Bidding for Bachelors : Big Brothers Put 45 on the Block to the Tune of $67,000

Fun. Excitement. Romance. Dudes.

Those were the draws at the fourth annual Bachelor Auction held by Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles on Thursday night at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. There were 600 women to place their bids on 45 bachelors, including KNBC newsmen John Beard and Bret Lewis, singer Ray Parker Jr. and Rams linebacker Kevin Greene.

Most of the women, like Sherryl Pinsher, were there with credit cards in hand. “I’ve got a nice limit on my Visa,” she said, surveying the tuxedoed bachelors at a reception before the auction.

The dates for sale ranged from dinners for two at local restaurants to ski weekends in Lake Tahoe and Mammoth--but one of the most popular packages was a ticket to “Phantom of the Opera” and an after-show date with star Michael Crawford.

“Make sure you have fun and make sure you get your money’s worth,” said Beard before turning the evening over to emcee Ted Ziegenbusch, honoree Cathy Crosby and auctioneer Chris Sheik. And, for the next few hours, 45 bachelors walked a runway as the women whooped, screamed and waved their bidding paddles. “It’s like a classy Chippendales,” noted one volunteer.

Michael Crawford, auctioned in absentia, went for $4,000. But it was television actor Gil Gerard who carried the highest price tag, for a simple date package watching the sunset from a restaurant in Malibu. The winning bid was $5,100.

By the end of the evening, Big Brothers had charted its most successful auction ever, and was ringing up women’s credit cards to the tune of $67,000.

Who says it’s hard to get a date in L.A.?