitar signed by Grohl sold for $10,000 (Saftler himself provided the winning bid, as well as the runner-up), and Charlie Sheen sent along a note containing a $100,000 donation, as well as offering a private lunch date to one $5,000 bidder.
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