Benefit Will Be a Prize-Winning Affair

Real clues and some red herrings. A friendly scrambling for prizes up and down the many aisles of Neiman-Marcus, Beverly Hills. It’s the inspired idea for a fund-raiser, and it’s the baby of the American Diabetes Assn.’s Southern California Affiliate.

The game plan for Sept. 22 calls for cocktails first. And then it’s on to the quest for the bounty of prizes (a Bill Blass gown, a beaded Dior handbag, chits for holidays at the Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, Wyo., and aboard a Princess Line ship, Baccarat and Waterford crystal) and hoorays. Each of N-M’s floors will have its special ambiance, music, entertainment and plenty to nibble on. Julie and Michael Loshing’s Parties Plus will be handling both the decor and the food (calzoni and panzarotti, roasted peppers, cheeses on the first floor; antipasti primi on the second level and the pasta and veal and chicken on the third).

Masterminding the black-tie caper are chairman Barbara Prober; souvenir program co-chairs Sidne Sheinbaum and Evie Lutin; party chairman Nancy Bresler and committee members Sari Eshman, Diane Keith, Dr. Fran Kaufman, Arlene Markowitz, Edith Familian and Jo Anne Kane. Lena Horne co-chairs the honorary committee with Kathryn Iacocca, Lee’s daughter and the head of his Washington-based foundation devoted to diabetes research. And among those also on the honorary committee are Judy and Donald Simon, Shirley Firestein, Luanne and Frank Wells, Dr. Jorge and Florence Mestman, Beverly and Chester Firestein, Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels, Rosemary Clooney, the Michael Eisners and former Beverly Hills mayor Annabelle Heiferman.

The affiliate expects to raise more than $150,000, all of it to help support the association’s Southern California programs of research, education and summer camp for diabetic children. The affiliate also plans to follow up with its annual December movie premiere. This year’s attraction will be Steven Spielberg’s and Universal’s “The Money Pit.”

The much-decorated Armand Hammer, chairman of the board and CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corp., is receiving yet another award. This one comes from the United States Olympic Committee and will be presented Aug. 12 at a dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, commemorating the first anniversary of the Closing Ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Hammer was appointed as a special assistant to LAOOC President Peter Ueberroth in 1983 and was a member of the L.A. Olympic Business Advisory Commission. He was also instrumental in bringing two Chinese giant pandas to the L.A. Zoo during the Olympic celebrations. A world traveler in the search for peace, Hammer also serves on the President’s Cancer Panel, has contributed $5 million to create a biology and cancer research facility at the Salk Institute and founded the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West in Montezuma, N.M.

The Social Scramble: Even when they’re being serious, Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna can’t help being funny. On their 20th wedding anniversary, Aug. 9, they’re reaffirming their wedding vows. And after the exchange of vows they’re asking their friends to “share three of the four mutual passions which have held the marriage together: classic Italian cuisine, Jewish deli and laughter.” What more could you want?

The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild will be honoring that enchanting actress, Julie Harris, at a dinner next Sunday at the home of guild members Janet and Maxwell Salter. That evening the guild also will present awards to the winners of its Playwright Award Competition for 1984-85--Carol K. Mack of New York, Paul A. Magistretti of Los Angeles and Harry Essex of Beverly Hills. Chairing the evening is Shirley Kaplan. The guild and its president, Evelyn Bard Kellogg, is sponsoring Harris’ one-woman show, “Currer Bell, Esq.” (based on the life of 19th-Century English author Charlotte Bronte), a one-evening performance Sept. 29 at the Directors Guild of America Theatre. That evening’s chairman is Noreen Barry.

Jack and Felicia Lemmon dined at Ma Maison with a bunch of pals, and Jack, a pretty good piano player, was so taken with Tony Cobb’s music that he stayed on, way after midnight. (The son of Lee J. Cobb, Tony and his piano harmonize evenings beginning at 9:30 p.m.) Joining the Lemmons were Carol Matthau (her husband, Walter, was at the ballgame) and her best chum Gloria Vanderbilt and the Gregory Pecks.

