Paloma Picasso Set for USC-Tiffany Gala
It’s no secret that the beautiful and talented Paloma Picasso will not only serve as honorary chairman, but will also attend “Jewel Gala IV.” Chairman Frances Franklin is telling all that the Tiffany jewelry designer and daughter of the late Pablo Picasso will be the star when the USC School of Fine Arts celebrates the 150th anniversary of Tiffany & Co. on Oct. 30 at the Beverly Hilton, intending to net $250,000.
The other morning the committee breakfasted Tiffany-style at Jimmy’s in Beverly Hills. Tiffany’s divisional vice president Roberta Herbison and June Haver MacMurray (husband, Fred, was last year’s gala honoree) were on hand as co-chairs. The trio has decided funds will support students of art history, museum studies and studio art. And they’ve set the table price at $2,500 and individual tickets at $250.
“We’re so fortunate to have Tiffany’s support,” exuded the chairman, wife of Happy I. Franklin.
It was in 1837 that Charles Lewis Tiffany established his stationery and fancy goods store in New York City, selling umbrellas and Chinese pottery. Between 1860 and 1900, the company triumphed in silvermaking. The Tiffany solitaire was introduced in 1870. And American celebrity society, including J. P. Morgan, Diamond Jim Brady and Lillian Russell, were customers. President Lincoln purchased a seed pearl necklace there for his wife during the Civil War.
The landmark store is located at 5th Avenue and 57th Street in New York, but the worldwide branches, including Beverly Hills, are institutions, too.
Los Angeles only shares the 150th celebration. Worldwide, groups are staging openings surrounding public exhibits. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston opens “The Silver of Tiffany & Co. 1850-1987” on Sept. 9 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The new fragrance “Tiffany” will be launched at the New York establishment Sept. 20 for 300 with champagne and breakfast caviar. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York stages an opening gala for 150 couples Sept. 14 as the official anniversary celebration and a view of “Triumphs of American Silvermaking: Tiffany & Co. 1860-1900.” The book “Tiffany 150,” edited by Jacqueline Onassis and published by Doubleday & Co., will be introduced Sept. 15.
Also, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts stages a gala Sept. 15. London gets in the act Sept. 23 when the Duchess of York is guest of honor at a charity ball to benefit Action Research for the Crippled Child at Syon House. Houston celebrates Oct. 9; Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History stages a Tiffany Ball on Nov. 6, the De Young Museum in San Francisco another Dec. 5 and the Dallas Theatre Center another Dec. 13.
PATRONIZING: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Costume Council Patrons are happily staging an evening at West Coast Polo/Lauren shop at 444 N. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on Aug. 17. That’s the upcoming shop with the $10-million price tag and a British colonial Caribbean decor. Store owner Jerry Magnin and his wife, Lois, will welcome the crowd, says chairman Kathy Offenhauser. Patrons will sip champagne, browse and buy, and 10% of proceeds will go to the council. Costume Council chairman Jacquette Theis and patron chairman Anne Johnson are telephoning the fashionable crowd, urging them to come and, of course, purchase.
This is only one of the introductory evenings. The ladies of SHARE (Share Happily and Reap Endlessly) will view the store Aug. 13; Dance Gallery, Aug. 14; Music Center Fraternity of Friends, Aug. 28; the Maple Center (a Beverly Hills mental health center), Aug. 19; the Firestone Center, Aug. 20; the Diabetes Assn., Aug. 24, and the Museum of Contemporary Art supporters, Sept. 17.
Don’t you suppose we’ll be seeing lots of Polo/Ralph Lauren-clad women in coming months.
ROUNDUP: The Golden Boot Awards honor actors and actresses for their outstanding contributions to the Western genre in films and television. The Saloon at the Los Angeles Equestrian and Polo Center at 480 Riverside Drive in Burbank is the setting Aug. 15. Recipients will include Glenn Ford, Richard Farnsworth, Harry Carey Jr., John Russell, Debra Paget, Woody Strode, Andre de Toth, Gene Barry, Rhonda Fleming, Robert Livingston. A special memorial award goes to Tom Mix. Tickets are $100. The event is meant to be a tribute to the Westerns and the fabled legends who galloped into the Hollywood range. The affair benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
THE 50TH: Three nationally prominent businessmen and Times sports columnist Jim Murray will be honored at Pepperdine University’s 50th commencement ceremonies Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse on the Malibu campus. K mart Corp. Chairman and CEO Bernard M. Fauber will give the featured address; Murray will receive an honorary doctor of laws in the Seaver College ceremony in the morning, and Security Pacific Corp. Chairman Richard J. Flamson III and Parsons Corp. Chairman William E. Leonhard will receive honorary doctor of laws in the School of Business and Management ceremony in the afternoon.
KEEPING UP: How did the Pasadena Philharmonic Committee win an award from the Music Center for its Partners For campaign? For contributing $192,366 for the greatest percentage increase in total dollars over the previous year; in other words, 479%. The largest portion of the committee’s gift came from the $156,145 gift from the trust established by the late Marion Merrill Bateman, who died in 1984. She was a member of the committee, and her bequest inspired Partners For chairman Gloria Byke to set a goal of $191,000 for the local drive and to solicit the remainder through letters and telephone calls.
SUMMER PICNIC: The Western States Region of the American Friends of the Hebrew University plan a “Day in the Country” picnic Aug. 23 at Meadow Oaks in Calabasas. Reservations are a must, says Stanley Zax, president. Michael G. Klein and Henry Wilk, chairmen, are planning for hundreds of families.
FIRST EVER: The late Otto Rothschild chronicled the performing arts in local theater, the Hollywood Bowl and the Music Center for more than 40 years. Now the photographer’s work is being integrated into a first-ever 1988 Music Center Calendar/Appointment Book. Joy Fein chairs the committee, gathering page sponsorships and directory listings through Aug. 28, planning sales in mid-October. Judy Bedrosian, Shelley Kirkwood, Bridget Martens, Susie Niven, Nina O’Hern and Karen Todman are aiding.
