Honoring a Woman of Many Talents

Former actress and songwriter and now producer Marilyn Hall will be honored as the “Woman for All Reasons” at the Friars Club in Beverly Hills tonight. The Ladies of Variety, Tent 25 Southern California, dedicated to caring for handicapped and underprivileged children, do the salute.

Marilyn is the wife of TV personality Monty Hall and the mother of three. She is executive producer of the feature film, “Smith’s Gazelle,” which begins filming in Israel next month, and co-executive producer of the miniseries “The Ginger Tree,” which will be filmed in England and Japan next year. She also was associate producer of the TV special, “A Woman Called Golda,” which starred the late Ingrid Bergman.

Hail to the chiefs: Mrs. Russell E. Burkett has been installed for a second term as president of the National Charity League Council (there are 24 active chapters in California and eight junior chapters). . . .

Dottie Broderick heads the Adoption Guild of Los Angeles. . . .

Mrs. W. H. Van Leeuwen heads the Bookworms of the Assistance League of Southern California.

Summer fun: The Wayne Petersons held a black-tie dinner party in their Whittier home for the “dynamic donors” of the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier. Among the crowd dining on pilaf, kebabs, tabbouleh , baklava and kadaif were party chairman Mrs. Robert Randolph, her co-chairman, Mrs. Bob Woehrmann, and Jackie and Randy Hill, JoAnn and Pete Cleveland, Helen and Dr. Leroy Trnavsky,Erika and Lee Owens, Marjorie and John Eagle, Prudence and Bill Carnahan, Helene and Rodney Moss, Jan and Vic Lopez, and Dolly and Jim Bale.

You had to give blood (or find a substitute donor) to attend the party at El Paso Cantina hosted by the emergency room physicians at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. Before they could dance and drink, guests agreed to donate before July 19. The real reason for the party was to honor the regular donors to St. Mary’s cause.

Most people know there’s a chronic shortage of blood in California, but only 5% of the population donates regularly (one pint every 56 days).

Sybil Brand heads the fund-raising benefit luau for the Shanti Foundation this afternoon at the Paul Diener Estate on the edge of Beverly Hills.

The foundation is the nonprofit group that offers free counseling and emotional support services to those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and their families. As the number with the disease increases, the need for financial support is growing.

Co-chairing the committee are Susie Harris, Gerrold Turnbull, Patty Turrentine and Darrlyn Zanuck de Pineda. They’ve been meeting for weeks planning how to bury pigs beneath coals for the feast and designing orchid arrangements.

Tickets are $150 per couple.

The Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc., plans a luncheon and fashion show today at the Hyatt Regency. Individual tables are $300, but corporate donors pay $400, says Elaine Shoji.

Warren Furutani is master of ceremonies and Debbie Nakatomi mistress of ceremonies. Models include Redempta Catollica, Misun Cho, Irene Chu, Marion Fay, Jane Kim, Marian Kubota, Rose Ochi, Midori Watanabe-Kamei, Ernest Hiroshige, Al Mendoza, Edmund Soohoo and Ron Wakabayashi.

Saundra Reynolds heads the board of directors.

A nifty idea: The stars created their favorite refreshments for the clientele to sample, and the clientele were all those who turned out for “a first of summer” benefit at Geoffrey’s restaurant in Malibu.

It was a celebrity “summer cooler” mix-off. Doing the mixing were Ali MacGraw, Angie Dickinson, Glenn Ford and environmental artist Doron Gazit.

The cause: the Free Arts Clinic for Abused and Neglected Children.