‘Catalogue Caper’ Sends Guests Sleuthing for Gifts

Legendary pianist Bobby Short held forth Saturday in the Neiman-Marcus women’s shoe salon, surroundings somewhat more pedestrian than his usual digs at New York’s Cafe Carlyle.

Having Short live, in person and most definitely in command of a formidable set of ivories gave “The Neiman-Marcus Catalogue Caper” a polish as sparkling as one of the store’s celebrated gems. However, the entertainer was but one of the many facets of this devilishly clever fund raiser given for the benefit of the Whittier Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

The “Catalogue Caper” sent its 600 formally clad participants on a treasure hunt throughout the store. Timed to take place just two days before the unveiling of the extravagant Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalogue, the party lured its patrons with the promise of lavish gifts (157 were offered, making the odds of winning rather good) donated by the store’s leading suppliers.

Upon entering the store, each guest was given a preliminary printed clue to decipher but was not allowed to begin the hunt until 8 p.m. Thus, a pleasant sense of anticipation built along with the usual roar of amiable chatter that enlivens most cocktail gatherings. But when the game began, the crowd rushed off in every direction.

The clues could be tricky. One clue read, “This is just between you and your ‘Calvins,’ ” sent the guest searching vainly for a department that sold Calvin Klein jeans, only to learn that he should have gone instead to ladies’ underwear. Janet Gallison, president of the Whittier Friends (an auxiliary to the Whittier Institute), proved rather a whiz at deciphering clues, aiding one sandbagged friend by explaining that “All roads lead to the seas,” obviously indicated the Couture department, where designer Zandra Rhodes’ gowns are featured.

Everyone seemed to find the game fun, but they all took it seriously. In their haste to gather clues, old friends passed like ships in the night, rushing not into one another’s arms, but into the next department. The escalators were jammed with people heading from the third floor to the first, and so forth (it really was quite a workout).

Party chairman Nancy Gentry saw to it that her legions of hard-working guests were nourished at every step of the way. JB Caterers staff passed everywhere with lavish hors d’oeurves, and stations set up on each floor offered arrays of more substantial fare as well as energizing desserts.

The party kept the guests in motion in other ways, especially on the dance floors set up for the Murray Korda Orchestra and the Columbus dance band. Bobby Short’s Cabaret offered a welcome way station of rest for the weary, and guests there were able to sip champagne at elegantly appointed tables while luxuriating in Short’s sophisticated lyrics.

The coolest cats present undoubtedly were the pair of California “spangled” cats, a new breed of feline that is being offered by the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalogue as this year’s “His and Hers” gift. Offered at $1,400 each, the cats reposed majestically in a special viewing area on the second floor, a vantage point from which they not only were seen, but could watch and wonder at the spectacle of all those humans chasing so feverishly about. (The cats, bred to capture the coloring of big cats, are described by the catalogue as “leopards for your living room.”)

The party ended late, the last stragglers leaving the dance floors well after 1 a.m., many of them burdened by the weight of the prizes their exhaustive sleuthing had won them.

The committee included Electa Black, Peggy Wheatcroft, Alice Cavanaugh, Carol Baumer, Syd Youngson, Betty Davis, Ingrid Hibben, Sheila Ferris, Betty Alexander, Jill Branburn, Judy Comito, Berneice Copeland, Sandy Henry, Patsy Page, Fran Golden and Coolley Carley.

Among the guests were Dorothy and Harry Johnston; Elaine and Jack Sheridan; Georgie and Al Blatz; Helen Burton (she won a stuffed Teddy bear and earmarked it for her soon-to-arrive first great-grandchild); Whittier Institute board chairman Ted Graham with Mary Williams; institute director Dr. Willard VanderLaan and his wife, Eileen; Craig Courtemanche; Diana and Dick Young; Joanne Hutchinson with John Siglow, and JoBobbie MacConnell, who will be chairing Saturday’s Fine Arts Ball at the U.S. Grant Hotel.

Also present were Jack Monday (he won a gown for wife Virginia, who was not able to attend); Jane and John Murphy; Sarah and David Burton; Alice and Dick Cramer; Tommi and Bob Adelizzi, Mary and Bob Allan; Anne and Abe Ratner, and Jane and Tom Fetter, whose son-in-law, Peter Isler, recently flew to Perth, Australia, where he signed on as Dennis Conner’s navigator for the America’s Cup challenge.

LA JOLLA--Photographer Roy Porello focused a critical eye--rather than a camera lens--on a series of photographs of Marilyn Monroe, and sighed.

