Actors Ben Affleck, left, and Matt Damon wear San Francisco Giants baseball caps during Revels & Revelations, a charity event for Bring Change to Mind at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer Photography
Sometimes celebrities will endure humiliation for a charitable cause. For Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, loud and proud Boston Red Sox fans, that meant slipping on San Francisco Giants caps to honor their late mentor, Robin Williams.
“This is for you, Robin,” Damon said to applause during a charity event at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on Monday, April 27.
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York, left, and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer attend Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations charity event at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on Monday.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
Damon and Affleck were awarded the ninth Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award by Williams’ children, Zak and Zelda Williams during Revels & Revelations, a fundraiser that raised $2.5 million for mental health advocacy nonprofit Bring Change to Mind. Williams’ former wife, Marsha Garces Williams, was also in attendance.
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The hats were given to the duo by Pam Baer, philanthropist and wife of Giants CEO Larry Baer. Earlier, charity co-founder and eight-time Oscar-nominee Glenn Close presented Pam Baer with the Champion of Change Award for her work with the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation and the Transform Mental and Behavioral Health Fund.
Actor Matt Damon, philanthropist Pam Baer, actor Ben Affleck and Giants CEO Larry Baer attend Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
“Every person in this room tonight, we all have … someone we love with everything we have and have struggled, maybe silently, maybe in ways we didn’t fully understand until it was almost too late, or until it was,” said Pam Baer, who has worked with Bring Change to Mind for about 12 years. “That shared heartbreak is exactly why we’re all here tonight. I lost my nephew — 28 years old, a talented photographer, gregarious, deeply loved — to this disease. Because of Noah, silence is not something I’m willing to accept.”
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The well-heeled crowd also included San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who spoke briefly, and his wife Becca Prowda; comedian Sarah Silverman; San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York and his wife Danielle York; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and his wife Margot Kerr; San Francisco filmmaker Chris Columbus; and fashion designer Zac Posen, executive vice president and creative director of Gap Inc.
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Video tributes were played from U2 frontman Bono; former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a San Mateo native; late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel; and actor George Clooney. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin even appeared from London to livestream an amusing song, “Bromance,” written for the occasion.
Comedian Sarah Silverman, from left, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and his wife Margot Kerr attend Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations charity event at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
There was, indeed, a lot of laughter, including a raunchy 15-minute set by Silverman, who began with, “I really hope that — after my fee — you make a lot of money,” perhaps her only printable joke from the evening.
But the mission behind it was serious. Bring Change to Mind, co-founded by Close in 2010, is working to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness. The organization’s high school club initiative reaches more than 14,000 students in over 540 high schools in 43 states, with the Williams family a major supporter.
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Williams, who openly discussed his struggles with mental health and addiction for years, died by suicide in 2014 at age 63 while suffering from Lewy body dementia.
The award-winning actor and comic took a chance on Damon and Affleck when they were unknowns, agreeing to star in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), which got the film greenlit. The film, directed by Gus Van Sant, earned Damon and Affleck Oscars for their original screenplay and sent them to stardom.
Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award recipients Ben Affleck, left, and Matt Damon speak at the podium with San Francisco Giants baseball caps during Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations charity event in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
Williams also won for best supporting actor, his only Academy Award.
On Monday’s red carpet, Damon and Affleck recalled their first trip to San Francisco. It was after they had submitted their script to Williams for consideration.
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“My initiation to San Francisco was the thrill of seeing Robert Williams perform live,” Affleck said. “I’ve never seen anything like it since. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Although neither remembered the name of the club, the experience is emblazoned in their consciousness.
“It was astonishing to watch him work live, because you absolutely never knew what was going to happen,” Damon said.
Marsha Garces Williams, from left, Matt Damon, Zak Williams, Ben Affleck and Zelda Williams attend Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations charity event at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
At the podium as they clutched their awards, the stars reflected on Williams’ impact on not just their careers, but their lives.
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“We’re still unpacking 30 years later the ways in which he transformed our lives and everything we’re living is possible because of him,” Affleck said. “He was just so sensitive and he was so introspective and so different than the public persona that we all knew and the whole entire world loved. He was a deep, deep river, and we really had to be vulnerable together in front of each other, and it’s just profoundly impacted the way in which I approach my work and my life.”
Perhaps the most spirited portion of the evening was the auction conducted by Palm Springs-based TV host Scott Nevins. It raised more than $800,000, but it would have been $100,000 less had not Damon intervened.
Two bidders were in a battle royale to win tickets to be Damon’s guest at the New York premiere of his upcoming Christopher Nolan film “The Odyssey,” in theaters July 17. When one reached $100,000, the other was mulling a $110,000 bid before lowering her paddle.
Damon said he would make it four tickets — the bidders and their plus-ones — if she agreed to match the bid.
Damon, Affleck, Silverman, the Baers, the Yorks and the Kerrs were among those who made their own donations.
Actor Glenn Close and her dog, Sir Pippin of Beanfield, attend Bring Change to Mind’s Revels & Revelations charity event at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco on Monday, April 27.
Drew Altizer/Drew Altizer Photography
Another bidder paid $50,000 to be Close’s guest at the Los Angeles premiere of her next film, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” due out this fall.
Close, who wore an outfit designed by Posen, was thrilled with the success of the sold-out event. Her plus-one was Sir Pippin of Beanfield (Pip for short), a white Havanese dog who playfully interacted with celebrities and media on the red carpet.
Close told the Chronicle that she believes Bring Change to Mind is even more vital than when she helped launch it more than a decade ago after her sister Jessie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“I think it’s very hard in this day and age for people to ignore the epidemic of mental health challenges that we’re experiencing,” Close said. “I think also kids need to be able to talk to each other, to be vigilant for each other and to be supported. We need more funding on every level in this country to take care of people with mental illness.”
To donate or for more information about Bring Change to Mind, go to www.bringchange2mind.org.