Thursday, October 06, 2005

Stefanie Powers Raises Funds for Hurricane-Affected Animals During King and I Tour

Actress and conservationist Stefanie Powers, who currently stars as Mrs. Anna in the national touring company of The King and I, has been using her nightly performances during the play’s run at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle to raise funds for organizations that are aiding the animals stranded and abandoned by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Joined onstage by her dog Bounce, Powers’ nightly post-show plea for Bounce’s “furry friends,” has netted an average of $2000 per show, which she will match dollar for dollar at the end of the Seattle engagement and present to Noah’s Wish and the American Humane Society.

Powers, who has long combined an acting career with her life-long and highly recognized work as a dedicated advocate for animals, will tour in The King and I until mid-November. She has previously appeared in an Australian production of Lady Windemere's Fan helmed by Sir Peter Hall and in stagings of Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady, Applause and others. She also appeared on the West End in Love Letters opposite Robert Wagner, her co-star on "Hart to Hart."

As co-founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation for its 20-plus year history, she has melded habitat conservation with animal preservation through an education program currently serving over 10,000 students a year in Kenya, making the late actor’s dream of education programs that reach out to Kenya’s population, particularly its children, a reality. She has collaborated on species survival projects here in the U.S. and in many other countries and is an advisor to Jaguar Motor Company’s jaguar conservation program as well as its parent Ford Motor Company’s efforts to save the wild mustang.

Some of Powers' TV work will soon be available on a forthcoming DVD release of “Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season,” including newly-filmed commentary. The DVD will be available October 25 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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