Davidson: A touch of Hollywood for Rocky Mountain MS Center fete for Nancy Davis

From left: Kenny Rickel and his wife, honoree Nancy Davis; family friend Lynn Palmer and Jason Davis. In front are Kenny and Nancy's twin daughters Isabella and Mariella. (Brian Payne, Special to The Denver Post)

The late Marvin Davis brought Hollywood to Denver when he and wife, Barbara, started the Carousel Ball as a benefit for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. Marvin, who died in 2004, made his fortune in the energy business and at various times owned 20th Century Fox, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Aspen Skiing Co.

And so it was logical that when the Rocky Mountain MS Center honored Marvin and Barbara's daughter, Nancy, the theme for the dinner event would be "Celebrating Hollywood."

The Davis family had relocated to Beverly Hills 26 years ago and continued the Carousel Ball there, renaming it Carousel of Hope.

Guests would enter Glendale's Infinity Park Event Center on a paparazzi-lined red carpet illuminated by spotlights. In the reception area, they'd be greeted by a Marilyn Monroe lookalike and "Frank Sinatra" crooning songs he made famous.

Nancy, who was born at Rose Medical Center and graduated from Kent Denver School, was 34 years old when she diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The year was 1991, and her doctor basically told her "good luck" and to prepare for a life where she'd be lucky to be able to perform tasks as simple as operating the remote control for her TV.

Arlene and Barry Hirschfeld.

A prediction she immediately dismissed.

"I have a stubborn streak and don't like to take no for an answer," Davis said. So with the same determination that her mother and sister Dana have put toward finding a cure for diabetes, Nancy set out to advance research and treatment for multiple sclerosis.

She started Race to Erase MS, which has raised approximately $35 million for the Nancy Davis Center Without Walls, a nationwide network in which physicians, scientists and clinicians work as a team, so as not to duplicate research in developing new therapeutic approaches to eradicating multiple sclerosis.

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Davidson: A touch of Hollywood for Rocky Mountain MS Center fete for Nancy Davis