A Bird on the Wing: Read All About It

FLY AWAY--In further evidence that the election to retain Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird is unprecedented--catch TWA Ambassador magazine this month. A full-page color portrait of the justice accompanies an eight-page article, done without benefit of an interview with the jurist. It’s more than rare that an international airline mag focuses on a state race, especially a state judicial race--especially since the deadline for this piece was in late July. There are interviews with both sides, quotes from other interviews (several years old), and some interesting and unattributed conclusions--such as, “. . . Bird is a die-hard civil libertarian, champion of the individual against the mighty and sometimes arbitrary power of the criminal justice system.” The story, written by John A. Jenkins, could be read by about 1.4 million passengers on TWA--but the airline declined to say how many of those flying originate their trips in California.

HAPPY, HAPPY--Celebrating Edie Wasserman’s 70th birthday at a Bistro Garden lunch--put together by daughter Lynn and buddy Olive Behrendt--were good friends like Mickey Ziffren, Alex Mass (Johnny Carson’s close friend), Janet Leigh, Lorraine Sheinberg, Suzanne Pleshette. Arriving in time for dessert was Lew Wasserman. Happy birthday, Edie . . . Other happy birthdays--Palm Springs’ Ada Nierman, the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Muriel Slatkin, “Dynasty’s” Linda Evans, and even to flower maven David Jones, whose busy scheduled meant his July birthday finally got celebrated Sunday with a dinner party hosted by Bill Palmer.

ROYAL CALLING--Dudley Moore, that whimsical on-the-road piano player, didn’t make it to the Medical Aid for El Salvador benefit Sunday at Tony Bill’s 72 Market Street, as was announced. (Richard Pryor did.) But Moore did make it to the Beverly Wilshire, to play for the fancy Princess Grace benefit. Better royalty than relief, Dudley?

SEASON’S GREETINGS--George Hamilton will be the special guest for the “First Party of the Season” at Chasen’s, Nov. 20--and the first big event for the reelection campaign of Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp. . . . Donald Rumsfeld, the former Cabinet member and now chairman of the Rand Corp., is in town next week for Rand’s annual meeting, to speak at the conference of the American Assn. of Political Associates Friday, and to be hosted at a reception at the L.A. Athletic Club by political mastermind Joe Cerrell next Wednesday. . . . Herb Alpert, Carole King and Mayor Tom Bradley will celebrate the opening of the recording studio, made possible by Lou Adler, at the Children’s Museum, Nov. 19.

LUNCH AND DINNER--The ACLU Foundation honors Norman Lear and Sen. Lowell Weicker (R-Conn.), with a special tribute to outgoing executive director Ramona Ripston, at the Beverly Hilton, Nov. 15. Two top ACLU lawyers, Paul Hoffman and Mark Rosenbaum, plan to fly back from Tucson, where they are working on the Sanctuary trials, to attend. . . . Business Executives for National Security hear Mary Dent Crisp today at Le Mondrian, speaking on National Security and Women.

HOME TEAM--She’ll be a star in S.F. when the word is out. Seems like Wendy Linka, the special friend of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, is just too much of a football fan. She and Brown had joined Rams’ owner Georgia Frontiere at the Rams-49ers game last week in Anaheim. But Linka is an avid 49ers fan--so avid that Brown and she were asked to leave the owner’s box before half time . . . Brown keeps showing up in the most amazing places. Like the news release announcement that Brown, “one of the state’s best-known fashion plates,” will emcee a fashion show and tea benefiting the Westside Women’s Clinic. That’s Nov. 23 at Scratch in Santa Monica.