Channing Honored at Fundraiser

The Institute on Aging, one of the largest non-profit organizations caring for seniors in northern California, will hold a fundraising celebration at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30 honoring movie star Carol Channing and philanthropist Richard Goldman at the Coronet Theater, the site of its future home.

The event, entitled "Curtain Call," will have a theme that combines a tribute to San Francisco's movie tradition and a farewell to the Coronet, along with a celebration of the IOA and its new center's role in providing health services. Proceeds from tickets and an auction will go to the IOA's development fund for its new state-of-the-art center.

The $175-per-person event will honor Goldman, a well-known local philanthropist, and Channing, who is a symbol of San Francisco entertainment life.

The Institute bought the Coronet, at 3575 Geary Boulevard, from bankrupt United Artists three years ago and has kept the theater open while developing plans for its new center. Curtain Call will recognize the Coronet's important role in the city's movie scene, as the place where thousands of fans saw films ranging from "Dr. Zhivago" to "Star Wars" to "Minority Report."

The new six-story center that will replace the Coronet is a pioneering design because of the unique combination of housing and services it will offer.

The IOA hopes to break ground for its new center in the summer of 2004 and open in 2006. The Coronet will continue to show movies at least through the end of 2003. For tickets to Curtain Call on Oct. 30, contact Rebekah Eppley at (415) 750-4180, ext. 142.