Auld Acquaintances Aren’t Forgotten at Peltason Party

J ust in case anyone was thinking about getting choked up at his farewell party on Saturday night, UC Irvine Chancellor and soon-to-be University of California President Jack Peltason began his speech with a gag: “I’ve been looking around here at beautiful Casa Pacifica, and it’s so wonderful, I think I’ve changed my mind.”

Reminding about 200 guests--a think-tank of a crowd that included top-notch educators and prominent Orange County businessmen--that he was “not leaving, but expanding (my) responsibility,” Peltason said he was probably smart enough to become UC president because 46 years ago he was smart enough to choose Suzanne Peltason for a wife.

Earlier, during the poolside reception at the San Clemente spread that was once President Richard Nixon’s Western White House, Suzanne Peltason said she didn’t feel the couple was leaving Irvine. “We’ll be back so much,” she said, noting that their new home would be located in Kensington in the Berkeley Hills area. “We’re leaving everything here--clothes, furniture--we want to be able to go back and forth.”

During the gala (undeniably this summer’s power party)--staged by Casa Pacifica owner Gavin Herbert and Ken Khachigian and William Shepherd--guests helped themselves to grilled boneless breast of chicken and asparagus with basil-mint dressing as they characterized Peltason’s tenure at the university.

“One of his strong suits has been his ability to bring the community into the campus,” said Meredith Khachigian, chairman of the UC Board of Regents. “He has been a master at establishing a relationship between the two. The campus benefits and so does the community.”

Said Dr. Sherwood Rowland, the UC Irvine atmospheric chemist who recognized the problem of stratospheric ozone depletion: “He may be self-deprecating but he is wise and very effective and gets the job done.”

According to his widow, founding UCI Chancellor Daniel Aldrich was ecstatic when Peltason was chosen as his successor. Jean Aldrich, who attended the party with her daughter, Elizabeth Toomey, said: “He knew Jack was perceptive, a genius who was a top-notch administrator. He has led the university through a tremendous growth period.”

Said former Nixon speech writer Khachigian: “Jack brought UC Irvine his wide range of experience from the University of Illinois. He is political in the best sense of the word; he has a wide range of contacts all over the academic and business world. What great attributes for UC Irvine and the University of California.”

Asked what he was going to miss most about UC Irvine, Peltason said: “It’s hard to single out anything. It’s been a wonderful place to live--so beautiful and comfortable.”

Of his accomplishments, Peltason said: “You never finish. A university is never finished, it’s always becoming. That’s the great thing about it. For me, it’s been like running a relay race. Dan Aldrich gave me the baton and I ran with it a while.”

Also among guests: Dr. Arnold Beckman; Roberta and Dr. Michael Berns; Renee and Henry Segerstrom; Janice and Roger Johnson; Dr. Walter Henry and Maria del Carmen Calvo; Charles and Nora Hester; Mary Roosevelt; Elaine and Bill Redfield; Dick and Marilyn Hausman; Clifford Heinz; Les and Mary Earle McCraw; Tom and Marilyn Nielsen; Irwin and Gloria Schick Gellman, and Irvine Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan.

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Jambalaya bash: Guests guzzled jambalaya jumpers (from an old Jamaican recipe), sampled the specialties of local restaurateurs and bid on auction items into the wee hours at South Coast Repertory’s end-of-season auction on Saturday night.

Highlighting the live auction, held on stage in the theater, was the chance for party-goers to bid on a ride in SCR artistic director Martin Benson’s open cockpit Hatz biplane. Strutting on stage to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me,” a be-goggled Benson told the crowd: “Bid high and we’ll fly high in the sky . . . slip the surly bonds! A parachute will be within easy reach.”

The lucky bidder was June Wankier, who anted up a cool $1,400 for the chance to sail with Benson and dine at the Corona airport cafe (“ Great chili,” Benson piped).

Greeting the crowd was gala chairman Phil Martin, who thanked guests for supporting SCR’s Annual Fund, beneficiary of the bash. (Monies in the Annual Fund are used to close the gap between the theater’s earned income and operating expenses.) Net benefit proceeds were estimated at $50,000. Arden Flamson was honorary chairwoman. Also on the committee: Jim Klein, Marti Klein, Lorie Porter, Dawna Farrar, Ann Winthrop, Janice Hyer, Cathy McLarand, Catherine Thyen, Barbara Sloate, Noddie Weltner, Susan Shusko and Joyce Justice.

On July 25, SCR will stage “Una Noche del Teatro,” a comedy and jazz fest that will benefit the theater’s Hispanic playwright and neighborhood outreach programs.

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Pageant of the Masters: Actress Meredith MacRae was among guests at last week’s Pageant of the Masters kickoff party held at Hotel Laguna. (The pageant is at the Irvine Bowl in Laguna Beach through Aug. 30)

“I love the pageant,” said MacRae, daughter of the late musical comedy star Gordon MacRae. “Never miss it. There’s nothing like it in the world. In fact, it seems like I’m always in Orange County. The shopping here is terrific.”

Joining MacRae at her beachside table were good friends Gail DiCorsi and Mary Dell Barkouras, a celebrity fashion consultant who helps MacRae plan her wardrobe. (“She changed my life,” MacRae confided. “I used to never think about clothes. . . . People could just know me for my mind. But I’ve learned that it’s very satisfying to be well put together.”)

Also among guests was Jo Caines, an exec with KOCE television. “Tonight I asked myself: ‘Why do I come to the pageant every year?’ ” Caines said. “I guess I’m hooked, afraid I’ll miss something.”

Said husband Ken: “I like the pageant because it fills my heart with good feelings. . . . It’s a creative undertaking in a destructive world.” Also among guests was Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of the Pageant of the Masters and “Tony the Tiger” of television commercial fame.

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Fantasy Island party: The Juvenile Connection Program, a referral service for disadvantaged children, will be the beneficiary of a “Fantasy Island” gala planned for Aug. 22 at Newport Center Fashion Island. At a recent cocktail party at the Four Seasons hotel in Newport Beach, gala committee members announced the party would be part of Newport Center’s 25th anniversary celebration. The Islanders, a women’s social group that lunches quarterly at the Four Seasons, will preside over the party. Kitty Leslie and Ann Stern are gala co-chairwomen. Tickets are $75 (for a buffet dinner catered by Newport Center eateries) and $125 (for a sit-down meal catered by the Four Seasons hotel.) I. Magnin will stage a fashion show and the Platters and Coasters will entertain.