Reggie Jackson Hits Home Run for Charity at ‘Bachelor Bid’

“Reggie! . . . Reggie! . . . Reggie! . . . Reggie! . . . “ The hundreds of women packed like sardines into Le Meridien chanted Reggie Jackson’s name like he’d just hit a home run.

But the baseball great wasn’t even on first base yet.

Like the rest of the bachelors about to go on the block for bucks at the March of Dimes’ annual “Bid for Bachelors” on Tuesday, Reggie--gussied up in black tie with a rosebud in his lapel--waited at the back of the ballroom until the moment was just right .

Then, when he knew they couldn’t stand it any longer, “Mr. October” bounded up the aisle and hopped on the ramp under the spotlight. Voila! Home-run time.

They screamed. Whistled. Applauded until their hands turned red. They squealed. And they raised their bidding paddles and posed them like baseball bats.

“Reggie! . . . Reggie! . . . Reggie! . . . “ they chanted until the bidding started.

Minimum bid for a date with this bundle of muscle? A cool $1,000, the auctioneer said.

Within seconds the frenzied crowd had pushed the bid up to a super-cool $2,000. Then Jackson took his jacket off. Flexed his muscle. Strutted. The bid shot up to $3,300.

“I have a friend who owns Aspen mountain,” Jackson yelled, referring to the fact that the lucky bidder would go with him to Colorado. Up the bid went again, this time to a staggering $4,200. Patricia West was the lucky bidder. Total proceeds from the bid on 36 bachelors: a staggering $156,000.

Starry, starry night: There’s still no business like show business. The Sandpipers of the Hoag Memorial Hospital Foundation proved that on Saturday night at the Four Seasons Hotel when they staged their “Broadway Lights-Hollywood Nights” gala auction.

Netting proceeds of more than $100,000 for the Hoag Cancer Center, the bash was all Great White Way-and-Tinseltown glitz with showy decor that featured top hats, film reels and cinema posters--even a life-size superstar cutout or two.

But the real stars of this standing-room-only affair were Patty and George Hoag, the philanthropists behind the Hoag Cancer Center, a three-story, 65,000-square-foot facility due to open next April.

Talk about star quality. The charismatic Hoags moved through the glittering crowd, smiling, shaking hands, sharing themselves with others the same way they share their time and money.

“When we open, we’ll have enough room to help everybody,” Patty Hoag said of the Cancer Center. “I had cancer surgery myself in 1981. I’m doing great.”

“It’s something we’ve needed for a long time,” George Hoag said. “Patty and I are glad we could help.”

As guests swept into the party, they were handed tulips of champagne to keep them company as they bid on silent auction items ranging from a barking puppy (happily ensconced in a playpen in the reception area) to a snazzy Lexus automobile.

They dressed for this one. Gala chairwoman Candice Schnapp wore a classic-styled, flame-red charmeuse gown she had picked out in Manhattan. “We were in Washington and I told Candice we could fly to New York for the day so she could shop for a dress,” Roger Schnapp explained. “And sure enough, she found one.”

“Isn’t he wonnnnderful?” said Candice, gazing up at her husband. “I call the dress my ‘Loretta Young look.’ ”

Also on the committee: Karen Malanga (stunning in a gold-brocade jacket), Lis Olsen, Wynne Escano, Kathy Barnes-Biava, Vivian Berger, Lois Malone, Laraine Eggleston, Marilyn Reed, Sara Marvin Abraham, Ritz Kurtz and Bonnie LaCroix (looking Marilyn Monroe-esque in figure-hugging black velvet). Joy Curry is president of the Sandpipers, an all-women, fund-raising group that has pledged $750,000 toward building the Cancer Center.

Lexus series: It isn’t every day that you see a luxury car parked on the second-level promenade next to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. But there it was on Saturday night--a new Lexus LS 400 automobile--taking a spot-lit bow during intermission.

Commercial? Certainly. But sometimes that’s what it takes to pay homage to an underwriter, in this case Toyota, sponsor of the Lexus Great Orchestra Series. Up for dreamy listening in coming months: performances by the Montreal Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Radio Symphony Orchestra West Berlin.

On Saturday night, it was a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Andre Previn conducting, that kicked off the series. Afterward, the Orange County Philharmonic Society tossed a post-concert bash to honor Toyota in the Center Club.

Among guests was David Illingworth, vice president of corporate management of Lexus, who said the new car is “the finest car Toyota has ever made.” Its target market? “The professional who makes over $100,000 per year,” he said. “We’re competing with the BMW 735, the Mercedes 750 and the Jaguars.” Also on the scene: Yukiyasu Togo, president of Toyota; Erich Vollmer, executive director of the Orange County Philharmonic Society, and Joann and Ed Halvajian, president of the Philharmonic board.