Burnett Is Fashion Show’s Haute Ticket

A humble man, he shudders at the word. But like it or not, Carlton Burnett is hot.

Orange County’s answer to Tommy Tune turned Segerstrom Hall into a cabaret last September, making history when more than 100 women strutted their stuff at the Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s fashion show.

A few local arbiters of fashion pooh-poohed the idea of using amateurs (Guilds members) to showcase Orange County’s haute -est fashion silhouettes. In fact, one department store pulled out when it learned that non-professionals would be used.

But Burnett--the show’s executive director, visionary, choreographer, therapist, you name it--knocked ‘em dead with his class act.

And he’s going to do it again, come Sept. 20, when the Guilds’ second-annual event kicks off the fifth-anniversary celebration of the Center.

On Wednesday, Burnett watched a bevy of hopeful women try out for this year’s event. “I’m looking for someone I can mold,” he said. And they don’t have to be 20, 30, 40 or 50-something. “They can be 75 and if they come across on the runway, they’re in.”

Burnett confessed he had his doubts about a couple of women who tried out last year. But after intense training, they turned into superstars. “They were the highlights of the show,” he said. “Enthusiasm goes a long way.”

Burnett is also organizing the May 17 fashion extravaganza being planned by Angelitos de Oro, a support group of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County. This one--for years staged in a huge, white tent next to the Amen Wardy boutique at Fashion Island--might have been a hard act to follow. After all, Wardy had the cachet to land super-designers such as Bob Mackie, Oscar de la Renta and Bill Blass.

But not for Burnett. He told event organizers it was time for a change. So, it’s out of the tent and into the ballroom for the Angelitos. The blockbuster will be held at the Hyatt Regency and showcase an “International Collection of California” featuring Peter Lai and Henry Hayag, formerly of the Philippines; Dinorah Dao of Venezuela; Celia Tjada of Madrid, and Hella-Barbara Ranr Couture of Vienna.

Also at the Center of Things: Performing Arts Center leaders are still wondering who will perform at the Center’s fifth anniversary super-gala on Sept. 25. Looks like “The Phantom of the Opera” star Michael Crawford is no longer a contender (“he has no show,” says one insider) and Diana Ross can’t decide what fee to charge. Kenny Rogers had to say no because he will be out of the country.

That leaves Whitney Houston, another Center favorite. Do you suppose her aunt, Dionne Warwick, can persuade her to belt out a few heart-stoppers in Segerstrom Hall? (Warwick dreams of headlining a show there herself--a star-packed benefit concert for blood-disease research.) Keep those bejeweled fingers crossed. Houston would be heaven. Talk about one moment in time .

The Buzz: Lia Iacocca--daughter of Motown mogul Lee Iacocca--will be honored at a tea staged by Tiffany & Co. Vice President Jo Ellen Qualls on June 4 at the Center Club in Costa Mesa. Seems Lia champions research for Juvenile Diabetes (she’s very active in Los Angeles on behalf of the cause), and Qualls, her good friend, thought it would be nice to introduce her to Orange County folks who share her enthusiasm for fighting the disease . . . .

Who will be on Dick Engel’s guest list next month when he stages an intimate dinner party to showcase the talent of L.A. Rams owner Georgia Frontiere? Only the opera-buff-about-town knows. Engel and his wife, Jolene, enjoy Frontiere’s singing so much they anted up a cool $5,200 at a Master Chorale benefit on Sunday night. The big bucks guarantee that Frontiere will sing at a chic supper planned for Engel’s posh Newport Beach digs. Frontiere told Engel she wants to perform soon--before she gets busy with the football season . . . .

Also up for dining at the Engels are supporters of Opera Pacific. On Aug. 10, the Engels will stage a Gold Rush party in their home to celebrate Opera Pacific’s participation in Placido Domingo’s performance in “Girls of the Golden West” at the Center on June 5. Opera Pacific plans to feature the tenor at the Center next year . . . .

Keep your eye on the “Real Life with Jane Pauley” television show on Sunday. That’s the night that members of the local Chinese American Debutante Guild are supposed to be featured. You may recall that an NBC-TV film crew was there when they made their debuts at the Disneyland Hotel in December . . . .

Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, a former Huntington Beach mayor, will join other former women mayors at the Huntington Beach Library on May 17 to share memories of their terms in office. Joining Wieder for the retro-gab will be Norma Gibbs, Ruth Finley and Ruth Bailey . . . .

Developer Kathryn Thompson and burger king Carl Karcher are honorary chairmen of a bash to benefit HomeAid on May 17 at the Newport Beach Marriott and Tennis Club. On stage: fashions from Newport Center Fashion Island. The Fijian-themed event marks the second time that local bigwigs have gathered to dine, dance and raise funds to benefit HomeAid, the building industry’s nonprofit program that helps the homeless by building and renovating shelters . . . .

Donna Bunce--for years a fixture on Orange County society scene--has signed up as the editor of Newport Beach 714, the glossy tab that is clucked over biweekly by the Newport Beach society set . . .