‘Night and Day,’ David Hayes Is the One

The UCLA Art Council and Bullocks Wilshire are collaborating on a “Night and Day” dinner-dance July 13 to honor David Hayes, one of First Lady Nancy Reagan’s designers. During the black-tie evening, Hayes will present his first collection of evening clothes and preview his designs for fall. The whole affair takes place in the landmark Bullocks Wilshire building.

Heading up the Art Council’s benefit are Mrs. Gerald Aronson, Mrs. Robert S. Berger, Mrs. Paul Selwyn, Mrs. Charles Speroni, Ann Straus and Peter Strauss. And heading up the Council’s executive committee are, among many more, president Mrs. Stephen J. Stern, president-elect Linda Brownridge, vice president Robert H. Given, Mrs. Gerald Oppenheimer, Mrs. Franklin D. Murphy, Mrs. Edward W. Carter and Mrs. Lazare F. Bernhard.

It was exactly 20 months ago, director Richard Koshalek tells us, that the Museum of Contemporary Art began its public programming at the Temporary Contemporary, the warehouse space architect Frank O. Gehry converted into handsome galleries. And how the word has spread. Even to the exalted contemporary art world of New York.

Tuesday night in New York, Koshalek and MOCA supporters had a chance to talk about MOCA plans for the future--the Indian redstone-faced new museum on Bunker Hill, designed by Arata Isozaki and set to open late next year; details of major exhibitions scheduled over the next two years and more. “MOCA made a big splash,” enthused Robin Green who helped plan the party in developer Charles Shaw’s penthouse in Museum Tower atop the Museum of Modern Art. “And the art world turned out in force.” Among the evening’s honorary hosts were Cesar Pelli, the architect, Jean Riboud and Brendan Gill. Gill spoke and so did William Kieschnick, Atlantic Richfield’s president and CEO who is chairman of MOCA’s board.

Flying in from Los Angeles were Koshalek; Fred Croton, general manager of the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles; MOCA trustees Frederick M. Nicholas and Lenore S. Greenberg; Marcia Weisman, Gehry, Morton Winston, Rocco Siciliano and Gordon Hampton. Isozaki was in Tokyo, but his wife made the trip to attend the party. And Michael McCarty of Michael’s in Santa Monica arranged for California food suppliers to contribute a beautiful buffet.

Even to the blase, the turnout of New Yorkers was impressive. From the Metropolitan’s board were Barnardus McHenry, Cynthia Polsky and Carl Spelvogel. Museum of Modern Art trustees included Lily Auchincloss, Ivan Chermayeff, Barbara Jakobson, Mrs. Walter Thayer and Richard Zeisler. Also mingling were artists Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly and Dan Flavin and architects Philip Johnson, Richard Meyer and Michael Graves.

MOCA is definitely making waves. Everywhere.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has chosen Peter V. Ueberroth, commissioner of baseball and president and CEO of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, as the recipient of its 1985 Scopus Award. The news came from University Chancellor Avraham Harman in Jerusalem and William Weinberg, president of the Western States Region of the American Friends of the Hebrew University in Los Angeles. The actual presentation takes place at the 18th annual Scopus Awards Gala on Dec. 5 at the Century Plaza Hotel. The Ueberroth tribute is the final event of Celebration 60, the university’s (it has 17,000 full-time and 16,000 part-time students) international tribute to its founding fathers. Among them were Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the state of Israel, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud.

Next month, at the invitation of President Reagan, President Li Xiannian of the People’s Republic of China, will be making a state visit to the United States. Washington, and the obligatory state dinner, are naturally on his agenda. And so is Los Angeles where he’ll be beginning July 27 at the express invitation of L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley and Edmonde Haddad, president of the World Affairs Council.

Just recently the Department of State’s assistant chief of protocol Catherine (Bunny) Murdock and advance teams from Washington and the People’s Republic of China whizzed through Los Angeles, checking the lay of the land and setting down an itinerary for President Li’s stay here.

A welcoming committee--Los Angeles’ chief of protocol Bee Canterbury Lavery; Caroline Ahmanson, chairwoman for the L.A.-Guangzhou Sister City Assn. (she made her first trip to China in 1973 and has been back often); Marcia Wilson Hobbs, president of the Greater L.A. Zoo Assn.; Deputy Mayor Tom Houston and David Lee, president of the National Assn. of Chinese Americans--saw to it that it wasn’t all work for Bunny Murdock and her group (it included Christopher Szymanski, deputy director of the Department of State’s Office of Chinese Affairs, and the White House’s Stephen M. Studdert and Paul Kelly).

A nice social schedule was worked out carefully within the bounds of a tough agenda. And it went like this: Ed Haddad hosted a luncheon at the Century Plaza where the Chinese president and his official delegation will be staying. After an all-day session, Bee Lavery gave a dinner at William Lee’s Jade West. Mary Jones, Orange County’s chief of protocol, invited everybody to Disneyland for lunch. And the Chinese American Committee gave a dinner party at the Beverly Hilton.

The Social Scramble: Warren Beatty gave a little party the other night at Ma Maison for Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston.

Frank Sinatra’s good-looking younger daughter, Tina, was sporting a new and becoming short bob the night she celebrated her birthday at the Bistro with Veronique and Gregory Peck. Same night Richard Gully was bidding Constance Towers Gavin bye-bye over dinner. She was heading for Birmingham, Ala., to star in “Kismet.” Same place, but earlier in the day the lunch bunch included Janet De Cordova with Victoria McMahon; Cyd Charisse with her collaborator (on a beauty book for Simon & Schuster) Marianne Tatershore; Bob and Serena Schmidt (their daughter Justine is married to Robert Bloomingdale); David Begelman.

At the Regency Club, Happy and Frances Franklin took over one of the private rooms for their birthday party for George Page, the philanthropist. And among those admiring the framed collage of photos of significant events (the Page Museum among them) in George’s life were Loretta Young, Frances and Sid Klein and Jean and Maggie Louis. In the main dining room were Eva Gabor with her former stepdaughter Mary Jameson; Eli Broad; attorney Peter Kelly with Mo and John Dean; the Robert Emetts.