Politicians, Not Stars, Show Up for Gay Event

Plenty of politicians, but no Hollywood celebrities. That was the makeup of the crowd of more than 1,000 people who gathered at the Century Plaza Hotel Friday night for the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center’s 19th-anniversary ball.

The dinner, attended by the center’s major donors, honored Jackie Goldberg, president of the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District; Phill Wilson, co-founder of the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum and recently appointed AIDS coordinator for the City of Los Angeles; and L.A. Municipal Court Judge Rand Schrader.

“This has never been an event that draws stars,” said Torie Osborn, executive director of the center, who attributed the absence of celebrity support to “homophobia in Hollywood.”

Dave Pollone, whose book “Behind the Mask” delineated his experiences as a Major League umpire, said: “A lot of people give their money, but they don’t give their hearts. I wish they would. After all, there are people in our community who are too powerful to be hurt if they were to show up at a function like this.”

Guests included Arlo Smith, the Democratic candidate for state attorney general. Also in attendance were Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Michael Woo, City Atty. James Hahn, West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-L.A.), the Rev. Malcolm Boyd, the right Rev. Oliver Garver Jr., dinner chairman Eric M. Shore, and center board co-chairs Karen Siteman and Mason A. Sommers.

The evening began with a silent auction that featured a 1956 Nash automobile, several hotel packages and furs.