Celebrity Cast
Walk for the Underdog thanks the many celebrities, public leaders and officials who support efforts to find loving owners for all homeless animals throughout Greater Los Angeles and end the senseless killing of beautiful creatures. The following are just a few of the many, many wonderful professionals who participated in the 2007 Walk for the Underdog.
Amy Smart, the talented & lovely actress, first gained notice for her supporting roles in the 1999 hit teen films "Varsity Blues" and "Outside Providence." With her blonde, carefree California girl good looks, the Los Angeles native got her start in TV-movies and made her feature debut in Stephen Kay's "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" screened at 1997's Sundance Film Festival. She was briefly seen in Paul Verhoeven's big-budget sci-fi actioner "Starship Troopers" and had an impressive turn in the vastly different, quirkily independent "How to Make the Cruelest Month." In the latter, she played Dot, the graceful golden girl who seduces the one-time boyfriend of her sister, the troubled protagonist Bell (Clea DuVall). The by-the-numbers horror film "Campfire Tales" followed in 1998, along with the topically chilling but clumsily executed internet stalker thriller "Dee Snider's StrangeLand," written, produced and starring the titular Twisted Sister frontman as a deranged torturer who meets his victims in web chatrooms. photo courtesy of amysmart.org
Marlee Matlin, Oscar Winner
Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Paramount Pictures' "Children of a Lesser God," for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama.
Linda Blair, the President and Founder of WorldHeart, is an Academy Award Nominee, and the proud winner of The Golden Globe and People's Choice Award, and the recipient of Peta's Humanitarian Award, Animal Rights 2001 Celebrity Advocate of the Year, and, most recently, the prestigious Helen Woodward Animal Centers 2003 Humane Award. In addition to her many acting accomplishments, Ms. Blair is a well-known and respected Animal Rights Advocate, and the author of the book "Going Vegan!"
Jaime King is an American film actress and is considered "One of the world's top fashion models". She also goes by the names Jamie King and most especially James King, which was a childhood nickname given to King by her parents that she used during her early modeling years, because her agency already represented another Jaime — the older, then-more famous model Jaime Rishar. King, because of the latter name, is sometimes referred to as the "Model with a man's name". Nice Name!
Melina Eleni Kanakaredes, CSI New York star
Melina is a second-generation Greek-American who was born and raised in Akron, Ohio area, as the youngest of three sisters. Her retired father was an insurance salesman and her mother is a homemaker. Growing up, she spent many hours in her family's candy store. As a teenager she got involved in dance and theatrical productions.
Lorielle New has more than 40 credits, including; Up close and
Personal, To Gillian on her 37th birthday, The practice, Dante's cove,
Miami vice... can currently be seen in " Grindhouse", and just wrapped
on "Postal" !! Most recently, Lorielle was featured in the European
tabloid magazine, "Solo G."!
Brandon Molale is currently shooting Eddie Murphy's "Starship Dave" and can be seen in the upcoming 2007 films: "Balls of Fury" starring Christopher Walken and George Lopez and "Big Stan" starring Rob Schneider. Brandon will be seen in the FOX Network pilot "Sarah Connor Chronicles" and the CBS pilot "Moonlight." Brandon is best known from his roles in the film "Dodgeball" with Ben Stiller, "Mr. Deeds" starring Adam Sandler and the television show, "Reno 911".
Brandon is in consideration for the lead role of 'Captain Marvel' in the upcoming film, "Shazam!"
Amanda Beard is a seven time Olympic Champion and covermodel of next month's Playboy.
Dominika grew up as an only child with a German Shepherd/Wolf cross
named "Nero" as her trusted companion and kindred friend. She started
film acting at the age of 22 (after finding out that being a secret
agent was not going to be as easy as she thought) and started landing
guest starring roles from her first audition. Dominika has guest
starred on shows such as "Dark Angel" , "Jeremiah" and "Young
Person's Guide to being a Rockstar"... her first starring role was in"Game Over" and she has also worked with Benny and Joon's director
Jeremiah Chechik. She has been interviewed by MTV, Elle, En Route and
a variety of other magazines for her striking looks and fearless
acting style. She is currenly recurring in a TV series called "JPOD"
and will be playing the role of Virginia in the feature film "The
Yearning" filming later this year.
Rena Riffel has
many well know credits, including Mullholland Drive, Showgirls, Candy
Man, and Strip Tease. She recently just wrapped filming a large role
on the upcoming Dark Reel, and worked on Here Network's Dante's
Cove
Marnie Alton is the lead in the new show "Exes & Ohs" on Logo.
Riley Weston has starred on Felicity, Sister Act 2, 3rd Rock, and 
the tv movies, What About Your Friends and Christmas at Water's Edge -
which she also wrote! She's written and produced for Disney,
Imagine, Revolution, and Touchstone! She's been featured in
Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, TV guide, OK, Justine Magazine,
and 60 minutes! She's currently involved with a ationwide booktour
for her top selling debut novel "Before I Go"-- as well as appearance
on the top talk shows!
Camilla Rosso and Rebecca Rosso, born July 6, 1994 iin London, England, are actresses. They ar twins; Camilla is a minute older than Rebecca. The twins have a recurring role on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody where they play twins "Janice" (Camilla) and "Jessica" (Rebecca). The Rossos were discovered by one of the executive producers of the show while at a recording. They currently live in Los Angeles with their mother, father, four sisters, and dog Aika.
OLJA HRUSTIC has recently worked on Spiderman 3, Perfect Stranger, the Sopranos and also can be seen now in the "Grindhouse" series.
Mary Catalano is the host of Rescue Roundtable and a professional standup comedian. Her animal rescue knowledge and stage skills allow her to inform and educate while having a little fun. Although rescue is not funny, there are some wonderful happy endings to share. I'm pictured here with a 10 year old Ziggy. I rescued and placed. I am soon to be seen on Curb Your Enthusiasm opening the new season and I've appeared on Everybody Loves Raymond, HBO and Evening at the Improv.
Fred Stone, Equine Artist - The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune have called Fred Stone the most famous painter of horses in the world. His work is in the homes of some of the world's most notable people including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and in the office of the president in the White House. He has been featured on ESPN and ABC, NBC and CBS television Through his artwork, he has raised great sums of money for various causes. More people own a Fred Stone print than that of any other horse artist in history, making him the most sought after equine artist in the world.
Public Officials
Ed Boks, General Manager, Los Angeles City Animal Control, is the top dog of Los Angeles City's Animal Control. He was executive director of both Maricopa County and New York City Animal Care & Control, the two largest animal care and control programs in the United States each rescuing over 50,000 lost pets, exotic, and wild animals annually. Maricopa County became one of the largest pet adoption agencies in the United States adopting nearly 22,000 pets into loving homes every year. Ed also established the first municipal no-kill shelter in the United States while in Arizona. Ed and his team are working to transform the traditional catch-and-kill mentality into a recognition of the inherent value of the lives of the more than 50,000 animals LA shelters care for each year.