Huntsville & Gloria Vanderbilt

Alabama
Local edition

Anderson Cooper gives a TV shout-out to Huntsville friends of his famous mom, Gloria Vanderbilt

Published: Thursday, September 13, 2012, 12:01 PM | Updated: Thursday, September 13, 2012, 1:25 PM

By Pat Ammons, The Huntsville Times



NEW YORK CITY -- Huntsville got a shout-out on “Anderson Live” this morning as host Anderson Cooper mentioned his famous mother’s new art show and her "friends" from Alabama. Cooper’s mother is the artist and designer Gloria Vanderbilt, who spoke in Huntsville earlier this year.

Proceeds from a preview party for the show and a gala dinner at the Four Seasons restaurant Wednesday night will benefit the Huntsville Museum of Art, where Vanderbilt spoke when she was in Huntsville. The museum was still tallying the receipts and donations today from the 400-plus people who attended the party and more than 100 at the dinner, said Christopher Madkour, the museum’s executive director.

Cooper’s famous mother had planned to be on today’s show, but decided the events of the week would leave her too tired. She is 88 years old.

About two dozen of the Huntsville crowd who came to New York for the events were in the audience, however, and applauded when Cooper noted their presence. “There are a lot of folks from Huntsville here in the audience,” Cooper said, calling them his mother’s “friends.”

The show airs at 1 p.m. CDT today on Fox Channel 54.