No Magic in L.A.

The first in a series of glitzy fund-raisers benefiting the Magic Johnson Foundation was canceled last week, less than a week before the lavish black-tie event was to take place at the Sports Club L.A. The stated reason: low ticket sales.

“People at the Sports Club get to see Earvin on a daily basis. Maybe that was it, or maybe ticket prices were a little too much,” theorizes Amy Edelson, director of public relations for Swatch, the company that was underwriting the Sept. 11 event.

A Sept. 27 fund-raiser for the foundation at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Chicago will go on, according to Edelson, but a similar New York event the following day has been postponed indefinitely.

The $250-per-head Los Angeles event was to have been a lavish affair, with gaming tables, a dozen buffets and an enormous discotheque, staged in the Sports Club’s basketball gymnasium.

The Chicago fund-raiser is almost sold out. Johnson will be there, along with such celebrity guests as Bo Jackson and Jim Belushi. One of the auction items will be a chance to shoot some on-the-spot hoops with Johnson.

The watch manufacturer had hoped to raise $1 million with its series of fund-raising parties. Despite the cancellation of the L.A. event, Swatch will contribute its underwriting fees to the charity--a sum Edelman estimated at “well over $100,000.”

The Johnson Foundation raises money to fund AIDS care, education and prevention, particularly among minorities and adolescents.

Everyone’s a Critic

This week’s strangest press release trumpeted a new biography of the British rock star Morrissey. Rather than concentrating on quotes from reviews lauding the work, however, Omnibus Press noted happily:

“Since the book’s publication, Morrissey has made death threats against (author) Johnny Rogan in some of the most popular music magazines.”

Is this the new Salman Rushdie school of self-promotion?

A Million Pardons

Oops. Despite our reputation for always being de la mode, your Social Climes staff got it wrong when we described Leah Feldman’s new book in last Sunday’s Buzz column.

The correct title is “Dress Like a Million.”