A Magic Christmas Greeting From Ritz-Carlton
Merry Christmas, Magic.
That’s the greeting the Ritz-Carlton hotel staff is sending Earvin (Magic) Johnson, the Laker who gave up his career after testing positive for HIV.
But not on any cutesy, commercial holiday card. These wishes are being sent inside a 3-foot by 4-foot artwork splashed with acrylic images of Johnson’s career.
For several years, Johnson has enjoyed downtime at the posh Ritz in Dana Point. He was there last summer, strolling its grounds, dining in its restaurants, rapping with its employees.
“A nicer guy you’ll never meet,” says Ritz-Carlton Vice President Henry Schielein. “Totally unpretentious, kind to everyone.”
So when Johnson announced his retirement, Schielein wanted to do something, he says.
But, what? “I thought and thought about it,” Schielein says, “and I realized I have this beautiful ballroom, this huge staff--why not offer it to Magic should he ever want to use it for an AIDS fund-raiser? “
How to tell him? Ritz waiter Dean Thompson had an idea. Have a holiday card designed and painted by a local artist, get it signed by employees, and then send it off to Johnson for Christmas. Schielein could enclose a letter, telling Johnson of his offer.
“I decided to go ahead and do whatever I could to make it happen,” said Thompson, 27, an AIDS-awareness activist who works in the hotel’s Club Grill and Bar.
A few weeks ago, Thompson went looking for an artist on one of those on-a-clear-day-you-can-see-forever kind of days “Lagunatics” swear only happens in Laguna Beach.
“And I saw this woman with long, auburn hair painting outside a gallery,” Thompson says. “It reminded me of a scene in the movie ‘Dead Poets Society’ where the students are looking at a painting and Robin Williams goes over a poem about seizing the moment.”
Thompson went for the moment, he says, stepped inside the Ruth Mayer Gallery and told an employee he needed a card/painting created. Gratis .
The employee presented the idea to Mayer, a painter who specializes in land and seascapes with surrealistic color schemes.
“I was touched by Dean’s sweetness and sincerity,” says Mayer, who lives in Laguna Beach.
She’d do it.
Overnight, Mayer created a painting that portrays Johnson “with a soft sadness in his eyes,” she notes, “looking back on a few moments in his career.”
“I understand what he’s feeling; I have an incurable illness (chronic hepatitis) myself,” Mayer says.
When Thompson saw the painting, “Magic’s eyes really got me,” he says. “They look hurt but they’re saying, ‘Don’t give up.’ ”
Thompson lives by a similar code. Each year, during the Ritz-Carlton’s health fair for employees, Thompson sets up an AIDS-awareness booth, distributing information on AIDS prevention in English and Spanish to hotel employees. “I have videos, pamphlets--the works,” Thompson says.
And, yes, because of Johnson’s November pronouncement, employees were more responsive this year than ever.
“In 1992,” Thompson says, “I hope to see a mobilization of brainpower about AIDS. I think now people are learning to be aware of the risks, but I so want them to use their energy to help make a difference.”
As for Mayer, she hopes that Johnson will feel “loved” when he gets the card signed by hundreds of well-wishers. “We all love him and care deeply about what he’s going through.”
Up and coming: John and Donna Crean of Santa Ana Heights will once again turn their annual Super Bowl party into a benefit when the Coalition for Children, Adolescents & Parents stages a bash on Jan. 26 at the Crean mansion. The party will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a live auction. A stadium-style buffet will be served throughout the day. Special guests will include actors Buddy Ebsen, Jane Withers and Stan Freberg. . . . David and Julie Eisenhower will speak on “The Nixon and Eisenhower Years” Jan. 16 at the St. Jeanne de Lestonnac Auditorium in Tustin. Their appearance is part of the annual Celebrity Series staged by the Crescendo chapter of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
