Phyllis Diller to Be Named Founder of Hope at Gala

Phyllis Diller, on the arm of prominent attorney and Anglophile Robert Hastings the other evening when Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife, Marilyn, appeared at the Beverly Hilton, is in the spotlight again tonight.

The Founders for Diabetic Research in association with the City of Hope will bestow the Founder of Hope upon the popular comedian. Beverly Hills philanthropists Hal and Cynthia Gershman are underwriting the gala. Honorary chairman Ruta Lee, plus Bob Hope, Rich Little, Jack Carter, Alex Trebek and Dick Gautier are scheduled to join the tribute.

MUSIC LOVERS: We weren’t there, but we were told the highlight of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Founders Ball at the Beverly Wilshire was the performance of Mozart’s G Minor Piano Quartet K.478 by Andre Previn; Iona Brown, the Chamber’s music director and violinist; cellist Nathaniel Rosen; and the Chamber’s principal violist Roland Kato.

Benefit party co-chair Jennifer Diener and her husband, Royce, will celebrate with a luncheon for benefit friends Friday in Santa Monica. They’ll also be celebrating Richard D. Colburn’s $100,000 contribution to match the recent National Endowment for the Arts’ three-to-one $100,000 challenge grant for the chamber endowment.

APOLOGIES: In the Hathaway Children’s Services benefit photo April 9, Olivia Newton-John was pictured with Brian Cahill, Hathaway president, not Newton-John’s business partner Pat Farrar.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK: Ever mindful that charities must tap new sources, the Pasadena YWCA decided to commemorate its 80th year of service to the San Gabriel Valley by lumping all its fund-raisers into one event.

Today, from 5 to 9 p.m., the Y hopes to raise $50,000 through $100 “park passes” to “The YWCA Presents . . . Sunday in the Park” at the Pasadena Hilton. Norma Sandusky-Coombs heads the effort with Yvonne Benson, Carol Bramhall, Nancy Wheat, JoAnne Burr, Mary Pinola, Sharon Thralls, Betty Rhodes, Adelaide Hixon, Rosalie Calderon, Joyce Sin Huang, Pat Lachelt, Barbara Martyn, Judy Norquist, Jean Owen, Jil Sheldon and Gerry Silver.

KUDOS: To Ava and Charles Fries, celebrating the Charles W. Fries Telefeature Library at the American Film Institute’s Louis B. Mayer Library, with a cocktail party Monday. . . .

To Lawyer William G. Simon, feted at the L.A. Oncologic Institute at the St. Vincent Medical Center dinner at the California Club . . . To Nancy and Alan Livingston, hosting a donor party at their Beverly Hills home for the Music Center’s 25th anniversary. . . .

To the John Wayne Cancer Clinic Auxiliary, netting $200,000 at their Odyssey Dinner saluting Great Western CEO James Montgomery . . . To Mary Richardson wearing the Sweepstakes headdress (designed by Sam Tagashira and Bob Martine) in the Mannequin Parade at the Las Floristas Headdress Ball at the Beverly Hilton. . . .

To Selma Schimmel, founder and executive director of Vital Options, given the “Tree of Life Award” by the United Jewish Fund. . . .

To British Consul General Donald and Elizabeth Ballentyne, feted by the English-Speaking Union at the St. James Club . . . To Sir Oliver Wright, ambassador to the United States during the Reagan Administration and a new honorary member of the English-Speaking Union Los Angeles branch. . . .

To Grace Chow, first Chinese-American to sell $1 million of insurance, honored with a tea-dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt for her 90th birthday . . . To the National Center for Hyperactive Children, netting $200,000 on its gift-of-love dinner.

SOUK-CESSFUL: The Pasadena Art Alliance can be counted on for original wackiness. And now that its annual Treasure Sale--Super Souk (a souk is a Middle-Eastern marketplace)--is over, they’re $77,000 richer, president Sally Hurt says.

Under chairman Marsha Bohr and committee members Jane Palmer, Edith Maguire, Betty Urban, Marcy Fowler, Maybelle Wolfe, Betty Duker and Ricki de Kramer, members collected treasures for months--including all the costumes that Jane Brewer and her late husband, Dr. Lyman Brewer, wore to the annual Bachelors Ball.

Then the group moved in on the former Gene Burton shop on Lake Street in Pasadena for a two-day sale with Alliance members such as Ann Barrett, Carolyn Fox, Nancy Burrows, Betye Burton, Sallie Colmery, Peggy Phelps and Kaholyn McKissick bargaining with customers.

Of course, there’s always the preview party: Carol Bramhall, Diane Bedford (wearing Moroccan wedding garb she purchased on a recent trip to Asia) and Patsy Ketchum put together a tantalizing party with tabbouleh, lamb in pita pockets and syrupy baklava.

SPRING LUNCHEONS: They came in bunches last week: Suzanne Marx hosted friends at the Regency Club including Diane Disney of San Francisco and Ginny Ueberroth. . . .

Pam King honored Anne Torell, former New Yorker and wife of John Torell, new chairman of CalFed, with a luncheon, including Lucy Hubbard, Mary Tollenaere, Kim Rollo, Linda Dickson and Susie Gordinier. . . .

Rose Mary Mitchell hurriedly moved her pink-clothed tables indoors because of chilly vibes at the drop-in luncheon for friends, including Eileen Zimmerman, Dee Maecheling, Peggy Galbraith, Joni Baker, Gabriella Barrett, Cheryl Baker, Penny Bianchi and more; those in woollies were toasty, but those in spring couture were frosty.

UPSCALE: J. Shelton Ellis Jr., executive director of Gump’s, says that La Scala Museum, adjacent to Milan’s famed Opera House, and the government of Italy have given permission for a major collection of artwork and scores to travel to the United States. It’s to be part of “A Tribute to Italy” Monday through May 20 at Gump’s in Beverly Hills.

The opening evening Monday honors the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. On this black-tie circuit will be Italian Consul Gen. Alberto Boniver; Italian Trade Commissioner Francesco Paterno; maestro Giampiero Tintori, director, Museo Teatrale Alla Scala; Peter Hemmings, general director of the Music Center Opera; and Ellis.

ESCALATION: When Burt Sugarman and Mary Hart exchanged wedding vows on the Dandeanna yacht in Marina del Rey, well-wishers danced on the moonlit deck to the Bob Gail hip jazz quartet. Included were Lynda Carter, Robert Altman and Diedra Hall. . . .

The Chrysalis Center raises funds Thursday at the Biltmore to assist Downtown Skid Row residents. Johnny Mountain will emcee. . . . The Assistance League of Pasadena’s “Evening of Polo” was chaired by Sharon Pelton, aided by president Lynn Paulson. It enables the league to maintain its California House for Senior Citizens. . . .

The Music Center Reachout Committee partied at Doheny Mansion for its 15th anniversary chaired by Delores S. Kerr. . . . Edie Frere chaired the Emphysema Foundation “Breath of Life” family day at Magic Castle in Hollywood.

PLAUDITS: To the Huntington Library for outfoxing the weather. Its Christmas Party was blown out by wind in December; its Easter Egg Hunt was done in by rain, but Saturday was an OK day for a crowd loving the flowers at the library’s spring luncheon and garden party.

KEEPING UP: Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs has been awash in frivolity such as the IRS Weekend. The season closes this weekend and that’s on the minds of Anne Barbey, Elizabeth Barnes and John H. Welborne. . . .