It pays to honor billionaire filmmaker Tyler Perry.
After Whoopi Goldberg presented him with the Impact Award at the theater’s spring benefit on Monday, Perry was so “moved and inspired” that he gifted the famous Harlem music hall with a $500,000 donation.
“I want to say, thank you… when you are honored by a legacy, a history that is as rich as the Apollo, you have to honor that,” he said.
The famous theater has helped launch some of music’s biggest acts including Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Lauryn Hill and Stephanie Mills, who made a special appearance at the gala.
Perry encouraged the crowd to “remember the history, and on this stage, and in this building, there have been some legends… don’t ever take this place for granted,” he said, before surprising the theater with the generous donation.
“I’d like to give a half million to make sure this place continues to grow and thrive,” he explained. “Give it up for the Apollo.”
The $500,000 gift helped their spring benefit, hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson, raise a record-breaking $3.7 million.
Other guests in attendance included CEO Jonelle Procope, Phylicia Rashad, Anthony Hamilton, Samuel and LaTanya Jackson, Bevy Smith and Robert Kraft, who attended with his younger fiancée Dr. Diana Blumberg.
The Marching Cobras later led the crowd down 126th Street to an afterparty in a makeshift lounge created by celebrity event planner and Apollo Board Member Bronson van Wyck. DJ Derrick “D-Nice” Jones spun at the party, where spies spotted L.A. Reid and Malik Yoba, who attended with Sports Illustrated model Saje Nicole.
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