Good LA Times article about the lavish perks demanded by stars who attend charity events.
But many celebrities appear at these events not solely out of the goodness of their hearts. They come to line their pockets.
"Stars know they can literally steal from charity," said Steven Fox, a Monterey businessman who worked with Tonken on a 1995 fundraiser for the Tommy Lasorda Jr. Memorial Foundation, named after the baseball legend's late son. "Otherwise, they don't perform. They don't appear."
Actor David Schwimmer, who has made many millions of dollars starring in NBC's "Friends," received a pair of Rolex watches worth $26,413 in advance of a 1997 charity gala that had among its intended beneficiaries the John Wayne Cancer Institute.
