It was a night full of laughter, Hollywood glamour and soul music hits at Byron Allen’s Oscars Gala 2023. The annual fundraiser for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles at the posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel brought out stars and power players alike. Allen, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group (AMG), began the tradition as a way to pay homage to the hospital that saved his life as a child.
“My mom and I ended up coming to L.A. in the summer of ’68 and they were very lean years, sleeping on a lot of floor sofas and spare bedrooms,” Allen told theGrio (which AMG owns) during an interview on the gala’s red carpet about the childhood he shared with his mom who was a teen when she gave birth to him. “Unfortunately, one day I got really ill, and she took me to Children’s Hospital, and I had a really bad leg infection.”
Allen’s mother was told that his leg might have to be amputated because his life was in danger. “They saved my life and they saved my leg,” Allen recalls. “And they did not charge my mom one penny. That’s something obviously I’ve never forgotten and I never will.”
Now in its fifth year, Allen’s gala has raised millions for the hospital while delivering an entertaining evening during Hollywood’s biggest night of the year.
Notable gala guests included Smokey Robinson, Ben Crump, Vivica A. Fox, Shaun Robinson, Kel Williams, Mona Scott-Young, Jackée Harry, Tisha Campbell, Garcelle Beauvais, Yvette Nicole Brown and Kenya Barris. Hosts of Entertainment Studios’ court shows were also in attendance: Judge Kevin Ross, Judge Cristina Perez, Judge Lauren Lake, Judge Mablean Ephriam, Judge Karen Mills-Francis and the newest addition to the Allen Media Group family, Judge Greg Mathis.
The gala crowd dined at flower-decorated tables with gold napkins and menus, eagerly watching big screens and cheering during the live Oscars telecast that played, delivering applause for…
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