An ‘Afternoon in the Country’ Will Be for Good Cause

It’s way out there, but David Murdock’s new Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks is spring’s new “in” place for charity do-gooding.

Supporters of Crittenton Center for Young Women and Infants revel in splendor there April 21 for their “Afternoon in the Country” benefit planned by Katrina Cord and Barbara McMahon (she’s also persuaded Princess Maria of Borbon, second in line to King Juan Carlos of Spain, to judge the Miss Universe Pageant Thursday).

At Crittenton’s affair, humanitarian awards will go to philanthropists Dick and Jill Riordan, TreePeople’s Katie and Andy Lipkus, Laker coach Pat Riley and his wife Chris, and Raider Marcus Allen.

CLASS: It is classy to exceed the United Way of Greater Los Angeles annual fund-raising goal. It is extraordinarily classy to announce the goal at a Victory Dinner, wave off thank-yous and rush out to catch a plane for Washington to influence legislators on behalf of Los Angeles.

Bank of America’s James Miscoll, campaign chairman, did all at the Bonaventure. He introduced the stars who helped United Way surpass its $95-million goal with donations of $95,006,212: board chairman Herbert L. Carter, Richard J. Stegemeier, Peter Ridder, James C. Gilley, Dr. Stephen Morgan, Edgar S. Mangiafico, Larry Papay, Alex Kyman, Leo P. Cornelius, Chuck Norris, George F. Moody, Lodwrick M. Cook, W. J. Kime, Richard S. Kline, Trevor Jones, Roger Thomas, Michael Disbolis, William R. Robertson, Byron Allumbaugh, Jon S. Gibby, Okitami Komada, William D. Schulte, Robert H. Smith, Msgr. Davis Cousineau and Richard Eils. Each was charged with specific goals.

Noisemakers placed strategically on dinner tables rattled two minutes. At 9:05 p.m., the beaming Miscoll took the arm of his wife Inge, carrying red roses, and headed for Los Angeles International Airport--at 9:05 p.m.

STARS ALL: Barbara Sinatra promises an abstract from her husband, Ol’ Blue Eyes, a Dean Stockwell collage, a Katharine Hepburn watercolor and a John Lennon print for her Celebrity and Professional Art Auction Saturday at Rancho Mirage’s Ritz-Carlton. The affair benefits the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at Eisenhower Medical Center . . . .

Thoroughbred trainer Charlie Whittingham receives the Boy Scouts of America Mervyn LeRoy Award at the Beverly Hills Hotel April 30 . . . .

Jane Fonda gets the Golda Meir Fellowship Award May 21 at the Beverly Wilshire from the Women’s Committee, Builders of Scopus, Hebrew University luncheon chaired by Della Koenig, Leona Palmer and Wendy Goldberg with Barbara Davis honorary chair . . . .

And Justin W. Dart Jr., chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, is honored by the Westside Center for Independent Living April 27 at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

NEW SCENE: Sidney J. Weinberg Jr., chairman of Scripps College, and Richard J. Deihl, chairman of Home Savings of America, were hosts to a reception to announce creation of the $7.1-million Millard Sheets Art Center at Scripps.

In Palos Verdes, the Peninsula Committee of the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles has organized a new annual fund-raiser. Long famous for the annual Portuguese Bend National Horse Show benefit that has netted $1.5 million for the hospital, the committee has now created the Sea Horse Classic Golf Tournament. It is set for April 16 at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates. Prudential-Bache has donated the opportunity to win $100,000 for a hole-in-one.

PAST PERFECT: Pat Mitchell and co-chairwomen Loree Myers and Ava Fries of the Women’s Council of Young Musicians Foundation could not have put on a cuter celebrity family fashion show at the Beverly Hilton. Jerry Dunphy, Jayne Meadows, Tova Borgnine, Pat Crowley, Laraine Gerber, Wendy Goldberg, Telly Savalas, Lalo Schifrin, Candy Spelling, Anne Jeffreys Sterling were among those there with their adorable young in tow . . . .

Daffodils were in abundance for the Daffodil Ball hosted by the Victory League of the American Cancer Society’s San Gabriel/Pomona Valleys unit. The event at the Biltmore Hotel under tutelage of ball chairwoman Shirlee Chadwell honored researcher Dr. G. Denman Hammond . . . .

Alice Tyler presented the $150,000 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement to Cornell professors Thomas Eisner and Jerrold Meinwald, “founding fathers” of chemical ecology . . . .

Dennis H. Vaughn, law partner in Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, has announced as chairman of the Southern California Chapter, National Multiple Sclerosis Society that 9,000 walkers grossed $1.2 million in “The Healthy Choice Super Cities Walk” last Sunday in Long Beach, Pasadena and Riverside . . . .

It was “beach chic” for The Group of Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design at their Santa Monica cocktail buffet and silent auction planned by Marlene Billington and president Kathy Offenhauser . . . .

Co-chairmen Roger and Jayne Sullivan and Archbishop Roger Mahony were in the forefront at a black-tie benefit at the California Club that netted $275,000 for Angel’s Flight, the crisis center for runaway youth . . . .

Luncheon was served on stage of the McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts in Palm Desert when Pulitzer Prize-winning Times music critic Martin Bernheimer spoke to The Muses 100 . . . .

Encore of the Music Center partied at Southwest Museum with more than 100 Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra members. Jan Corey was chair.

FABULOUS: A Faberge egg and jewelry from the estate of the late Frances (Mrs. Armand) Hammer is open for public viewing today from noon until 4 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.

KUDOS: To George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Peter Dekom, Henry Winkler, Corki and Brian Grazer, Fay and Frank Mancuso--all involved in the American Cinematheque’s Moving Picture Ball honoring Ron Howard.