The Los Angeles Conservancy has entered the realm of Hollywood cause celebrity, with stars like Jack Nicholson, Steve Martin, Ben Stiller, and Ellen DeGeneres joining the organization devoted to preserving historic architecture.
"Why the growing industry involvement? In many cases, the answer is indeed a fervent commitment to architectural preservation. But some say the Conservancy, like many other causes, attracts its share of supporters who see the organization as a networking venue or an image-building tool. The badge of membership can make certain Hollywood stars seem smarter, more culturally sophisticated or more philanthropic, turning the Conservancy into, as one longtime member wryly asserts, 'the intellectual person's ASPCA.' It's a notion that [Executive Director Linda] Dishman disputes.
...Last fall, when Keaton threw a cocktail party at her Colonial Revival-style Bel-Air home for the Conservancy, guests who turned out to raise money for the group included Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer, Alicia Silverstone, Martin Short, Helen Hunt and Raquel Welch."
FULL STORY: History: the new cause celeb
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