Luncheon Spotlight on Nancy Reagan

First Lady Nancy Reagan is in the spotlight Tuesday at the Century Plaza when the officers and the directors of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council host a No. 1, super-attended, no-telephone-reservations, sold-out luncheon. In conjunction, Earle and Marion Jorgensen will be hosting a private reception in honor of the President’s wife.

Music by starlight, picnics and the hustle-bustle of friendship are on the horizon as the Hollywood Bowl season approaches. Few groups are as dedicated to the Bowl as the Patroness Committee of the Hollywood Bowl. Members officially launch social aspects of the season next Sunday when the Patronesses, headed by Mrs. Warren Brooks Williamson, plan dinner and dancing at the home of Ragnar and Mollie Qvale in Fremont Place. The evening will honor the eminent British conductor Sir Charles Groves and Lady Hilary.

Connie Frank and John Golisch are co-chairmen of the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California gala premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ newest animated film, “The Great Mouse Detective,” next Sunday at Disney Studios in Burbank. The feature introduces a new gallery of Disney characters and original songs and is the story of Basil, the detective who investigates a kidnapping committed by his adversary, Professor Ratigan. Original collector cels from the film will be offered at a silent auction during the reception. Tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for children. Others on the committee are Louis Boish, Cindy Rasmussen, Donna Ehler, Sherry Goldsher Marsh, Anne Cahill, Dwaine Dirks, David Emmert, Mary Kurian, Dorine Channing and Dan Hubbard. Fritzi Rivin is president of the foundation.

Former Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans and Jayne Duncan Firman were married at the Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea in Palm Beach, Fla. The new Mrs. Stans is the president and owner of a Palm Beach real estate firm. She’s also active in Planned Parenthood and was a co-founder of the Palm Beach County chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Stans served in the administrations of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. He was director of the Bureau of the Budget for three years under Eisenhower.

Frank Dale, new president of the Music Center, made a special appearance at Club 100’s Salute to Distinguished Artists Celebration luncheon at the Regency Club this week. When the raised dais on which he and Esther Wachtell stood quivered, he quipped, “I’m developing my standard sales pitch . . . we’ve got to be more stable than this.”

It was a very special occasion for Diane Morton, wearing a bright red Adolfo. She was recognized by president Joyce Rosenblum as the top gift-getter among members who officially brought in $612,731 in pledges this year, representing 800 gifts. That’s a 20% increase.

Artists honored and their presenters were Gregory Harrison, Nancy Weakley; Stanley Holden, Donna Kamin; D. Martyn Bookwalter, Patricia Kaplan; Mehli Mehta, Carol Henry; George Schaefer, Cannie Abell; Carmine Marinelli, Esther Kenyon; Robert Routolo, Shirley Levine, and Julie Harris, Diane Morton.

First president Esther Wachtell officially introduced new officers, including Rosenblum, re-elected president; Lee Hausner, Mary Ann Spraic, Nancy Weakley, Olive Varga, Judy Ruderman (in a handsome black and white checked Ungaro), Donna Kamin and Suzanne Janes.

Wilhelmina Diener, Olive Varga and Suzanne Janes arranged the affair. To show just how hard volunteers work, Varga brought her USC daughter, Cindy Varga, along to rub elbows with the gracious Julie Harris. Also in on the fun were Alice Coulombe, Joan Thompson, Suzy Henny, Lee Howard, Peter Hemming, Robert Fryer, Robert Haft, Susan Fine and Diane Downey.

Katrina Hodiak read her mother’s poetry. Gregory Peck remembered her with eloquence. Claire Falkenstein and Henri Temianka contributed to the fond tributes to the late Anne Baxter for the Roman Holiday at the J. Paul Getty Museum hosted by The Group. Read Katrina, “You taught me the simple art of appreciation . . . the ability to laugh at oneself, love yourself with all your failings because there is humor in all our failings large and small. . . .”

M. M. Miller put together the tribute book, and Nancy Dowey and Vonnie Flowers co-chaired the cocktail dinner in the Inner Peristyle Garden where Ambrosia catered dinner for a chic crowd including Stuart and Carrie Ketchum, Vance and Betty Lee Stickell (who were off to Washington, D. C. for the White House dinner honoring the president of Uraguay), Jany and Richard Pearson, Missy and Malcolm Stuart, Billie and Roger Converse, Joan and Jack Mackey, Mary and Bradley Jones, Bob Ray and Kathy Offenhauser, Herbert and Babe Eagle, Lee Hogan Cass, Robert and Jeanne Sully, Martha and Robert Norman and Marjorie and Fred Lyte. It was a warm tribute from The Group which supports the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design.

