Stylish Way to Disguise a Good Cause
Some lit up. Some had feathers. Two supposed, original creations were sadly very much alike. One came without a stick--so the owner could hold both a drink and a canape. And everybody sported one on the tennis court.
Welcome to yet another way for Los Angeles social types to compete--wearing masks. That’s what some 400 party-goers did Saturday night, turning up to benefit Robinson Gardens. They also carried out the theme of “Under the Venetian Moon” by donning masks, as is done in that great Venetian tradition of Carnaval.
It all was properly thematic, since the evening honored Venice’s chief West Coast proponent, Terry Stanfill. That’s Venice, Italy, and Stanfill was honored for her longtime involvement with Save Venice, an international group working to preserve the great art and buildings of that special city.
She and her husband, Dennis, got a little taste of her favorite city: Flower Fantasy (because it was a fund-raiser for the Gardens) had created a simple, elegant Venetian look with ribboned tables; there was a menu by Rococo, which took the crowd from penne and piselli verdi to Nudini di Agnello to dolci and biscotti (and, of course, food is the one true way to experience Venice without traveling there).
As the 400 guests gathered on the tennis courts of Virginia Robinson’s former estate, everyone could compare masks. Barbara Namerow co-chaired the evening, which raised at least $60,000.
Co-chair Darrelle Hirsch carried a fabulous peacock mask as did Barbara Reilly, the president of Friends of Robinson Gardens. “I got mine at the Staircase,” Hirsch said, looking at Riley’s mask. “And, obviously, so did Barbara.” Joan Selwyn had a mask that lit up, while her husband, Paul, wore one made of leaves.
Bea Scott, whose husband, Robert, is a former member of the board of Robinson Gardens, had a terrific black-and-white feathered mask. Done by Hollywood artist and mask-maker Joseph McLaughlin, it was swell in two ways. According to her husband, it meant “she didn’t to buy a new dress” and could wear something from her closet. And, according to the wearer, she had fashioned it to tie on because “I couldn’t hold a drink if I had to hold the mask on a stick.”
DIMPLED DARLING--Kirk Douglas has another hit on his hands, but the question this time is who will star in the film version. Thursday night, Fran and Ray Stark (close friends of Douglas and his wife, Anne) got together at Chasen’s to host just about every one in Hollywood and celebrate publication of Douglas’ autobiography, “The Ragman’s Son.” (One hot topic--the book’s very hot review that day in the New York Times).
Janet Leigh, who starred with Douglas in “The Vikings” in 1958, got a big welcome from the new author. And Barbara Davis, who had the chance to read the book in process, clutched her copy close and said, “He wrote it himself.” The party was so crowded with notables that one photographer announced, “If this room blew up--forget it.”
Among the crowd: MCA’s Lew and Edie Wasserman; sons Michael Douglas (the producer-actor), Eric Douglas and Peter Douglas; Roddy McDowell; Marvin Davis, who shared his arrival with former Ambassador Bill and Betty Wilson; Erlenne and Norman Sprague; George Burns chatting in a corner; 20th Century-Fox’s Barry Diller (who it must be remembered was backing Michael Dukakis very early in the game); superagent Michael Ovitz; Fred and Janet de Cordova; Aaron and Candy Spelling; and former Atty. Gen. William French and Jean Smith. Agent Phil Gersh explained to his wife, Bea, that “this really is a triple-A party. You can tell because nobody is taking time to eat the wonderful Chasen hors d’oeuvres.”
