Spreading Ho-Hos and Decking the Halls
Tra-la, tra-la. It’s the Christmas season. Put on a happy face. Deck the halls. Cut a branch--pyracantha will suffice--for the mantle. Plop lemon leaves in the vases. Hang a bow. Hum “Jingle Bells.” Cheer a friend. Say a prayer. Doesn’t cost a cent.
Affluently, less-affluently, or non-affluently, we might as well celebrate. Tune your ears for Harry Belafonte’s new “The Tradition of Christmas” recording with the London Symphony.
Or catch “The Christmas Album . . . A Gift of Hope.” On that one, some of American’s favorite entertainers--Frank Sinatra, Lorna Luft, Dionne Warwick--have teamed to record favorites (available on cassette and compact disc) sold at Bullock’s and Pavilions stores. Proceeds benefit Childrens Hospital.
And, be sure to look at pretty Libby Doheny on the December cover of Town & Country. She’s decked in plaid and satin, framed in pine cones, juniper and holly. On inside pages, she and husband Will and their children and friends, including Brad Freeman, are photographed with Rodeo Drive’s prominent shop owners.
Loews Coronado Bay Resort, in celebration of its gala regatta opening, begins a holiday tradition Saturday with the lighting of the Bay Tree. It’s a 50-foot grand fir from Snoqualmie, Wash.
In town, the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society will be placing markers Dec. 13-14 on front yards and Larchmont Boulevard shop windows in its annual holiday decorations contest conducted by Sidney Adair.
Delta Delta Delta rang in the season with its “Sleighbell Luncheon” Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton, raising funds for hematology research at Childrens Hospital. President Dee Ann Wood sparked the Saks Fifth Avenue fashion show.
Poinsettias were on the tables Wednesday at the National Charity League Los Angeles chapter luncheon planned by Antoinette Eley at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
In the spirit, Merle and June Banta host the Smith College Club of Pasadena Christmas party Sunday. The Los Angeles Consular Corps Diplomat Christmas Ball lights up the season tonight at the Beverly Wilshire. Friends of Robinson Gardens hosted the children of the Eras Center for Special Education in the gardens Wednesday. And, in Newhall, Kris Kringle will spread ho-ho’s for the Home Tour League of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital at its preview party Friday at the homes of Hank and Linda Butterfield, Brian and Carla Cummings, John and Sondra Lombardo, Ken and Diane Kreyenhagen and Lindsey and Cheryl Davidson. It’s black tie--and tennis shoes.
MR. CELEBRITY: Earl Blackwell, founder of Celebrity Service International 50 years ago, suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.
But that didn’t stop his radiant non-stop smile at the adulation and praise from friends and stars such as Gregory Peck on Tuesday at the ball in his honor in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
On the dance floor, Brooke Shields (who calls Blackwell “my mentor”) cut in, smothered him with kisses and wrapped him in her arms for a whirl. New York bandleader Mike Carney and soloist Colleen Casey did the tunes (like “You’re the Tops”) that over the decades have rung out in Blackwell’s New York ballroom where he’s kept celebrities bumping elbows.
It was a night of dancing. The trio of chairwomen--Betsy Bloomingdale, Nancy Vreeland and Patti Skouras--set the pace. Things got so frantic that the horseradish was served after the beef, the chocolate sauce after the ice cream melted, but “no problem” said one hotel waiter.
What was fun were the huge photo blowups of Blackwell with Elizabeth Taylor, with Liza Minnelli, with Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson, with Grace Kelly, with Cobina Wright. Friend/party planner Clive David arranged them, as well as the folksy video salutes from the likes of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Anna Moffo Sarnoff, Helen Hayes (who said, “I love you”) and Arlene Dahl. He centered tables with fishbowls of floating magnolias and candles.
In the crowd: William Schockley with former Miss World, Mary Stavin; Dorothy Strelsin, David Knapp, John and Donna Crean, Ralph Edwards, Buddy and Beverly Rogers, Vine Phoenix, retired Maj. Gen. Gwynn Robinson and his wife Natalie (Thompson), who starred in three Broadway plays; and retired Rear Adm. Frank and Sally Raab, who leave today for Pearl Harbor for the 50th anniversary Saturday of the Japanese attack there.
Betsy Bloomingdale, escorted by Joe Hannan, recalled that she met the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at Blackwell’s home. Themed “Fifty Fabulous Years,” the party also saluted Blackwell’s new autobiography. In his honor, a fellowship was awarded to Dr. Sandra Loughlin of UC Irvine for Parkinson’s disease research.
THE BIG 60: Nan Corman has signed the Step Sisters for the Beverly Hills Tennis Club’s 60th anniversary dinner-dance Saturday. The club’s roster boasts shining stars: Gene Corman, Johnny Carson, Richard Zanuck, Neil Simon.
CORONETS: Kudos to the Coronet Debutantes, presented formally at the Beverly Hilton Saturday. Proceeds will go to the National Charity League-USC California Teacher Center and to Recording for the Blind.
Debs--wearing 14-karat gold crown lockets--were Sarah Beamish, Katherine Beradino, Erin Byrne, Cassandra Craven, Camille Enkeboll, Melanie Fountain, Kimberly Green, Tricia LayPort, Natalie Lewis, Lisabeth Marchioli, Christine Norato, Eileen Peaper, Lara Perlof, Leslie Tevrizian and Kristin Walther. Janice Ruck was ball director.
BEDECKED: Benefit-goers will dash the circuit of the Holiday Look-In Tour for the Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Assn. Saturday and Sunday. Top florists will hang the wreaths at Wallace and Jackie Reaume’s Mediterranean home, Joe and Dottie Clougherty’s colonial Georgian, Ted and Sally Doll’s California colonial and Dick and Lola Dickerson’s California ranch house. There’ll be ongoing holiday tea in the courtyard at Caltech’s Beckman Institute. Tickets for $20 will be available at the tea, according to co-chairs Jane Caughey, Barbara Allen and Edith Roberts.
