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Peter Morton accepts a plaque from David Geffen School of Medicine Dean Dr. Gerald Levey in appre

He comes off as a hip Hollywood entrepreneur – clad in jeans, a sweater and sunglasses – and by all accounts, he’s plenty shrewd. In 1971, 25-year-old Peter Morton and a friend opened up a Hard Rock Café in London, never dreaming the restaurant would become a symbol of Americana and that he would sell his chain for $410 million.

More than three decades later, Morton continues to focus on his business ventures, but has also chosen the philanthropic route.

It was announced Friday that Morton, owner of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, donated an undisclosed amount to the UCLA Medical Center.

The 200 Medical Plaza building has now been renamed after Morton, who also owns a restaurant in West Hollywood.

“This gift just came at the absolute right time and is a wonderful thing for our patients, doctors and the hospital,” said Dr. Gerald Levey, vice chancellor for medical sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine.

The 200 building is one of three in the medical plaza and houses outpatient services for the UCLA Medical Center. It includes consulting suites for general surgery, head and neck surgery, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery and surgical oncology.

The funds will be used to relocate the Clark Urological Center into the Morton building, which is considered necessary because many patients travel between the two centers for various services.

Additionally, outpatient surgery will be expanded from eight rooms to 15, which will ease the heavily trafficked area and add critical surgery space, Levey said.

The Radiation Oncology Center will also be upgraded with new equipment, including a cobalt machine and three linear accelerators. Both are used to treat patients with cancer, a disease affecting an estimated 1.2 million Americans each year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Donations to the UCLA medical centers and programs are vital in maintaining the UCLA’s role as the leading health care provider in the west coast, Levey said.

“Our goal is to continually upgrade facilities for scientists,” Levey said.

“Anything we can do better, the community benefits by having better health services,” he added.

Morton’s donation marks the second time in as many years that UCLA’s medical program has given a namesake to a substantial donor.

In May 2002, the UCLA School of Medicine was named after entertainment giant David Geffen, who donated $200 million to the school. The donation stands as the largest gift given to the University of California in its 135-year history.