Barrymores Stand Tall at ‘Night of Cowboys’

Chips and chaps and the dusty West and one slick desperado. . . .

Sundown Saturday, more than 600 cowpokes and cowgirls and a smattering of Indian chiefs and squaws drove through what was one year ago a no-man’s land and what is now a feverishly burgeoning rancho called Santa Margarita--2,800 housing units planned on 350 acres where cattle, oblivious to the earthmovers, blithely continue to graze.

All thoughts of encroaching suburbia behind them, members of the Barrymores chapter of the Orange County Performing Arts Center and their friends then settled in for a steak and chili dinner, a square dance and an auction in the equestrian arena of Coto de Caza. According to party chairman Stevi Lister, “The Night of the Cowboy” raised more than $30,000 for the Center, which is now under construction in Costa Mesa.

A life-size ceramic replica of a horse greeted arriving guests; real-life whinnying mares, corralled nearby, and their nine new foals watched curiously.

A “Wanted” sign was posted inside: “The first 25 bounty hunters to find this desperado will get a complimentary drink.” Pictured was Steve Jaffe, Barrymores’ ways and means co-chair with his wife, Victoria, who gladly provided clues: “He’s wearing a hat, he’s wearing boots, he’s wearing jeans,” she said. Steve had shaved his beard for the party and was more than a little incognito. “A nasty trick,” he admitted.

Fill Hats With Chips

Many approached the hors d’oeuvres tables as they might a trough, filling their complimentary cowboy hats with tortilla chips to take back to the tables. “Ten gallons a trip,” observed one guest.

In his cowhide chaps, Ray Bradley of Palm Springs had an air of authenticity. Noting that, “hey, it’s lots better than dressing up in tuxes,” Bradley talked about the Colt .45s he packed. “They’re real,” he said proudly, “old single actions from the 1800s. You either have to pull the hammer back each time or fan it.” Bradley said he has a collection of 20 or 30 firearms.

Chapter co-chair Fiona Peterson’s enjoyment of the perfect weather was tinged with regret. “We ordered twice as many heaters this year,” she said, “and it’s twice as warm out tonight.”

Wines at the dinner were donated, appropriately enough, by Saddleback Cellars of Napa Valley. One served was called Oeil de Tortue (Eye of Turtle),” a Cabernet Sauvignon Rose named for the “sad eyes” of wine-maker Nils Venge’s boyhood pet turtle named Clovis.

“Ooooh, apple pie a la United!” said one guest as she opened her individual plastic-encased wedge of apple pie following a splendid chuck-wagon meal provided by Coto de Caza. Pie downed, hand wipes awaited beneath the tail of a life-size prop of a cow mounted on a post.

Caller George Edsel led square-dancing and the Texas Two-Step to music provided by the Dusty West band. But the stars of the evening were the Petticoat Cloggers, all grandmothers, the youngest 51, the oldest 64. Dancing with them were the Husbands.

“We have an interesting situation here,” noticed one spectator. “Six wives, three husbands.”

Husband Snuffy Brown offered a feeble explanation. “Share the wealth, you know?” he kidded. “Listen, they’re the Cloggers, we’re the Husbands. We don’t ask questions.”

Work Not Ended

When the party broke up around midnight, the committee’s work was hardly over: One of three West Coast selection trials for the 1986 U.S. Equestrian Team was to begin at 6 the next morning. The committee stayed till 3 a.m. clearing the arena; Lister and her husband were up at dawn to watch the dressage.

Among the guests were Harry and Shari Essayian. According to Harry, who wore his apres- ski boots to the party, he and his wife will celebrate their next anniversary the night the Center opens, Sept. 29. “We’re starting the seven-year itch with a bang,” he said. Shari is the Center Guild’s vice president of ways and means. “Harry’s my secretary,” she said.

Chapter member Jeff Raelson conducted the live auction, in which Sterling Smith raised his own bids on round-trip air fare for two anywhere on the Jet America system. Smith also successfully bid $400 for a 14-week-old bichon frise puppy. “A real patron of the arts,” noted Jonathan Willis, standing nearby.

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then the Newporter was a pretty holy place on Sunday.

The resort was the site of the Newporter Invitational Concours d’Elegance, at which exotic automobiles were judged solely on the basis of appearance and condition. Nearly 5,000 attended.

Owners don’t use rags to keep their entries spotless; they use compressed air hoses. “You can’t wipe these babies off,” explained one. “You might scratch ‘em.”

At the entrance to the show was a 1986 Ford Taurus donated by Jim Click of Irvine as an opportunity prize--proceeds will benefit Childrens Hospital of Orange County and the June 1 Children’s Miracle Network Telethon. The Pantera Owners Club of America, Concours sponsor, has raised $5,000 and will continue its efforts for CHOC till the day of the Telethon.

Taurus in Classy Company

Somehow the Taurus seemed out of place sharing the lawns with such company as the event’s poster car, a pristine ’72 Pantera L owned by Concours co-director Jim Kilpatrick’s son, Tim; assorted Mercedes Benzes and Porsches customized almost beyond recognition, and Gary Cooper’s ’35 Duesenberg SSJ, valued at more than $1 million (it’s one of only two made--Clark Gable owned the other).

Best in show was a 1955 Mercedes Benz Gullwing owned by W. Lee Towns of Gardena.

Pantera Club president Matthew Stone talked about the origins of the Concours D’Elegance.

“Going back many, many years,” Stone said, “the Concours was originally a fashion show, featuring the most recent designs worn by models either riding in or driving the autos on display. Unfortunately the grandeur of the automobiles eclipsed the fashions, and the Concours became just car shows.”

For the sake of nostalgia, then--and Stone said he’d like to see a return to a Concours concept combining elegant environment, automobiles and fashion--the show featured informal modeling.