Carol Lawrence to be Honored at PDS' Annual Gypsy Awards Luncheon

Actress/Singer/Dancer Carol Lawrence has been named the honoree for the Professional Dancers Society's (PDS) annual Gypsy Awards Luncheon, it was announced by PDS President, Mitzi Gaynor and PDS Board Chairman, Joni Berry. Miss Lawrence will be honored on Sunday, March 29, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (9876 Wilshire Blvd.) and famed choreographers Alan Johnson, Miriam Nelson and Walter Painter will receive special PDS Choreography Awards, for their extraordinary contribution to dance.

"In celebration of PDS' 28th anniversary, we are pleased to be honoring Broadway's original "Maria," Carol Lawrence, as well as our dear choreographer friends, who have all made such an impact on the world of dance" said Joni Berry, Luncheon Chairman.

The Professional Dancers Society (PDS) is an affiliate of The Actors Fund of America. PDS is a non-profit corporation formed to serve the professional dancer, active and inactive and with The Actors Fund of America is achieving the long-needed goals of low income housing; plus retirement and nursing facilities for dancers on both coasts. Previous Gypsy Award winners include Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Ben Vereen, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Carl Reiner, Ann-Margret, Florence Henderson, Mary Tyler Moore, Chita Rivera, Julie Andrews and Leslie Caron.

The March 29th event will begin at 11:00am Cocktails, followed by a Noon Luncheon and the Awards at 1:00pm. For more information about the event including tickets or ads, please visit www.professionaldancerssociety.org or call (310) 278-5222.

Carol Lawrence defines the term "Triple Crown". She created the role of "Maria" in the Broadway classic, West Side Story and went on to star in numerous other Broadway productions, including Saratoga, Subways Are for Sleeping, Nightlife, I Do, I Do, and Kiss Of The Spiderwoman. She has also starred in national tours of Funny Girl, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Sound of Music, Sweet Charity, No, No, Nanette, Woman of the Year and Sugar Babies. She is also first star recipient ever on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in the category of Live Theatre! Carol received rave reviews in Los Angeles productions of Do I Hear A Waltz?, Follies and Amy's View, for which she received The Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. She also broke box-office records for her stellar performance in the title role of Mame. Carol also headlined both the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies and the newly created Florida Follies and most recently appeared in "Girl's Room" in New York and Los Angeles. On television, she played matriarch "Angela Eckart" on ABC's General Hospital, recurred on Flipper, Valley of the Dolls, Saved By the Bell, and guest-starred in such television shows as The Commish, Touched by an Angel, Lois & Clark, Murder One, Simon & Simon, The Fugitive, Hawaii 5-0, Marcus Welby M.D., Medical Center, Kung Fun, Mannix, Murder She Wrote and Sex and the City. For three years Carol hosted her own biweekly TV magazine/talk show, The Carol Lawrence Show, which she wrote and produced. By hosting five shows on the popular series Chef du Jour for the Food Network, Carol was able to share recipes from her cookbook, "I Remember Pasta." Her other book - her smash autobiography, "Carol Lawrence: the Backstage Story" - was released by McGraw-Hill. She is also widely recognized for her award winning General Foods' International Coffee commercials. She has received both Tony and Grammy Award nominations, as well as numerous humanitarian awards including City of Hope's "Woman of the Year," "The Spirit of Life Award," and Harvard's Hasty Pudding "Woman of the Year!"

For more information on the Beverly Hilton, visit www.beverlyhilton.com.