Elizabeth Taylor, Sammy Davis, Jr., Stephanie Mills, Bob Hope, Laura Branigan, and Meat Loaf
Laura Branigan, Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center founder Catherine Filene Shouse, Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr.
February 7, 1983 - Laura and her band attended and performed at the gala "A Special Evening for Wolf Trap" that took place at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. This event served as a benefit to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center, located in Virginia, that had been destroyed by fire the year before. Also participating in this event were Hollywood legends Bob Hope (host) Elizabeth Taylor, and Sammy Davis, Jr., along with Meat Loaf, Stephanie Mills, and Paul Williams, among others. It was quite the honor for Laura and band to be invited to this gala!
In seeking a first-hand account of this event, we asked Laura's drummer at the time, Richie Fontana, if he could provide us some additional information regarding that evening, and he was happy to do so. The following is his recollection.
"The Capital Centre in Washington DC was a huge arena that was normally the home for professional hockey and basketball, but on February 7, 1983 it was the setting of a gala affair, a benefit to raise funds to help rebuild a performing arts center called Wolf Trap that had been destroyed by fire the previous year. The performers that night was a short list of show business icons that included Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis Jr. Meat Loaf, Stephanie Mills and Laura Branigan were also on the bill that night. I was privileged to be Laura Branigan‘s drummer at the time, therefore I got to be part of this amazing evening along with band members Virgil Weber (keyboards), Steve York (bass), Jeff Southworth (lead guitar), Billy Branigan (guitar) and Luis Cabaza (keyboards).
Laura and band performed a short set that lasted about 20 minutes which included her first big hit titled “Gloria” plus other selections from her debut album. Next up was Meat Loaf and his band, a set which ended with many of us musicians on stage with Meat Loaf to help close his final number. The scene backstage was also a buzz. Bob Hope was very friendly when he came to our dressing room. I was happy I got to speak with him for a moment. Meat Loaf was also great to hang with, sharing the camaraderie amongst the musicians as he was kind to single me out, remembering that I had worked on the album by Paul Stanley of KISS some 5 years prior. Another moment remembered is both Laura and I standing in the wings with Elizabeth Taylor as she sat waiting to be introduced by Bob Hope on stage. Paul Williams was there as well that night as we hobnobbed at the buffet table.
At the time, an event like this was all in a day’s work, however, now seems extraordinary in retrospect.
Laura Branigan had become top of the Pops by this time, a rising star that rightfully placed her among these great performers of past and present. All in all, ’twas a night to remember."
- Richie Fontana
On behalf of Other Half Entertainment, we send a huge THANKS to Richie for providing us his personal account of this special gala event, so we could share it with all of you - it's greatly appreciated!