Alzheimer’s Disease :: Celebrities help put new face on Alzheimer’s Disease

Dozens of celebrities are lending their time, talents and faces to educate the public on the facts of Alzheimer’s disease and challenge more than five million people – one for every person currently living with the disease – to get involved.

A photo collection of 23 famous faces wearing purple T-shirts featuring motivational words from the Alzheimer’s Association’s new consumer campaign will be unveiled today in New York.

The photo exhibit of well-known Alzheimer’s Champions are slated to travel to more than 12 markets later this year as part of the first comprehensive public education campaign from the Alzheimer’s Association.

Ricki Lake, Lea Thompson, Peter Gallagher, Victor Garber, David Hyde Pierce, Kate Burton, Tracie Thoms, Dick Van Dyke and others are the faces of a new campaign that aims to dispel the misperception that Alzheimer’s disease is just about old people losing their memory. The photo collection was photographed by well-known celebrity and fashion photographer, Robert Trachtenberg. It includes both print stills of personalities committed to making a difference and personal quotes from the stars about the disease.

“If Alzheimer’s ever was cause for public concern, it’s now,” said David Hyde Pierce, Alzheimer’s Association board member and spokesperson for the campaign. “Our aging population compels the need for effective disease- modifying drugs. As individuals, as families, as a country, we can’t afford this disease, physically, emotionally, or financially.”