One of the most exciting charity events in South Florida hits the court this November 9-11, the Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic. The 29th annual event, which benefits the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and the Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County has raised $24 million over the past 28 years.
The format of the event pairs celebrities, with Chris Evert and other tennis pros, for two days of tennis (Nov. 10 and 11) at the Delray Beach Tennis Center. Each player has on a microphone during the match, which affords patrons the opportunity to hear every word spoken to their teammate, opponents and fans. Be prepared for groans, laughs and “anything goes” especially when comedian Jon Lovitz is on court.
Celebrities confirmed to play this year are: Chris Noth (Sex & the City), January Jones (Mad Men), Seal (“Kiss from a Rose”), David Cook (American Idol), Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), Jon Lovitz (Saturday Night Live), Shawn Hatosy (Animal Kingdom), Tate Donovan (The Man in The High Castle), Jamie McShane (Bloodline) and Maeve Quinlan (The Bold and the Beautiful).
Tennis pros set to join Chris Evert are: John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Jesse Levine and Rennae Stubbs.
While tennis is the focus of the three-day charity weekend, the highlight is the elegant black-tie Gala Dinner Dance on Saturday (Nov. 10) at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. This red-carpet affair features dinner, dancing, live & silent auctions as well as a performance by the Grammy award winning jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose hits include “You Made Me So Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel,” and “And When I Die.”
Mr. Big (Chris Noth) to Set Hearts Aflutter at Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic“Mr. Big” Chris Noth makes his debut appearance at this year’s Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic November 9-11. Noth is best known for setting hearts aflutter as the iconic “Mr. Big” on HBO’s groundbreaking series Sex and the City.
Chris rose to prominence as Detective Mike Logan on the original Law and Order. After five seasons he moved on to star as John James "Mr. Big" Preston in the aforementioned Sex and the City. He played “Big,” as his love interest Carrie Bradshaw affectionately called him, for six seasons and went on to star in two blockbuster spin-off films. After a few Broadway roles and a stint on the Law & Order spin-off Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Noth once again wowed television audiences with his critically acclaimed performance as Peter Florrick alongside Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife.
Currently you can find Noth starring in Gone, a police procedural crime drama series on WGN. Based on the novel "One Kick", the series revolves around Kit "Kick" Lannigan (Leven Rambin), a child abduction survivor, who is recruited by FBI Agent Frank Novak (Chris Noth) for a special task force dedicated to solving missing persons cases.
Chris Evert’s 2017 event raised $800,000 for charity. The monies raised are distributed to programs funded through the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and the Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County.
