Katzenberg, Diller Join AIDS Board

Two prominent entertainment industry figures, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Barry Diller, will join the board of directors of AIDS Project Los Angeles--a move that is seen as strengthening the AIDS service agency’s already strong ties to Hollywood.

Katzenberg is chairman of Walt Disney Studios and Diller is the former chairman of Fox Inc., who left the studio in February.

“The two bring a number of qualities to the board,� said APLA Chief Executive Officer Leonard H. Bloom, “including the ability to help raise funds and access to people who make decisions.�

From its beginning, APLA has relied heavily on Hollywood celebrities and executives for fund-raising and for help in promoting awareness of the disease. The annual Commitment to Life event draws hundreds of stars and raises more than $1 million. The sixth annual event will be Nov. 18, honoring Barbra Streisand and show-business executive David Geffen, who earlier this year contributed $1 million for APLA’s new Hollywood offices.

Diller has served on APLA’s Board of Governors since 1990 and was instrumental in the formation of Hollywood Supports, a group created to fight AIDS discrimination in the entertainment industry.

Katzenberg, in a statement, said his participation “will not be a silent relationship. The toll of creative lives taken by the AIDS crisis is devastating.�

Local AIDS activist Stephan Korsia also was elected to the board.