The Simpsons Shared Happy Times in O.C.

It was one of those rare, zany nights at the refined Ritz-Carlton: Robin Leach dropped his drawers; Robert Wagner and Mike Connors sang an off-key duet, and bizarre Kiss singer Gene Simmons flashed a pic of his new baby boy all through dinner.

And right in the middle of that June, 1989, romp were South Laguna Beach residents O.J. and Nicole Simpson, smiling, snuggling and holding hands.

In fact, O.J. helped mastermind the gala that also drew celebs Jill St. John, Cheryl Ladd and Sally Struthers to the Dana Point benefit that fetched $100,000 for Camp Ronald MacDonald for Good Times, a summer haven for children with cancer.

The ballroom looked like a movie set. Gold lame panels superimposed with stars shimmered on brocade-covered walls. Gold metallic lace tablecloths, swagged and accented with nosegays of white orchids, gleamed on tables. The 300-strong crowd dined on Virginia veal entrecote and sipped a 1986 Sauvignon Blanc by Simi. Trini Lopez and Frankie Avalon performed.

Before the festivities took off, the Simpsons posed for the paparazzi. The society photograph that appeared in The Times has popped up again on television, magazines and front pages. It is a freeze-frame image that reminds us of the way they were--apparently happy, close, enjoying a celeb-packed party with friends.

Henry Schielein, then general manager of the posh resort, remembers the night. “We had a great time,” he said during a recent telephone interview. “I feel very sad. They were two wonderful people who had so much going for them, and now one is dead and one is in a terrible position.”

Schielein was among the high-profile types--actors, sports figures, business leaders--who hung out with the Simpsons in their wood-clad oceanfront home on Victoria Beach. “I saw them there many times, and they were happy--but obviously, they wouldn’t have gotten divorced if it had continued,” he said.

“She was a typical California girl--very outgoing. He was a great guy, a gentleman.”

The Simpsons’ Orange County social profile was low-key. They rarely attended local parties that drew hundreds of guests. They preferred to gather with pals in their multilevel home, dine at area restaurants or visit the pristine playground that is the Ritz-Carlton.

“They loved to sit by the Ritz-Carlton pool,” says O.J. Simpson’s good friend Bill Hall, who opened the hotel in 1984. “They danced at our nightclub, dined at our Sunday brunches, sunned on our beach, played tennis on our courts.

“In fact, when I was getting ready to open the Ritz, O.J. was a big help to me professionally. He would come down with friends, tour the property, do whatever he could for the community. He brought business to us.”

Hall and the Simpsons spent down-time together. “She taught my kids how to Boogie-board,” said Hall, who attended college with O.J. Simpson in San Francisco. “She was so warm and friendly. She just couldn’t do enough for you.”

When Simpson turned 40, Nicole planned a birthday feast for him at their favorite restaurant, Five Feet in Laguna Beach. Guests such as Al Cowlings and Marcus Allen dined on nouvelle Chinese cuisine and sang “Happy Birthday” to the “Juice.”

“They seemed very much in love,” said Five Feet owner Michael Kang. “I didn’t see any problems. O.J. was a great guy, always down to earth. At one point, he talked about me opening a restaurant in Brentwood with him.”

When they lived in Orange County, Nicole Simpson kept her house stocked with fresh flowers. Her florist: the Black Iris in Laguna Beach. As recently as Mother’s Day, O.J. Simpson purchased flowers there for Nicole and his mother.

“He ordered a dozen roses for Nicole,” says a source. “They had a condo (in South Orange County), and he gave us the combination to his garage so we could put the flowers there. I think he planned to surprise her in the morning with them. They were white roses. With O.J., it was always white flowers.”

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Mr. and Mrs. Martin, please: Best friends John Martin (CEO of Taco Bell) and Stefanie Mayer tied the knot at the Mauna Lani Hotel in Hawaii on June 16. “We shocked everybody,” Stefanie said last week. “We didn’t tell a soul.”

A very private ceremony on Mauna Lani Point, the wedding was attended by “just the two of us,” Stefanie said. “It was very romantic.”

Martin wore the traditional green leaf wedding lei on his head, and Stefanie dressed casually. “I wore black--simple pants, a body suit.” And a beautiful pikake lei around her neck.