Cancer Society’s ‘Casablanca’ Is Well Worth Playing Again

Rick’s Cafe Americain in old Casablanca may have been a jolly place, but if Sam the piano player had had any inkling of how often he would be told to “play it again,” he surely would have taken a job in Newark instead.

In its guise as a party theme, “Casablanca” has been played again and again (and again ), with about the same frequency that the 1940s Humphrey Bogart classic plays on the late show.

But it probably has never been played so well as at Saturday’s “Casablanca,” the American Cancer Society’s eighth annual dinner dance and auction. Given in the Champagne Ballroom at the Sheraton Harbor Island hotel, the gala attracted more than 550 guests for an evening of make-believe spun out in the best Hollywood tradition.

It was only too easy to believe oneself in wartime Morocco, with hundreds of men in white dinner jackets trying to outdo Bogart and with all the women imitating Ingrid Bergman’s tough but vulnerable gamin. There was even an actor circulating through the crowd who was hired for his resemblance to Bogey’s Rick and his mastery of the character’s mannerisms--in his role as a greeter and mood-setter, he was something of a maitre d’ without portfolio.

Chairman Norma Assam and designers Marc Tarasuck and Tedd Foley decorated the gala with such touches as the Moroccan street market set up in the silent auction room (jugglers juggled, belly dancers swayed, street urchins eyed purses and jewels), and the servers’ turbans (stitched by Assam’s manicurist). The mood extended to the ballroom, dubbed “Rick’s Cafe Americain” for the duration, and tricked up with white cloth palm trees and those small, fringed table lamps that were so popular in ‘40s nightclubs.

Assam also arranged to have the music of the period played both as dinner and dance music. Early in the evening, she collared band leader Fro Brigham, who brought along his jazzy Preservation Band, and said, “Don’t forget to play ‘As Time Goes By,’ and play it a lot!” Brigham & Co. played it again and again.

The first time the group swung into this inevitable golden oldie, master of ceremonies Tom Blair climbed up on stage to sing along. Later, he and singer Mary Wayne alternated with a medley of favorites from Broadway and the movies. The program also included several Italian favorites rendered by singer Tony Lanza, and the reading of a message from President Reagan, whose brother, Neil, was on the gala committee. (A family illness kept Neil Reagan from attending, however.)

Jack Berkman, who with Ron Oliver conducted the silent auction, also led the live auction that followed the dinner of salad, chicken and pastry. This auction, kept short so that guests could return to the dance floor, consisted of just eight choice items, of which the most unusual was a thoroughbred bay filly that fetched $5,000. A pair of tickets to the 1988 Super Bowl, to be held here in seven months and already generating a good deal of competition for admission, brought a high bid of $1,500.

Among those present were Bob and June Barrymore, Paul and Dee Zeigler, Jonathon and Carol Stark, David and Annie Malcolm, William and Joy Miller, Dallas and Mary Clark, Char DeMotte, Paul Goldfarb, Dick and Joanne Fuller, Mort and Noni Jorgenson, Tawfiq and Richel Khoury, Ernest and Sandy Latham, and National City car dealer Tony McCune (honest).

CORONADO--A guest at Saturday’s “Moonlight and Roses,” the 38th annual Symphony Ball, remarked that he was just about ready to believe in phoenixes, those mythical beasts that periodically resurrect themselves, because at the 11th hour the San Diego Symphony once again has managed to bring itself back to life.

Shirley Rubel, president of the Symphony’s Auxiliary Council, which presented the ball, said that if the symphony were to be thought of as a cat, then it definitely is on its ninth life.

“This is the ninth life, but this is it,” she said. “This is the renaissance, this is the wonderfulness, this is the celebration, this is our rebirth.”

Rubel added that, as the auxiliary’s contribution to that rebirth, she would be announcing a pledge by the group to sell out the scheduled Nov. 13 performance that will open the 1987-88 season.

