MD Anderson raises $1.8 million at A Conversation With a Living Legend® event honoring Taylor Sheridan

DALLAS ― Award-winning film and television producer/director/writer Taylor Sheridan offered an intimate peek into his career, creative inspiration and personal life during a fireside chat Thursday night at A Conversation With a Living Legend® North Texas, an annual fundraising event benefiting The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Dallas event, held at the Ritz Carlton, afforded guests exclusive, behind-the-scenes stories from Sheridan’s critically acclaimed works in an in-depth, onstage interview by his close friend and fellow philanthropist, Charlotte Jones, chief brand officer and co-owner of the Dallas Cowboys. The sold-out, 400-person event raised more than $1.8 million for cancer research and patient programs at MD Anderson.

“For 34 years, funds raised at this event have played a tremendous role in helping cancer patients and their families,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “I am grateful to Taylor Sheridan and to the North Texas community for coming together in continued support of our shared mission to end cancer.”

Shelby Goff chaired this year’s event, alongside chair-elect, Ann Higginbottom, and honorary chairs, the Gene and Jerry Jones family.

The event revolved around a shared sense of family, kicking off with a moving patient testimonial and a heartfelt message of thanks to Sheridan and to the audience from Sheridan’s friend and Jones’ husband, Amir Rozwadowski, a cancer survivor and patient of MD Anderson. Additionally, Kit Moncrief, a longtime supporter and a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, was called onstage to accept the institution’s prestigious Making Cancer History® Award for her commitment to MD Anderson.

During the interview, Sheridan and Jones recalled special moments from their friendship and how they bonded over the Dallas Cowboys football team — noting how Sheridan has become a good luck charm for the team, so long as he’s standing at his spot in the Jones family’s box suite. 

Sheridan’s relationship with the Jones family inspired him to include Jerry Jones in a recent episode of Landman, in which Jones shares how he bought the Cowboys so he could spend time with his children — all of whom work for the team. Sheridan said they got the shot in one take without a dry eye on set, but Jones acted like a professional and allowed them to film several takes.

Sheridan also talked about growing up in North Texas and how he and his wife, Nicole, have purposefully laid deep roots in Texas with the purchase of Bosque Ranch in Weatherford and the Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie. Sheridan credits his time on his two ranches as a major source of inspiration for his creative works.

“As a storyteller, you have to write what you know and what fascinates you, not just what you think other people want you to write about,” Sheridan said. As such, Sheridan said he makes a point of being where he’s most inspired.

The evening concluded with Sheridan applauding MD Anderson's mission to end cancer, noting that proceeds from the evening will enable doctors at MD Anderson to continue saving the lives of patients like his friend Amir Rozwadowski.

“We’re all here for the same reason. We’ve all been touched by cancer. I lost my grandfather and a dear friend to cancer. Anything I can do to help further the cause is a pleasure and a duty,” Sheridan said. “MD Anderson has made incredible strides towards eradicating cancer, and it’s an honor to be here tonight supporting their work.”

A legend in film and television
Sheridan is an Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter, Emmy®-nominated producer, and the creator, writer, director and executive producer of multiple record-breaking Paramount Network series including Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, 1883, Lioness and Landman. Sheridan currently has numerous projects in various stages of development and production. His newest project, The Madison, is set to be released in late 2025, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Matthew J. Fox and Patrick J. Adams as a New York City family in the Madison River Valley of central Montana. The second season of 1923, starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, premiered on February 23, 2025.

In 2017, Sheridan made his debut as a writer/director with his critically acclaimed film Wind River, the conclusion to his modern frontier trilogy, earning Best Director honors at the Cannes Film Festival. He previously wrote Hell or High Water, a drama that was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

With strong ties to the North Texas community, Sheridan owns and operates two Texas ranches: the legendary Four Sixes (6666) Ranch and Bosque Ranch. He also recently opened the Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, a pop-up restaurant featuring Sheridan’s own Four Sixes Ranch Brand Beef, which retails premium quality beef sourced from 6666 and a network of various ranches. 

A legendary North Texas event
Since A Conversation With a Living Legend originated in North Texas in 1990 under the visionary leadership of Lyda Hill, it has become one of MD Anderson's signature fundraising events, replicated across the country in Houston, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Atlanta. 

Over the past three decades, Living Legend events featuring live and virtual interviews with notable honorees have raised more than $55 million to support MD Anderson's mission to end cancer – with donations from the North Texas event series representing $25 million of that total.

This year's presenting sponsors for the North Texas event included AT&T, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cami and John Goff, Kit Moncrief, and Catherine and Sam Susser on behalf of Susser Bank.