Local star power: Ricky Gervais, Bill Murray, Viola Davis

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Comedian Ricky Gervais has boosted the coffers of two local charities. | Angela Weiss/Getty Images

SEEN ON THE SCENE: Ricky Gervais is so happy about the crowds at his sold-out gigs Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago, the comedian and well-known animal welfare advocate donated $10,000 to Our Town’s no-kill shelter, PAWS Chicago, as well as Gilda’s Club, the great organization that supports individuals and their families impacted by cancer, named in the memory of the late comedian and “Saturday Night Live” icon Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. As Gervais explained on Twitter about his generous gifts — it was all “to thank the lovely people of Chicago.” … Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), in town filming “Widows,” was spied brunching with two of his stars — newly minted Academy Award winner Viola Davis and Michelle Rodriguez — at River Roast on the Chicago River. … Among the inductees at the Irish American Hall of Fame’s gala June 10 at the Irish American Heritage Center will be Bill Murray, Loyola professor emeritus Larry McCaffrey, Martin Sheen and astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly. WGN-AM’s Brian Noonan will serve as the event’s emcee. … Chicago musician, singer and impresario Daryl Nitz is directing two upcoming shows at the Skokie Theatre — tied to the centennials of the birth of two very different famous Americans. “The Artist Must Be Free: Profiles in Musical Courage” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday will toast the legacy of President John F. Kennedy and his support of the arts and will include performances by Nitz, Lynne Jordan, Liza Mandeville, Mark Madsen, Heather Moran, Yaz Shawamreh and Denise Tomasello. On the following Sunday, June 4, Nitz’s 7:30 p.m. Skokie Theatre show will be “That’s Amore,” an early musical celebration of what would have been the 100th birthday of singer Dean Martin (actually falling on June 7). … Actor and Steppenwolf Theatre co-founder Jeff Perry was spotted at Sacred Grounds Foodlife at Water Tower Place the other day, happily buying a loaf of deelish pound cake! … To help Marissa Zelinger deal with the effects of Rett syndrome — a neurological disorder that impacts her ability to communicate and function physically — the Glenview resident took up painting with an art therapist. Among her works is a portrait of World Series champ Anthony Rizzo, who signed the painting. It now will be auctioned Thursday at Galleria Marchetti to benefit Reverse Rett Chicago — and online bidding is available at RSRT2017.gesture.com. Rizzo himself is familiar with surviving medical challenges, having battled cancer as a young man.

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