“These pictures have so much life to them,” he said. “They come right out of their frames.”

Porello was one of about 100 friends of the Museum of Photographic Arts who turned out at Gustaf Anders on Thursday for “Dinner with Marilyn,” an extravagant cocktail buffet that benefited the museum and introduced an exhibition of photographs of the late star that will be on display at the restaurant for the next month.

The black and white shots (one suspected the restaurant of choosing them because they so well match Gustaf Anders’ famous black, gray and white decor) all were prints made by photographer Bert Stern, who conducted a two-day photography session with Monroe just six weeks before she died. Stern attended the reception, and led a champagne toast to the memory of “Marilyn Monroe, the Legend.”

The photos show her twisting a string of beads, drinking champagne, vamping for the camera lens--in other words, photos of Marilyn being Marilyn.

Some were disfigured by large “X” marks that Marilyn had slashed across them, signifying that she didn’t like them. Obviously, however, these rejected photographs survived, and some guests found a special poignancy in them.

Restaurateur Wilhelm Gustaf Magnuson expressed himself heartened by the response to the show.

“People who you would never expect to be interested in Marilyn Monroe say they went into mourning when she died,” he said. “Marilyn is a legend. She captivated everybody.”

She captivated them enough, in fact, that a tour of the photos came first on almost every guest’s list, before a tour of the handsome buffet the restaurant set out in the bar. But the treats attracted a crowd soon enough; the group shared such dishes as cured salmon and cured filet of beef, prawn salad, roast lamb, roast chicken, various pates and numerous tarts and desserts.

The guest list included Museum of Photographic Arts president Carol Randolph and her husband, Bob Caplan; museum director Arthur Ollman (who characteristically had a camera slung over his shoulder); Veryl and Aage Frederiksen; Carol and Mike Alessio; Joan and Irwin Jacobs; Linda and Chuck Owen; Judith Harris with Robert Singer; Susan and Rob Lankford; Gloria and Arthur Rosenstein; Nancy and Ted Wallace, and Faye and Richard Russell.

LA JOLLA--Chef and food writer Pierre Franey, who earned himself a footnote in history a few years ago by splitting, with buddy Craig Claiborne, what has come to be known as “The Meal of the Century” (the modest repast cost $4,000, and was sponsored by American Express as a publicity stunt), was back in town Friday to check on the progress of the upcoming “Fete X Five” benefit to be given for the March of Dimes.

Franey is honorary chairman of the event, and has arranged for a roster of five notable chefs (he insists they are among the top 10 in the country) to prepare what gala chairmen Jacque Powell and Nancy Hester anticipate will come to be called San Diego’s “Meal of the Century.”

The Piret’s restaurants are sponsoring the Oct. 20 benefit, and at each of their five local cafes, a chef noted for his expertise in one special branch of cooking will preside over the preparation of an elaborate, multi-course meal.

Franey, Powell, Hester and Piret’s founders George and Piret Munger all turned out for a reception given in honor of the women who will serve as hostesses at the dinner. The cocktail party was given at home by Jim and Darlene Milligan, who tented the airy courtyard of their home and filled it with food and friends.

The announcement of the hostesses, and the chefs with whom they will be paired, was made after the guests had had time to nourish themselves with such fare as salmon tartar garnished with caviar, and roast duck piled into endive leaves.

Fran Jenkins and Jerrie Strom will serve as hostesses at the Piret’s in Encinitas, where Larry Forgione will prepare American regional cuisine. Spago’s Wolfgang Puck will cook at Grossmont Center, where hostesses will be Susanne Figi and Carol Yorston. In downtown’s Imperial Bank Tower, Jeremiah Tower will cook American cuisine, and will be urged on by Audrey Geisel and Jeanne Jones. Alain Sailhac of New York’s grand Le Cirque will cook in La Jolla, and Sally Thornton and Martha Culbertson will be there with him. Seppi Renggli, creator of the “spa cuisine” at New York’s Four Seasons restaurant, will be at the Piret’s in Mission Hills; Kathy Glick and Lyn Heller will be the hostesses. A patrons’ party for special benefactors will be given the evening of Oct. 19 at the Imperial Bank; all the chefs will be present and Luba Johnston will serve as hostess.

The guests toasted all this news with appropriate enthusiasm, then returned to such pastimes as nibbling, and enjoying the unusually colorful sunset that painted the Pacific a profusion of pinks and reds.

Among the guests were Heather and Jack Metcalf, Judi and Randy Strada, Patti Milligan, Jeanne Larson, local March of Dimes chapter President Dick Daniels, and Alma and Bill Spicer.