The man who gave the world such classic characters as Ed Grimley and Jackie Rogers Jr. will no doubt strike a more serious tone when he speaks in London in November.
It was announced Friday that actor and comedian Martin Short will be the keynote speaker at this year's Leaders in Innovation Dinner hosted by Western University’s Robarts Research Institute.
The dinner, scheduled for November 18 at the Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre, will celebrate research excellence in the field of cellular and molecular imaging in cancer.
Short, like so many Canadians, has experienced the loss of family members due to cancer. In 2010, he lost his wife Nancy to ovarian cancer. The couple had been married for 30 years. When he was 17, he lost his mother to breast cancer.
The university says Short will "provide an exclusive look into his Hollywood and stage careers and speak about how the tragedy of losing family members has empowered him to become a fearless comedian."
This year's dinner will also see the presentation of the 2015 J. Allyn Taylor International Prize to internationally renowned Stanford Medicine cancer imaging researcher, Sanjiv S. Ghambir, MD, PhD.
“Leaders in Innovation brings the best to London,” says Dr. Michael J. Strong, dean, Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and interim scientific director at Robarts. “In one evening, attendees will learn more about the life-changing cancer research happening here at Robarts and take part in an intimate conversation with a remarkable Canadian entertainer who has lived through the devastating consequences of cancer.”
Tickets for the event are $250 per person or $2,000 for a table of eight, and can be purchased online at robarts.ca/leaders-innovation.
***Photo of Martin Short courtesy of Flickr user Dominick D