Artist Ruth Munson has invited some of her former painting students (Martha Chandler, Dorothy Kirsten French, Beverly Morsey, Mal Milland, Adrienne Underwood, Jean Trousdale, Patty Barton McCome, Marji Brandeis, Ann Brooks and more) to lunch Tuesday in the garden of Tod Matthews’ White Gates. St. Germain to Go, which is across the street from White Gates, will prepare the food and serve it on Ruth’s French Quimper ware. Everything will, of course, be pretty as a picture.

Since both are devoted to making children happy, it’s a natural tie-in. On Aug. 18 the Children’s Museum will help Disneyland celebrate its 30th anniversary with a zippity-doo-dah kind of evening at the Hollywood Bowl. A few nights back Cecilia Chiang helped spread the word by hosting a cocktail party at her Mandarin restaurant and Suzanne Marx and Barbro Taper were there as co-chairs.

As for the actual event, it already has a big and important committee consisting of, among loads more, Dr. and Mrs. Simon Wile, Jane Seymour, Peter Morton, Jane Eisner, Bruce Corwin, Paul Selwyn, Linda Burrows, Bruce Silverman and Steve Tisch.

Paris Notes: The city is bulging with Americans, thanks to the couture collections which opened a week ago. Only Princess Caroline seemed to be missing from the lineup of faithfuls at Marc Bohan’s House of Dior opening, and everyone’s wondering why. But among the VIP lineup were Florence Van der Kemp, the American wife of the former curator of Versailles; Jerry Zipkin; publisher John Fairchild; Jayne and Henry Berger (they were also at the Saint Laurent showing), and Elvinia Monteiro. Baroness Sandra di Portanova was at Saint Laurent, too, explaining that instead of going on to Monte Carlo she and husband, Ricky, will be in Sweden and Morocco and finish out the summer at their farm outside of Rome. And best-dressed Nan Kempner, accompanied by her husband, Tom, heads for Los Angeles after the collections. Pal Jill Cartter will be giving a little “do” for them. It’s nice to have friends.

The romantic news concerns Claude Terrail, owner of the famed Tour d’Argent and uncle of our own Patrick Terrail. Claude married his longtime Finnish love, Daria (she’s also the mother of his 5-year-old son) last week at the Fifth Arrondissement’s City Hall. More news from Claude--he’s opening a wine and pate boutique next door to the Tour d’Argent.

Princess Ghislaine de Polignac (she’ll be in San Francisco next month and Prentis Cobb Hale and his wife, Denise, will entertain for her) had Estee Lauder, Lynn Wyatt and Betsy Bloomingdale to lunch at Maxim’s. And at the same restaurant--Mrs. Robert Mosbacher of Houston (the former Georgette Muir Barrie) was with Danielle Cattan, who owns the Villa Leopolda, and Barbara Hines, a big Houston real estate builder; the Countess de Chambrun with Princess Jean Marie de Broglie; Sao Schlumberger; and two ladies smoking big cigars. And seen here and there about town--Brad Dexter (tea time at the Plaza Athenee); Victoria and Ed McMahon (they were at the Hotel Crillon for a week); Pat and Michael York; Mrs. Donald Trump, wife of the New York developer, who was going on to Monte Carlo; Charles Evans (producer Bob’s brother), and Mildred Hilson who took in Hubert de Givenchy’s show.

Love Notes: After a romance that was on again, off again, Richard Burton’s next-to-last wife, Susan Hunt Burton, married developer Jack Caywood at his 100-acre farm in Warte Neck, Va. The bridegroom recently sold his Playa de Oro Hotel in Puerto Vallarta (that’s the Mexican resort Burton and Elizabeth Taylor made famous when he filmed “Night of the Iguana” there). The ceremony was small and intimate, attended only by close friends like Dr. Rafael Rodriguez, pop idol Julio Iglesias’ doctor and Caywood’s best pal.