A Ritzy Reception for Russian Wrestlers

It looked like something out of James Bond. A squad of muscular Soviet citizens sprawled upon a veranda overlooking a turquoise-blue sea. Nearby, a groaning board of cheeses served up by stewards sporting black ties, and enough iced beer and Chardonnay to last a long, hot summer.

But these weren’t spies lapping up downtime on the French Riviera. This was the Soviet Union’s Profsoyuz Wrestling Club christening the new Ocean Terrace at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point.

The wrestlers, 22 of them, visited Orange County after tying the U.S.A.’s National Championship Club in Greco-Roman wrestling in San Diego last weekend (watch the matches Saturday on Prime Ticket at 5 p.m.).

“You’ve got to be a good neighbor,” said Ritz-Carlton General Manager Henry Schielein, South Orange County’s host with the most. “When I was told these gentlemen were coming to town, I thought: ‘Why not have them over for a little reception?’ ”

Reception indeed. The wrestlers swam in the hotel’s vast pool, sunbathed and supped upon its flower-bedecked terrace, even played some Ping-Pong.

“This is paradise--a place God made,” said Vishsliv Maximovish (via interpreter Gogi Parseghian), a wrestling coach from Belorussia. “There are a lot of beautiful places in Russia--like Crimea on the Black Sea--but nothing quite like this.”

Kamandor Midjidov, winner of a gold medal in wrestling at the 1988 Olympics, said it was his fourth visit to the United States. “I love California,” he told Parseghian, his dark-brown eyes widening. “Everything about it. Especially the girls.”

Valeri Magin, a high-profile organizer in Soviet sports circles, conceded that the Americans have a “good team.” (The Americans tied the Soviets, whose U.S. tour was sponsored by the Amateur Sports Training Center in Fountain Valley, 5-5.)

“And they have a lot of potential,” he told Parseghian, cousin of Ara Parseghian, former Notre Dame football coach. “In a few years they’re really going to be tough.”

What did Magin think of the Ritz’s flower-bedecked terrace? “Oh, this is the movies!” he said, throwing up his arms. “Everybody knows the Soviet wrestling team is the strongest in the world. But we don’t have hotels like this.”

The L.A. Connection: They did it again. For the fifth year running, Beverly and Robert Cohen, residents of John Wayne’s swanky old digs in Newport Beach, chaired the annual benefit for the Sephardic Hebrew Academy at the Beverly Hilton. Proceeds from the Wednesday night gala, co-chaired by Jimmy Stewart and Howard Koch, are expected to pass the $600,000 mark.

What keeps a few of Orange County’s mega-rich tearing back and forth to L.A.? Connections, of course. For one, the Cohens own the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. On Wednesday, they simply waltzed out of their penthouse with a drop-dead view and motored over to the Hilton. “Plus, the Academy is building a new school,” said Beverly, dressed to kill in emeralds and diamonds and bead-splashed cocoa lace. “Bob and I couldn’t leave them now. They’ve come so far.”

Since the gala for 1,000 guests was a tribute to motion picture director Arthur Hiller, popcorn, candy and film strips were mixed with the white orchid centerpieces. (Robert Cohen, who began his career as a florist, whipped up the arrangements himself.) And, during the cocktail hour, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, and W.C. Fields look-alikes roamed the reception area, cracking up guests with old chestnuts. Local movie buffs Jade and Ron Higgins and John and Donna Crean are also heading for L.A. They’ve put up the bucks for the star-studded bash that will celebrate former senator George Murphy’s 65th year in show biz on June 23. The site? Nothing less than in front of the plantation from the movie set of “Gone With the Wind” at Culver Studios. (We’re not surprised. The Crean’s new mansion in Santa Ana Heights was created with the romantic Tara in mind.)

More than 1,000 guests are expected to attend the party with a kiddie-carnival theme featuring rides, games and prizes. Among those on the guest list: Buddy Ebsen, Danny Thomas, Alexis Smith, Cesar Romero, Milton Berle, Dorothy Lamour and Paula Abdul, if her schedule permits. Paula Abdul? Yep. She loves to rub elbows with the Silver Screen set.