Thalians Honor Mickey Rooney

The 54th annual Thalians Ball will honor film, stage and TV star Mickey Rooney and the USO Shows for America's Armed Forces around the world.

Thalians founders, actresses Debbie Reynolds and Ruta Lee, will perform. They will be joined by a "contemporary version" of Uncle Sam, according to a statement by the organization.

Co-stars from Rooney's decades of work at MGM and other studios also will perform, including Shirley Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Connie Stevens, Mitzi Gaynor, Ann Blyth and comedian-ventriloquist Terry Fator, winner of "America's Got Talent 2007."

Among those expected to attend are Dick Van Patten, Alex Trebek, Gloria Allred, Betty Garrett, Carol Connors, Norm Crosby, Joan Van Ark, Ron Masak, Stella Stevens, Ann Rutherford, Terry Moore, Barbara Luna, Jack LaLanne, Elke Sommer and Gary Marshall.

The ball will benefit the Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. The show will be taped for television by ATI-Associated Television International. The executive producer/director is David McKenzie and Thalians event producer is Blake Lindquist.

The celebrity charity has supported the Thalians Clinic for Emotionally Disturbed Children at Mt. Sinai Hospital for more than five decades.