Heavy Hitters : Fire and Ice Ball Draws the ‘A’ List and Nets $2.4 Million for Cancer Research

In its fourth time out, the annual Fire and Ice Ball soared into the rarefied atmosphere only a handful of black-tie galas reach.

Monday’s dinner at the Beverly Hilton reached those heights by excelling at the basics: fund raising and guest list. With a net of $2.4 million earmarked for research on breast and ovarian cancer, the ball easily ranks as one of the country’s most affluent events. This goes with a Hollywood “A” list that begins with Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas and Steven Spielberg.

“This is definitely a heavyweight event,” Sylvester Stallone said.

The added vigor at this year’s ball resulted from the addition of Jane Semel as co-chair alongside ball founder Lilly Tartikoff and Revlon CEO Ronald Perelman.

Semel’s husband, Terry, is president of Warner Bros. “This is a very powerful, committed studio that got behind Jane,” Tartikoff said. “When they decide to do something, they give 100%.”

Her husband, Brandon, added: “I think (the ball) is on a feature film budget this year.”

The Warner Bros. backing led to the all-star guest list and twice the proceeds raised last year. The $1 million-plus taken in from ticket sales and donations was matched by Perelman.

“Ron does a really wonderful thing,” said Lilly Tartikoff. “Most people don’t sponsor research. You don’t get your name on a building for doing that. But this will change the outcome of how breast cancer is treated.”

Semel said she decided to co-chair after meeting with the doctors at the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program.

“These are doctors and scientists who truly believe they will find a cure,” Semel said. “I just couldn’t let them down.”

She also didn’t keep them away from the lab for long. The evening was a model of efficiency that ended at 9:45.

It began with brief remarks by emcee Mel Gibson on a dramatic, black lacquer stage hung with red silk drapes. Dinner was then served--chicken and mashed potatoes, currently more fashionable than caviar at Hollywood parties.

Afterward, there was a three-minute video from Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spoke on the epidemic of cancer among women. This was followed by a moving short film on breast cancer narrated by Annette Bening and produced by Semel, Joel Silver and Dan Cracciolo. “I wanted to talk to the emotions of those seeing it,” Semel said. “It makes me cry every time I watch it.”

After brief remarks by Tartikoff and Semel (both praised Warner’s Marisa O’Neil for organizing the event) and the keynote talk by cancer researcher Dr. Dennis Slamon, was poet Maya Angelou, who began by singing, “When it looked like the sun wasn’t going to shine, there was a rainbow in the clouds.”

She said she’d written a poem about women “and our phenomenal natures.” She went on to say that men have phenomenal natures as well, then got a big laugh when she added: “But you will have to write your own poem.”

Following Angelou was Phil Collins, who performed a set of four songs that ended with “Groovy Kind of Love,” written by Carole Bayer Sager, who was in the audience. “I only have a half-dozen songs I can play on the piano,” said Collins, “so I picked the best four.”

Among the 1,160 guests listening were Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Paul Hogan, Steven Seagal, Mike and Judy Ovitz, Marvin and Barbara Davis, Jay Leno, Alan and Cindy Horn, Quincy Jones, Penny Marshall, Steve Tisch, Wendy and Leonard Goldberg, Sidney Poitier, Ivan Reitman, Jon Peters, Lou Pitt, Victoria Principal, David Crosby, and Warner execs Bob Daly and Rob Friedman.

At the evening’s end, Tartikoff said she wanted to “run with all that money and dump it in the scientists’ lap.”