Guests May Hear a Senatorial Duet

Will they or won’t they? That’s the question that supporters of Sen. Pete Wilson for governor are asking. Will Pete and Gayle Wilson sing at William and Willa Dean Lyon’s Saturday night the way they sang at Jim and Nancy Baldwin’s last October?

There’s no mention of it on the party invitations, fancy little numbers that ask guests to come to Coto de Caza for “The Orange County Premiere Dinner Honoring Our Next Governor of California.” But there was no mention of it on the invitations to the Baldwin bash in Emerald Bay either.

“They were kind of forced into it at the Baldwins,” says an insider. “They both looked a little embarrassed.”

But they sounded terrific. “They have beautiful voices,” remembers one guest.

Chalk it up to the buzz about the Wilsons being multi-talented, or chalk it up to folks not wanting to miss a summer splash at the Lyons, but a whopping 400 Wilsonites have sent in $1,000 each to participate in the fund-raiser. Wonderful news for campaign organizers. Terrifying news, at first, for Hemingway’s, caterer of the alfresco affair.

When the Corona del Mar restaurant, which has gained a reputation as the county’s power caterer (they whipped up that lunch for the Reagans when they dined at the Lyons last year), started party plans, 250 guests were expected. “But then the party grew,” said Randy Johnson, owner of Hemingway’s. “And so did logistical problems. Suddenly, instead of figuring out how to accommodate 125 couples, you’re figuring out how to accommodate 200. How many homes can accommodate 200 cars? How many homes can handle 400 guests for dinner?”

No problem. Johnson, who lives by a credo of “impeccable service,” decided to redesign the party to fit the grounds of the Lyons’ lush estate. Instead of the dinner that had been planned for 250 around the pool, the pool will be used for a cocktail reception. Dinner, which will feature range chicken with Chardonnay sauce and lemon custard in chocolate shells, will be served in the area between the Lyons’ Tara-esque manse and the museum that houses the retired Air Force general’s fleet of antique automobiles.

Barry Cole and the Sounds of Music will play for dancing. And, if guests get lucky, the Wilsons will do one of their impromptu duets. With a breathtaking $400,000 from Orange County in the senator’s gubernatorial campaign coffers, how could they resist?

Our Fair Couple: Mum has always been the word when John and Donna Crean of Newport Beach donate megabucks to underwrite operatic productions at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. They have simply been more comfortable giving anonymously.

But tonight, after “My Fair Lady” opens at the Center, the Creans will show up at a Center Club party and nobody will have to pretend. The word is officially out: The Creans donated $100,000 to bring the Lerner & Loewe classic to Costa Mesa.

“We’ve decided to let Opera Pacific tell people about us because we hope it gets others to underwrite. Opera Pacific needs underwriters,” Donna said recently.

“My Fair Lady” is the couple’s favorite musical. “We love the whole thing--the story, the music. . . . “ Their favorite song is “I’m an Ordinary Man,” Donna said, because of the sentiments expressed in the lyrics. “That song always makes us laugh. I say: ‘I know why women don’t think like men! Because they don’t want to. Because men don’t think!’ ” (Spoken like a true Eliza Doolittle.)

Speaking of the gadabout Creans (if they’re not attending every A-party in town, they’re attending every A-party uptown), the couple were at the Regent Beverly Wilshire last Thursday to receive an award from the American Parkinson Disease Assn. At their table: Lynn Redgrave; Alex Trebek of television’s “Jeopardy”; Jane Withers and Ruta Lee.

Besides the honor bestowed upon the Creans, the highlight of the affair was seeing Richard Blackwell, author of the infamous “worst-dressed” list, being roasted by some of the women he has blasted over the years.

While the fashion arbiter stood on stage, “looking like a stuffed dummy,” he said, everyone “razzed me.”

“But really, I think it turned out to be a tribute, which proves they just lovvvvved making the list!”

Being bookish by the bay: It has become the thing to do for the ladies who lunch--attend the Balboa Bay Club’s Round Table West Books and Authors programs. On Thursday, a few hundred locals will hear author Judith Quine talk about “The Bridesmaids,” her story of Grace Kelly and the six friends (Quine among them) who served as her wedding attendants when she became Princess of Monaco. “There’s an enormous interest in Grace, especially by younger women,” Quine said recently from her suite at the St. Regis hotel in Detroit, a pit stop on her current book tour. “There are a lot of things that Grace had to do that young women are finding they have to do. For example, balance that superwoman act while trying to find some time for intimacy in their lives.”

Also on the scene will be Marlene Willis, mother of television and film star Bruce Willis. Marlene is a member of the Star Mothers Club in Los Angeles, which is the subject of the book “Star Mothers,” co-authored by Phyllis Quinn and Georgia Holt, Cher’s mother.

Sporting Life: A slew of locals, including O.J. Simpson of Laguna Niguel, are heading up to Los Angeles on Saturday night to attend “Jammin’ ” at the Sports Club/LA, a bash with a double agenda. First on the “let’s party” list: The second anniversary celebration of the club with guests requested to dress “slinky.” Second: A ceremony dubbed “The Ultimate Slam Dunk Send-Off” honoring the retiring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Hosts for the bash include Marvin Davis and Pat Riley.