Coral swags covered the umbrellas on the terrace of Century Woods when Rhonda Fleming Mann invited a lot of Geminis and good friends to honor her sister, Beverly Engle of Oregon, and her niece, Lynne Eising. Arthur Simon outdid himself with exotic flowers everywhere and with the menu that started with angel hair pasta in vodka cream sauce topped with caviar, and followed with cold poached Norwegian salmon glazed with fresh nasturtiums and ended with individual white chocolate swans filled with creme fraiche and raspberries. None of the beautiful ladies could resist, including Ginny Mancini, Virginia Ramo, Margaret Spillane, Erlenne Sprague, Betsy Bloomingdale, Diane Anderson, Midge Clark, Marian Corday, Fiorenza Courtright, Sue Cummings, Bonnie Green, Julie Hutner, Abby Phillips (dressed in amethysts and thanking Rhonda, who sang duets with her husband, Ted Mann, at the recent party celebrating Abby’s 30 years of columns), Rosemary Raitt, Jeanne Sully, Bonnie Taylor, and so many more, including Peggy Bales, Tova Borgnine, Elaine Calhoun, Kate Coscarelli, Nancy Daly, Yvonne Fedderson, Sara O’Meara (who’s planning her wedding), Chevy Foster, Joyce Hunter, Marie Hupp, Dr. Loriene Chase-King, Eileen Kreiss, Mary Lazar, Lari Mako, Chase Mishkin, Beverly Mitchell, Jane MacMurray, Elsie Pollack, Jane Semel, Vicki Simms, Coco Viault and Joanne Wood.

The kickoff party is past, but the fun goes on with the new party game called “Incognito,” created by Westsider Jill Flynn and backed by four female investors: Tally Sprague Mingst, Kitty Keck Moses, Gabrielle Davis and Suzanne Flynn. It’s being introduced on the East Coast this month via Macy’s Herald Square. For the party, everyone came dressed in black and white (colors of the game) and the five principals wore white tie and tails. Lively evening.

Julian (“Kali”) von Kalinowski, former senior partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm, was really surprised by his always-surprising wife Penny on his 70th birthday. She hosted 100, from near and far, at the Regency Club, with guests including former Congresswoman Shirley Pettis, Judge Edward Rafeedie, Dick and Helen Wolford of Hawaii, Van Venneri and Robert Hix, Lisa and Kim Bell, Rudy and Kathryn Belton, Nevada and Skip Cook. Chee Davis, Tom Holliday and Jim Clark of the firm put their touch on the revue.

Sunday Serendipity: Four of California’s leading authorities on antiques will spend this morning unlocking secrets behind antiques and treasures when Pacific Asia Museum and Bullocks Wilshire present “The Pleasures of Collecting” at the Wilshire store. Speaking will be Peggy Gould of Richard Gould; David Kamansky, director of the museum; Robert Moore, authority on Far Eastern antiques, and Thomas Cairs, former chemist-conservator, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Admission is $65 per person, or $50 for museum members. . . .

Arnold Eddy will be spotlighted at the brunch to be hosted for the Howard Jones Memorial Foundation at 11:30 a.m. today at the Music Center Eldorado Room. Alex Atanasoff is chairman. More on the committee are Ruthie Saint Atanasoff, Amy and Bob Cardona, John and Nancy Guy, the Clark Joneses, the Bob Robertsons, the George Stainingers, Tony Tonelli and Orv Mohler. The foundation is dedicated to USC athletic/academic programs. . . .

Marilyn B. Farber unveils her bronze portraits of Tony Bennett and Sammy Cahn at a benefit at Nicky Blair’s this afternoon. Footlighters, Associates for Troubled Children and the ARCS Foundation will share proceeds. . . .

Dr. Serem Freier, head of pediatrics at Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem, will speak at a benefit dinner headed by Jonathan Fink today at the Century Plaza. . . .

Upcoming: More than 200 photographic works will be exhibited at the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, 814 S. Spring St., through Thursday, leading up to the benefit auction Saturday at the Berwin Entertainment Complex, 6525 Sunset Blvd. . . .

Former California Controller Houston Flournoy heads the board of governors of Pacific Lodge Boys’ Home. He’s to be honored at the inaugural reception Monday at the home in Woodland Hills. . . .

Pasadena Hear Center will reap profits from the fifth annual golf tournament Monday at the Glendora Country Club. Chairman Don Lubanko of Covina expects to net $25,000.

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Of Note:

As its gift to the Pasadena Centennial, Pasadena Art Alliace presented “Pasadena Collects: The Art of Our Time,” an exhibit featuring 56 works of art loaned by 23 of Pasadena’s best private collections of contemporary art. The show at the Art Center College of Design was curated by Melinda Wortz, director of the Art Gallery, UC Irvine. . . .

Trustee William Bone addressed the commencement exercises on the field at Dunn School, and a flock of parents traveled up to see their children graduate, among them: Hannah and Russel Kully to see Andrew, Louise and Peter Reich to see John, Pat and Jack Peutet to see Rodney . . .

It was a “Raj Revisited” when the William C. Rockwells Jr. opened their home filled with antiquities collected by her grandfather during his tenure as Consul General of China in the late 19th Century. The occasion benefited the Pasadena Guild, California Institute of Cancer Research . . .

Therapeutic Group Homes, newly adopted by Variety Clubs of Southern California, Tent No. 25, hosted a luncheon honoring Ladies of Variety, to mark the growing relationship between the clubs and Project Six and its affiliate New School for Child Development, the recipient of a Sunshine Coach from the clubs through the generosity of Marilyn and Harry Lewis. Barbara Firestone, founder of Project Six, presented Ladies President Anne Katzky with a plaque . . .

Cathy Brown and Cookie Day, assisted by Sid Adair, Arlene Lucchesi and Homer Toberman, co-chaired the Windsor Square and Hancock Park “Care About the Neighborhood” effort, staging a graffiti paint-out day . . .