Hayden Is Host : Tutu Benefit Brings Out the Stars

South African Bishop Desmond Tutu stood under a tent in Santa Monica last week and gazed out at more stars than he’s likely to spot on any clear night.

“I am quite overwhelmed,” Tutu told the stars. “I’d like to say that I meet the likes of you everyday. But that is not the case.”

The stars gazed back, equally impressed. And by the end of the night each of them was clutching a contribution envelope from Network, a new Santa Monica organization that is devoted to matching celebrities and causes.

Back-Yard Reception

The group is headed by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) and his wife, actress Jane Fonda, who hosted the reception for Tutu under a party tent in their back yard.

Hayden said Network continues the efforts of an informal group of celebrities who worked on behalf of several national Democratic candidates in 1984. It will support Fonda-Hayden candidates and causes in the future, he said.

The Network-sponsored Tutu appearance attracted more than 300 entertainment industry figures. It generated about $10,000 in contributions to the anti-apartheid movement at the door, and it is expected to draw much more for anti-apartheid work by mail. Hayden said the donations were important, but added that fund-raising was secondary to the idea of rallying support for Tutu’s work in South Africa.

‘Informational Network’

“The Network is just that,” Hayden said. “It’s an informational network between people in the (entertainment) industry who want to know about candidates and causes. We try to generate contact because we believe these people (celebrities) are effective and creative. So we let them make up their own minds.”

Havi Scheindlin and other Hayden staff members put the event together in about three weeks. Scheindlin said the hardest part of the job was finding telephone numbers and addresses for the people Hayden and Fonda wanted to invite.

Still, there was no shortage of talent Saturday night. Barbra Streisand attended, as did Robert De Niro, Richard Pryor, Sidney Poitier, Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, Raul Julia, Rosanna Arquette, Kenny Loggins, Robert Blake, Dennis Weaver, Carroll O’Connor and others. Rounding out the group were directors such as Sydney Pollack and dozens of writers, producers and agents.

Nobel Prize Winner

Tutu and his entourage arrived in long black limousines about 8 p.m. Hayden and Fonda greeted the Anglican bishop of Johannesburg, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, on the front lawn and stood smiling as a handful of photographers snapped pictures from behind a barricade.

Tutu began speaking about 30 minutes later. The bishop, who had raised about $500,000 on a three-week swing through the United States, said he was touched by the reception he had received during his trip.

“Speaking of the many, many who are not able to be here, who may have spent as much as 20 years in jail, like Nelson Mandela,” Tutu said, “it will be wonderful for them to know they are not alone, that the world has a heart.”

“You’re making me feel great,” Tutu added later. “But we’ll feel even greater when South Africa is free.”

Stars’ Responsibility

Tutu told the group that it has a responsibility to speak out on issues because people listen to celebrities. He said entertainers should refuse to perform anywhere in South Africa and thanked Steve Van Zandt, who was sitting in the back row, for organizing the “Sun City” recording session in support of the anti-apartheid movement.

Harry Belafonte, an organizer of a group called Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid, spoke on the importance of supporting Tutu. And Fonda ended the formal part of the evening by asking everyone to “stay and have a good time.”

Most of the crowd was gone by 11:30 p.m. Afterward, Hayden said he wasn’t sure what Network would do next. The group is expected to participate in the 1988 elections, but Hayden said Network would probably sponsor other events before then. Hayden added that he was pleased by the response to Tutu.

Percentage of Profits

He said some of the entertainers were talking about ways to keep their work out of South Africa. He said others spoke of giving a percentage of their profits to groups aligned with Tutu.

“It was really a larger outpouring than anything I initially expected,” Hayden said. “The primary purpose was to create a dialogue between Bishop Tutu and a significant cross-section of people in the arts-entertainment community. The hope was that it would result in increased personal commitments to finding ways to take action against apartheid.”