The ball was given in the Crown Room at the Hotel del Coronado, lit dimly and romantically by the glow of hurricane lamps reflected by the silver crescent moons that nestled in the rose centerpieces. About 370 guests gathered for an evening that included entertainment by the Beverly Hills Cotillion Dancers; a dinner of sole Mornay, filet of beef and gateau marjolaine , and dancing to the Bill Green Orchestra.

Patron couples were invited to arrive early for a special reception, sponsored by Larry and Jeanne Lawrence, that was given in the hotel’s new Centennial Pavilion. Candy-striped in red and white, and big enough to hold a traveling circus, the beachfront tent was erected as a reminder of the “Tent City” that sprang up next to the hotel every summer during the early decades of this century.

Kara Schmedding, the reigning Miss San Dieguito, and Sandy Zastoupol, who wears the Miss Santee crown, circulated through the pavilion proffering baskets filled with written fortunes, which bore messages that seemed to refer as much to the symphony’s possible future as to the guests’. One that seemed particularly apropos read: “Great strides will be made in your progress.” Guests beckoned the beauty queens again and again, if only to catch the fragrance of their costumes, which were trimmed with hundreds of fresh pink roses.

The talk, of course, was of the symphony, and the word “rebirth” seemed to be spilling from every pair of lips. Since the ball might not have been held if not for the recent improvement in fortunes, symphony association President Herb Solomon said, “The fact that we’re here is nice . This ball reflects a commitment to the future.”

Ball chairman Mim Sally took the same point of view. “I think you can see the rebirth of the symphony tonight,” she said. “The supporters who are here have been supporters for years and will be for years to come. They’re loyal, very loyal.”

Not every guest was willing to be unrestrainedly enthusiastic about the organization’s future--one who preferred that her name not be used said, “I’m holding my breath.”

But as the sun gave way to the moon, most of the partygoers’ faces seemed washed in the glow of optimism. The Symphony Ball is an old tradition, and one that survived a period of much doubt to be held as scheduled.

The committee included Merrilyn Arn, Lillian Vogt, Joy Warden, Elsie Weston, Pat Lijewski, Ernie Grimm, Lee Crimmins, Margaret Hilbish, Anne Gonzalez and Nora Gifford.

Among the guests were Linda and Neal Hooberman, Kay and David Porter, Doris and Peter Ellsworth, Barbara and Neil Kjos, Claire Tavares with Tom Fleming, Ann and Ernest Washington, Annyce and Jacques Sherman, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Elaine and Walter Steidle, Bea and Bob Epsten, Kenneth Poovey, and Rachel and Judson Grosvenor.

SAN DIEGO--Educator and UC San Diego founder Roger Revelle received the American Jewish Committee’s annual National Institute of Human Relations Award at a fund-raising dinner given in his honor June 9 in the Grand Ballroom of the U.S. Grant Hotel.

The presentation was made by the San Diego chapter of the American Jewish Committee, but the honor came from the national group, which recognizes one person each year for outstanding dedication to its principles that human rights are indivisible and that denial of equal justice and opportunity to any group threatens the rights of all. Previous recipients have been Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, industrialist Lee Iacocca, former U.S. Atty. Gen. William French Smith and Otis Chandler, chairman of the executive committee of the Times Mirror Co. board of directors.

Revelle, though somewhat stooped these days, nonetheless towered over the crowd of 300 guests, many of whom are his longtime friends and associates. All seemed to be delighted to be looking up to him.

Among those present to applaud him were his wife, Ellen; Alice and Dick Cramer; Audrey and Ted Geisel; Dorothea and David Garfield; Harriett and Dick Levi; Laura and John Galbraith; Joan and Ira Katz, and AJC-San Diego President Norman Hahn and his wife, Diana. UCSD Chancellor Richard Atkinson served as general chairman.

After accepting the award, Revelle spoke briefly.

“To have and enjoy a right, we also must have responsibility,” he said. And he has added yet another responsibility to the long list that marks his career: With support from the MacArthur Foundation, Revelle will be touring six hunger-plagued African nations. His visit will focus on possible solutions to their food-supply problems.

In reference to this journey, Revelle told the audience, “I feel I have at least one more job to do, and this is it.”