Sometimes Busy Is Best

When Michael Fuchs bowed out from appearing at a Sept. 11 ACLU Foundation of Southern California gala fund-raising dinner honoring him, his busy schedule as the new head of Time Warner’s music unit was cited in a press release as the reason.

No doubt Fuchs has been preoccupied at the world’s biggest music company, which has been rocked by chaos and executive firings since he took over three months ago.

Fuchs, who was named to head the entertainment giant’s music group after successfully running Time Warner’s Home Box Office unit, has been revamping the music operation’s executive ranks, firing such top executives as Warner Music’s domestic chairman, Doug Morris, and Morris’ chief operating officer, Melvyn R. Lewinter. Both filed wrongful-termination lawsuits.

Sources have said the next top executive Fuchs is forcing out is Warner Bros. Records Chairman Danny Goldberg, who was a top lieutenant to Morris.

Still, the foundation’s “Torch of Liberty” dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel will go on, with director Penny Marshall to be honored. And to make up for Fuchs’ absence, Time Warner has vowed to guarantee that the ACLU Foundation--which provides funds for ACLU legal battles--meets the dinner’s fund-raising goals.

One side effect of Fuchs’ decision to bow out is that it will avoid what had the potential to be an awkward situation. Goldberg, whose departure Fuchs is expected to announce as early as this week, is the current president of the ACLU Foundation, a post officials there say he’s held for more than five years.

Different Orbits

Now there’s a flip side to Planet Hollywood, the star-studded chain of restaurants whose partners include actors in some of Hollywood’s most testosterone-rich movies. Among the investors are Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

An ad in the latest New Age publication, Whole Life Times, advertises “Planet Organica,” a “100% organic” restaurant in Santa Monica.

Don’t Claim the Beach Boys

California bashing over the past few years hasn’t stopped the state from exporting a taste of its culture to the East Coast.

Recently, a chain of California Smoothie shops selling frothy fruit drinks has sprouted up around New Jersey, offering such beverages as the Peach Malibu, the Big Sur Bellybuster and a line of San Andreas Shakes.

Executives at the Wayne, N.J.-based firm won’t discuss their strategy, but the company appears to have gone beyond simply borrowing from the state’s culture. Its signs feature a trademark symbol next to the name San Andreas Shakes.

Briefly. . .

A whimsical sign at a car-buying firm near Inglewood reads “Stupid Appraiser on Duty.” . . . Clearance sale: A United Airlines in-flight gift catalogue offers for $299.95 an autographed baseball signed by basketball star Michael Jordan, who gave up his unsuccessful quest to play baseball.