At Last, Chasen’s Luncheon Chatter

Chasen’s famous chili mac and banana shortcake were on the menu, but so were a lot of culinary innovations.

And the place was so packed that owner Maude Chasen and her daughter Kay McKay and Kay’s husband, Tom, waited for a table when Chasen’s opened for lunch Tuesday for the first time in its 55-year history.

Maude’s grandson Scott McKay, the lunch maitre d’, greeted a wide range of guests: Jimmy Stewart, Walter Matthau (celebrating his birthday), and Mary Jane Wick and Nancy Reagan, hosting a table that included Jean Smith, Erlenne Sprague, Marion Jorgensen and Betty Wilson.

The movie crowd mixed with old Los Angeles: Bob Ahmanson brought Maude Chasen a souvenir Perino’s menu from 25 years ago. Nancy Hinds, Marilyn Kavanagh, Jo Fisher, Margaret Spillane and Joyce Dennis were a quintet. Ruth Tullis invited Louisa Richardson and Betty Hollingsworth. Virginia and Clifford Lord were a duo. Henry and Jayne Berger, Susan Keck, Janet Cordova, Rosemarie Stack and David Begelman lunched in various coveys.

PRESIDENTIAL: Mary Robinson, president of Ireland, comes to town and will be honored by the American Ireland Fund Oct. 16 at a cocktail reception at Jimmy’s in Beverly Hills.

TRIPLE: Tom Johnson, president of CNN in Atlanta and former publisher of the Los Angeles Times, celebrated his 50th birthday with a triple whammy and a varied diet.

First, Jane and Ron Olson hosted a ribs and chicken barbecue for nearly 200 Saturday in Pasadena. After 10 p.m., Johnson and his wife, Edwina, flew off to Dallas for Sunday night’s casual party, featuring barbecued brisket for about 150, hosted by Deedie and Rusty Rose. Then, on his birthday, Monday, Marianne and Kenny Rogers produced most of the Johnson wedding party of 27 years ago, among other 100-plus guests, and served barbecued catfish at their Beaver Dam Farms at Colbert, Ga.

At the Olsons, with trees silhouetted against the sunset, Kerr canning jars were brimming with wine and beer. Keith Edwards’ Western band led the dancing. And Southern California Edison Chairman Emeritus Howard Allen and Johnson’s secretary, Joan Klunder, joined in tributes, along with Steve Isenberg, who rhymed his toast with Seuss-like stanzas.

Well-wishers included Dick and Cathy Schlosberg, Sharon and Don Wright, Shelby and Mary Lee Coffey, Michael and Judy Ovitz, the Johnson’s son Wyatt (a UC Berkeley literature major), Jane Chandler, U.S. District judges Matt Byrne and Cynthia Hall, John and Jeanie Cushman, Steve and Marcia Cannell, Chris and Lois Madison, Chuck and Barbara Schneider, Ann Anzalone, Tom and Joan Kardashian, Jess and Phyllis Marlowe, Michael Hecht and Diana Collins, Betty Stickell, Karen Gould and Roger and Betty Medearis.

NEW GROUP: Lynn and Doug Brengel helped launch The Circle of the Huntington Memorial Hospital Saturday evening at a cocktail party in their San Marino home. First to arrive were Circle president Rita Whitney and her husband, Bill. The group, mostly ages 30 to 45, will support the hospital’s rehabilitation department.

The Circle plans to have two fund-raisers--a tea dance for younger children and an annual cocktail party. The goal is $50,000. Among the supporters are Debbie and Terry Lanni, Charles and Christy Bakaly, Cathy and Paul Tosetti, Debbie and Randy Hoffman and Scott and Debbie Nesbit.

BREEZING IN: British designer Zandra Rhodes breezed into Los Angeles for a luncheon at Hotel Bel-Air. Club 100 president Carol Mancino lauded her as the first speaker in the new “Women of Our Times” series. Among the ladies who oooed over Rhodes’ vibrant printed silks were Diane Morton, Joyce Rosenbloom and Judy Bedrosian. . . .

Wilhelmina Holladay, founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., flew to Los Angeles on her personal crusade to give women their place in visual arts history. She met with Genevieve McSweeney, chairman of the group’s California committee, and Eunice David, president of the supporting Southern California Council. Chat centered on the touring exhibit of prominent California women artists forthcoming in 1994 at the museum. Also trading ideas with Holladay at the Beverly Wilshire luncheon were Suzanne de Passe and Mary Carol Rudin.

PAST PERFECT: It looks like a net of $450,000 from Saturday’s UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center fund-raiser at the Century Plaza. Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award--Gerald and Virginia Oppenheimer--were surrounded by numerous tables of guests. Dr. Richard Steckel says the proceeds will be used to fund cancer research. . . .

Russell and Louise Osterman hosted the Pacific Clinic Affiliates “Celebration 65” Friday evening in their Pasadena home. The $47,000 tally will fund outpatient mental-health services. . . .

It was art in motion for the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena on Sunday. Susie Hollingsworth and Alan Nakagawa teamed up to present one-of-a-kind American art clothing textiles in an ambiance of musical ensembles, magic tricks, poetry and dancing.

KUDOS: The city’s best are being honored: Harold M. Williams, president and CEO of the J. P. Getty Trust, will be saluted by the UCLA College of Letters & Science Oct. 24 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. . . .

Composer Henry Mancini gets the Hal Roach Entertainment Award from Loyola Marymount University Nov. 20. . . .

The Big Sisters Guild of Los Angeles bestows its new Sterling Award on Carol Burnett Nov. 2 at the Beverly Hilton. John W. Amerman, chair and CEO of Mattel, Inc., has been named to the Big Sisters board of governors. . . .

The Music Center honors Henry C. Rogers for 30 years service Oct. 16 at the Hilton. . . .

The Beverly Hills Theater Guild gives Larry Gelbart its Spotlight Award Sunday at the Beverly Hills Friars Club.