Fantasy Auction Going, Going, Gone . . .

The Scene: Sunday’s “Divine Design and Fantasy Auction,” benefiting the L.A. Center for the Living and Project Angel Food. The groups, which provide support services and meals on wheels to homebound AIDS patients, held the fund-raiser at Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. Event chairmen were Marianne Williamson, chairman of the groups’ board of directors; board member Michael Childers, and designer Waldo Fernandez.

What? My Bid?: On the block were Fred Astaire’s tap shoes, Madonna’s corset, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leather jacket from “Terminator 2” and Bette Midler’s mermaid tail. There was also a gallery of functional art, a boutique of designer clothing and an assortment of elaborate fantasies, including world tours, roles in “Batman 2” and “Miss Saigon,” and having one’s name used as a character in Jackie Collins’ next Hollywood opus.

Who Was There: Elizabeth Taylor, Barry Diller, Dennis Hopper, David Hockney, Bette Midler, Daryl Hannah, Tim Curry, Morgan Fairchild, Roddy McDowall, Theresa Russell, Sarah Brightman, Carole Bayer Sager, Judith Light and many, many, many others.

Dress Code: Do-it-yourself, from tuxedos to leather chaps. One man wore a houndstooth sport coat over black tights. Volunteers wore black and white referee vests topped off with gold angel wings stuck to their backs.

Lizwatch: Taylor showed up with fiance Larry Fortensky, but she was dressed down, meaning only one fantastic rock on one finger. Was she wearing her latest celebrity fragrance? Who knows--only her closest friends were allowed close enough to smell her.

Money Matters: Tickets ranged from $100 to $10,000. The auction was even pricier. Would you pay $110,000 to have David Hockney paint the interior of your swimming pool? Lester Persky did. Or would you rather spoil your child and 34 of his or her friends by buying them a lunch with Michael Jackson? That prize went for $52,000.

Quoted: Marianne Williamson thought that Project Angel Food’s growing caseload was a positive, not a negative, sign. “It means that more and more people are living with AIDS, not dying of AIDS,” she said. “We’re getting closer and closer to making AIDS a chronic, manageable disease.”

Triumphs: The content of the fantasy packages surpassed any charity auction in recent memory. What can Project Angel Food offer to top it next year? A ride on the space shuttle?

Glitches: Tickets to a presidential gala--which included dinner at the White House with the President and First Lady--drew unenthusiastic bidding, even after the auctioneer begged, “Come on, pretend you’re all Republicans.” The prize went for only $5,500. Apparently lunch with Michael Jackson these days is worth almost 10 times more than dinner with George Bush.