Fran Drescher receives the 2021 ELEM LiveSaver Award

About the LifeSaver Award

“One Person’s Candle is Light for Many”

The LifeSaver Award, founded in 2014, is a humanitarian award given yearly by the American Friends of ELEM to recognize an exceptional individual or a group of individuals who exemplify dedication and commitment to alleviating suffering and inhumane treatment of youth, social inequality and intolerance. Our recipients come from all fields and their activism is done by a variety of methods, including advocacy, education and awareness activities focusing on creating an open dialogue. They shine as a positive voice in the world, a ray of hope (so named our yearly gala) and their work in the U.S., Israel and globally, helps in the preservation of human life.

Previous Recipients

2021 recipient – Hebrew University Humanitarian Award Winner Fran Drescher

Fran received two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations for her work on CBS’s hit series, The Nanny, which she both created and executive produced. Fran is a 20-year cancer survivor and founder of the Cancer Schmancer Movement; dedicated to educating, motivating, and activating patients. Her book, Cancer Schmancer, is a New York Times Best Seller. The Israeli Knesset also honored Fran for being the first female, Jewish actress since Molly Goldberg in 1948 to play an openly Jewish character in a starring role on primetime TV in her role on The Nanny. She is a vetted and appointed Public Diplomacy Envoy for Health Issues with the U.S. State Department. 

 

2020 recipient – Emmy Award Winner Rachel Bloom

Rachel Bloom is best known as the star of CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, which she co-created and executive produced alongside Aline Brosh McKenna. Rachel won a Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and TCA Award, and the Emmy Award for her work on the show. Her notable TV guest star credits include THE SIMPSONS, BOJACK HORSEMAN, and RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE. Rachel’s first book, I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are, was published by Grand Central Publishing on November 17, 2020.

 

 

2019 recipient – Tony Award Winner Orin Wolf

Award winning producer of the Broadway musical The Band’s Visit and the president of NETworks Presentations. Orin Wolf’s Broadway producing credits include the revival of Fiddler On the Roof (Tony nominated), Beautiful – the Carole King Musical (Tony nominated), Orphans, (Tony nominated), once (Tony winner), that championship season a nd a view from the bridge (Tony nominated). Orin was the co-founder of OBB/Off Broadway Booking, anagency that pioneered a national touring market for off-broadway shows.He is a proud recipient of the first T-fellowship for creative producing atColumbia University which was founded by Hal Prince.

2019 recipient – Tony Award Winner David Yazbek

A varied career as a recording artist, TV and film writer, music producer, and pianist has led Yazbek to become one of Broadway’s preeminent composer/lyricists. His fiveshows: The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, The Band’s Visit and Tootsie have all been nominated for Best ScoreTony Awards. Also, Yazbek has scored the final season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, composed music for Larry David’s Broadway play Fish In the Dark and written songs and music for dozens of other plays and shows.

2019 recipient – Tony Award winner Itamar Moses

An award-winning writer based in New York, Moses is the author of six full-length plays and three musicals, including The Band’s Visit, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Awards for his work include Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Obie awards in New York, as well as awards from the Portland, San Diego, Dallas, and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circles.

2017 recipient – Curtis Sliwa

Founder of the Guardian Angels, a USA wide nonprofit organization that patrols streets and the public transportation system, accompany women home and keeping the streets safe (similar to the Israeli Mishmar Ezrachi.)