“So Near & Yet So Far” was the theme of the 2009 Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala with this year's gala raising nearly $2 million.

The dazzling evening gathered notables from New York society, as well as those on the international scene, and offered a more extensive fanfare than most. Live music performances included Roger Waters opening the evening with '"Wish You Were Here", as well performances by The Pointer Sisters and The Stingers Band.

Electricity was in the air the moment that guests whisked their way through the lobby of the Waldorf=Astoria and entered the East Foyer. A grand step and repeat was visited by the likes of Brooke Shields and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. Other notables attending the evening included Regis and Joy Philbin, David Hyde Pierce and Brian Hargrove, Brooke Shields, Nina Garcia and David Conrod, Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon, Roger Waters, Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney, John McEnroe and Patty Smyth, Nikki Haskell, Eric Ripert, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Nantz, Art Garfunkel, Harvey Keitel and Daphna Kastner and Richard Johnson with wife Sessa von Richthofen.

Luxurious silent auction items were brilliantly displayed for viewing during the intial cocktail hour with items that included: Ariane Zurcher Jewelry, “Exit Suit” by B. Michael America, Estée Lauder Ultimate Giftbag, lunch with Brooke Shields, a red patent leather Versace Bag and more.

Over the past 24 years, the Rita Hayworth Galas in New York and Chicago have raised more than $53 million. Funds raised support Alzheimer’s Association’s goal of enhancing care and support for all affected and eliminating Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan established the Gala as a tribute to her mother, Rita Hayworth, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease for many years before her death in 1987.


Brooke Shields and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan


The Pointer Sisters, Alexandra Lebenthal and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan