A Sunday in la Paris With Giorgio’s
Plans for Fred Hayman’s invasion of Paris are well under way. The ultimate showman, Hayman is planning a Franco-American launch for his perfume, Giorgio, that will be as big, lavish and memorable as the scent’s debut in Beverly Hills four years ago. (Since then, Giorgio, the fragrance, has gone on to become a multimillion-dollar seller across the country and in London.)
Four years ago, Hayman pitched a yellow-and-white tent over a Beverly Hills parking lot, perfumed the air with Giorgio, had Merv Griffin as his master of ceremonies and the social elite of Los Angeles as his guests. Ma Maison’s Patrick Terrail was the major domo over all those buffet tables, all of them bearing delicacies from L.A.’s best restaurants. Standing by as the guests left were Rolls-Royces filled with bottles of perfume (Giorgio, naturally)--gifts for the ladies. Bringing a fragrance to Paris may be like carrying coals to Newcastle, but with Hayman’s touch it will probably be a winner. The party, Hayman told us over lunch at the Bistro before he departed for Paris, will have “French style and American zip”--an unbeatable combination. It’s happening the evening of Oct. 20, at a black-tie affair (short dresses for the ladies, who may be coming from some pret-a-porter showings) in the American Embassy at the Hotel Talleyrand. Throughout the embassy there will be “waterfalls” of flags--the Stars and Stripes and the Tricolor. There’ll be plenty of music--strings, harp music, a jazz quartet and mariachis (Paris has only two mariachi bands, but for this fete they’ll be joining forces). At the appropriate moment a giant Statue of Liberty will be rolled in. Only one thing will be missing--dancing. It’s taboo, for some unexplained reason, at the embassy.
Next week Terrail arrives in Paris to supervise the food, which will be prepared by Portel et Chabot, the Parisian catering firm. But he’ll bring with him some American essentials like California wines from Jordan and Callaway, California golden caviar, smoked turkey, Virginia ham and cranberries. He’s also bringing the recipe for good ol’ American apple pie. He’ll have the cheesecake shipped over from New York. The final touch will be French--Hayman’s favorite Dom Perignon Champagne, served from magnums.
His only worry is that he can’t crowd in more than 250 guests. “There just isn’t room,” he explained. He’s hoping Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac will be there. And definitely coming are American Ambassador Joe M. Rodgers and his wife, plus such social lights as Prince Michel of Yugoslavia, jeweler Fred Samuels and his wife, Prince Jean Poniatowski, Count and Countess Hubert d’Ornano, Ambassador to Belgium and Mrs. Geoffrey Swaebe, Ambassador to Italy and Mrs. Maxwell Rabb, Countess Malleray DeBarre, Madame Pierre Taittinger, television personality Frederic Mitterrand (he’s the French president’s nephew) and super-hoteliers Franco Cozzo and Philippe Roche.
You can be sure the fragrance in the air will be Giorgio, which will be carried exclusively for a while in Paris by Galeries Lafayette. And what’s next for our enterprising impresario? Giorgio for Men. Hayman plans to launch that as soon as he recovers from this one.
No one exaggerated when they billed the Maple Center fund-raiser Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton as a “Gala Gala.” It was that--and more.
The Beverly Hills community mental health center has taken to honoring special people at an annual black-tie benefit dinner dance. This year’s honorees were producer Leonard Goldberg and his wife Wendy, a vital couple who make things happen in L.A. Their friends, naturally enough, turned out in droves. At last count the dinner had drawn 1,000 guests--all Maple Center supporters and/or pals of the Goldbergs.
Along with Ellen Byrens, the driving force behind the center, Wendy Goldberg supervised the decor--flowers, balloons, everything in black and white (Flower Fashions’ Fred Gibbons was the designer) and every other detail. That Los Angeles legend, Joe Moshay, was there with his orchestra.
There were speeches--all brief. Barbara Walters talked about her friend Wendy and read a few letters, one of them from President Reagan. Robert Wagner talked about Leonard. The Goldbergs’ daughter Amanda brought a tape and the voice on it belonged to Sidney Poitier. Leonard philosophized. Ellen Byrens introduced everyone. And also up there on the dais were Ellen’s husband Berny, Barbara’s fiance Merv Adelson and R. J. Wagner’s best friend Jill St. John.
In the audience were Rose Marie and Danny Thomas, Johnny Carson (ex-wife Joanna sat a few tables away), Gary Pudney, Coca-Cola’s Lucy and Herbert Boswell, Sybil Brand, Roddy McDowall, Frances and Sid Klein, producer A. C. Lyles and his wife Martha, Grace and Merrill Lowell, Tom and Esther Wachtell, Bernice and Charles Hutter, Herbert and Joan Young, Arco’s Mr. and Mrs. William McGee, Kathy and Chris Matsumoto, Philip Salet, Bruce and Tom Corwin, Bambi Byrens with Mark Averback, Beverly Hills Police Chief and Mrs. Marvin D. Iannone, Mr. and Mrs. John Chu, the James Darrens, Doris Finley with Carl Dargis and a host of others.
The Social Scramble: Mr. and Mrs. George Hamilton Link are giving a cocktail party at their home on Wednesday for the former President of Peru and Mrs. Fernando Belaunde Terry. An architect, he’s here to lecture at UCLA and to record his oral history for the UCLA Latin American Associates.
Vital Options, a support group for young adults with cancer, is the catalyst for “Dance for Life,” an evening of entertainment Sunday at the Beverly Theatre. The hosts are KUTE’s Ken Davis and Talaya, who have on the program Debbie Allen, the “Cats” dancers, Gene Anthony Ray and the “Fame” dancers, Greg Phillinganes, comedian Yakov Smirnoff and some special guests. Expected to attend are Norman Cousins, ASCAP’s Arthur Hamilton, A&M; Records’ David Alpert, Annette and Leonard Shapiro.
Meg Young and her Bambola children’s boutique are saying bye-bye to Bonwit Teller (after a 13-year stay) and moving on. Meg, the widow of Collier Young, who outfitted some of the most chic kiddies in town, will be setting up shop somewhere else soon--probably in Brentwood.
The UCLA Center for the Arts and the Music Center Dance Presentations honor Helgi Tomasson, the new artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet, and members of the company at a “San Francisco Experience” on Sunday evening at Royce Hall. On the agenda are a dance performance, a buffet reception (San Francisco cuisine) and the UCLA Jazz Combo. Among the guests will be MCDP president and Mrs. Michael Tennenbaum; Pebbles Wadsworth, director of the UCLA Center; UCLA Chancellor Charles Young, Dr. Ellis Ring, Juliet Prowse, Lloyd Rigler, the Sanford Schulhofers, University of California regents Sheldon Andelson and Stanley Sheinbaum, Dr. and Mrs. Hal Millstone, UCLA Vice Chancellor Elvin V. Svenson and Caryl and A J Carothers.
