‘Having Wonderful Time in Salzburg . . . ‘

We’re jealous, particularly after receiving Jennifer Diener’s letter and photos about festivities surrounding supporters of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Salzburg, Austria, last week.

The co-chairman (with her husband, Royce) of the Salzburg Celebration Committee noted, “Having a wonderful time. Peter Sellars spoke to our group today about the opera we will see tonight. L.A. Phil had a great concert with Esa-Pekka Salonen last night. Weather is hot but sunny and beautiful. Austrians very charming and friendly. Music and schlepping to parties are great. . . . XXX Jennifer (on the fly to get dressed for opera!)”

Judging by the photos, Donna and Joe LaBonte (president of the Philharmonic board), Ron and Judith Rosen, Dr. Burton and Kit Smith, Eunice and Hal David, John and Joan Hotchkis, and Bob and Pam Weingarten also seemed to be having one wonderful time.

GREATEST KUDOS: Everyone is ecstatic over the 10th anniversary celebration in Monaco of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA earlier this month. It raised more than $1 million. Prince Rainier III, Prince Albert and Princess Caroline hosted the outdoor concert and reception at the palace, followed by a late-night supper aboard John Kluge’s yacht Virginian docked in Monte Carlo harbor.

Two nights later, Frank Sinatra headlined the Red Cross Gala at Monte Carlo’s Sporting Club (designed by Prince Rainier). Barbara Sinatra chaired the event. The Royal Family attended all the events, as did Luisa and Roger Moore, Veronique and Gregory Peck, and Kluge and his daughter, Samantha.

Also there was Celia Lipton Farriss of Palm Beach, co-executive producer of the ninth annual American Cinema Awards tribute to Frank Sinatra, Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Valenti Sept. 12 at the Beverly Hilton. David Gest produces. Sinatra will receive the Distinguished Life Achievement in Film and Music Award, and Goldberg the Distinguished Achievement in Film. Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, receives the Gloria Swanson Humanitarian Award.

Ol’ Blue Eyes is really jumping: Five nights later, Sept. 17, he and Shirley MacLaine open a two-day engagement at the Greek Theater.

STARS: Monday at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, about 400 watched fashion designer Adolfo make a special appearance to showcase his fall couture in a show presented by Saks Fifth Avenue. At the luncheon, chaired by Della Koenig with honorary chair Marcia Wilson Hobbs, the guests convened to see businesswoman/community stalwart Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson receive the Golda Meir Fellowship Award from the Women’s Committee, Builders of Scopus of the Hebrew University.

Zena Harman, international chair of the Builders, flew in from Israel to bestow the honor.

Enjoying: Barbara Davis, Cornelia Guest, Rhonda Fleming, Frances Bergen, Fiorenza Courtright, Aida Gray, Lee Minnelli, Barbara Pauley Pagen, Cyd Charisse, Virginia and Gerald Oppenheimer, Carol Burnett, Eva Gabor, Ruth Roman, Barbara Rush, Mary Ann Mobley and Gary Collins, Dolores Hope and Rosemarie Stack.

PLAUDITS: Television executive Charles D. Young is exciting interest in the 50th reunion of the 69th graduating class--the World War II class of 1942--of old Los Angeles High School (founded in 1873). “It takes priority over everything,” he insists. The event is at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in young-at-heart Manhattan Beach. Missing chums have been urged to respond to Reunion, c/o 6226 Damask Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90056.

FALL SEASON: The social scene for September is heating up. Gloria Stewart has agreed to be honorary chairman of the Beastly Ball on Sept. 12 for the trustees of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. and their favorite furry friends, the zoo animals that get “auctioned” under a starry night at the zoo.

As always, the occasion is zoorifically casual. The stalwarts who have made the ball one of the city’s consistently outstanding fund-raisers are involved--Helen Maher, Sue Keck, Camron Cooper (GLAZA chairman), Peter McCoy and Betty White Ludden. More are GLAZA president Dr. Susan Rice, Priscilla Tamkin, Mark Goldstein, Margarita Hernandez, Lloyd Levitin and Edward Robinson. . . .

The same evening, Barlow Respiratory Hospital celebrates its 90th year with a black-tie event at the Barlow Villa in Sierra Madre. Descendants of the first families of Los Angeles instrumental in the success of the institution--many of them from the Pasadena area--will be saluted. . . .

Conclusion of the UCLA Athletics Campaign will be celebrated Sunday with a summery buffet for 400 by Somerset Catering. The event takes place beneath a canopy at the J. D. Morgan Intercollegiate Athletic Center and Gardens. The entrance will be a football goal post.

The nice part about the event is that it celebrates exceeding the $25-million goal by $5 million. National campaign chair Stanley Wainer, chair of Wyle Laboratories; football coach Terry Donahue, and Chancellor Charles E. Young are expected to stage the major toasts. They’ll acknowledge a donor wall with 90 plaques of oak and copper to recognize those who have given $50,000 and more.

CONVENTION FEEDBACK: Arco’s Lod Cook chaired the Republican National Convention Gala in Houston with Southlanders in abundance: California First Lady Gayle Wilson, Rock (who just resigned as deputy secretary of Commerce) and Marna Schnabel, Bob Tuttle, Suzanne Marx, Robert and Kelly Day, Charles Bakaly, and Ambassador to Jamaica Glen Holden and his wife, Gloria. . . .

Los Angeles bandleader Manny Harmon has provided the music for Republican conventions since 1956; he made the music for the eighth confab with his 22-piece orchestra last week in Houston. The Friar’s Club in Beverly Hills recently honored fellow Friar Harmon with a roast in celebration of his 60th anniversary in the music industry.