Snubbed by the Big Guy, Parties Go On

He may be golden in Hollywood. Here, Oscar is persona non grata.

A foam-cutout attendee at earlier parties, Oscar has sent regrets to tonight’s benefits for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Assistance League of Newport-Mesa.

Only weeks after last year’s parties, charities received word from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that using a facsimile of Oscar was a no-no, say sources.

“Somebody snitched,” sniffs Liz Polo, a spokeswoman for Cystic Fibrosis. “Last year, we got a firm letter from the Academy stating we couldn’t use cutouts or the word ‘Oscar’ in association with our event.”

It is not just parties that will be missing Oscar tonight. Planet Hollywood in Santa Ana will be minus its cutout of Geena Davis in baby-blue satin holding her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “The Accidental Tourist.”

Until a few weeks ago, Davis was part of the popular eatery’s star montage. She was removed after Frank DiBella, Planet Hollywood president, was told to take her down. “Corporate has told all Planet Hollywoods to take down Geena and her Oscar,” DiBella says. “We’re going to make a new cutout of Geena without it.”

That’s show biz. And since the show must go on, the charities have organized black-tie bashes--all open to the public--in the style of the great Hollywood Party.

Planet Hollywood is expecting hundreds at its benefit for the Orange County chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. At $50 a pop, party-goers will enter the restaurant on a red carpet while Klieg lights scan the sky. A Joan Rivers look-alike will be on hand, interviewing guests.

Once inside, revelers can sip fine wines, feast from a buffet of Chicken Crunch and eyeball the movie-star memorabilia that line the walls. (A favorite is a framed note from Elvis to a girlfriend, circa 1974. It reads: “If I wasn’t tough, I wouldn’t be here. If I wasn’t gentle, I wouldn’t deserve to be here.”)

The highlight of the party is sure to be its closed-circuit hookup with Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, DiBella says.

“There will be stars at that post-Oscar party, and our guests will feel like they’re part of it. All Planet Hollywoods are hoping to hook up,” he says.

Pat Shipley of Huntington Beach, an activist on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., is helping organize the benefit. “The bottom line for me is that we’ll be making money in the fight against muscular dystrophy,” Shipley says. “We hope to make about $30,000 to help our chapter with research and patient care.”

Among guests will be MS patients Jeffrey and Scotty Brown--ages 11 and 8 respectively--of Mission Viejo. The brothers frequently appear at benefits for MS. “They love it,” says their mother, Joann. “They’re treated like kings.” For tickets, call (714) 846-5004.

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At Antonello restaurant at South Coast Plaza Village in Santa Ana, supporters of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation have planned a sit-down dinner for about 170 people at $150 per person.

The organization’s previous Oscar parties have been double that number of guests and half the price. “This year, we decided to go for an intimate party,” says Polo, who annually plans about 30 fund-raisers for CF. “We wanted glamour--a party in the style of those Swifty Lazar tossed at Spago.”

While guests watch the Academy Awards presentations on 12 television screens, white-gloved waiters will serve up a four-course repast at Antonello: roasted veal, rissoto with mushrooms and spinach, breast of chicken with rosemary and creme brulee topped with fresh berries. A silent auction--featuring items such as a stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bali--will also be on tap.

And watch for guests to be dressed to the teeth. Nieneke Hardenbol, manager of couture at Nordstrom in Costa Mesa, plans to wear a gown by designer Michael Casey of San Francisco. “If it arrives in time,” she says. Otherwise, she will don last year’s Ungaro pantsuit of gold lace pants and multicolor jacket.

“In Orange County, we can have fun, be casually elegant,” Hardenbol says. “We don’t want to appear stuffy at an Oscar party. It’s not opera!”

The now dress-up look for women? “The trousers suit,” she says. “It’s very popular with the palazzo pant and a blouson top.”

Verboten: “Beachy attire. Orange County is outdoorsy, but let’s not get carried away.”

For men? “Oh, a tuxedo--always,” she says. “There’s nothing like a man in a tux.”

For tickets, call (714) 491-1000.

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Screaming “fans” and “James Bond” seated in a new BMW roadster will set the tone for guests arriving at the “Night of Stars” celebration at Bistango restaurant in Irvine.

The $125-per-ticket benefit for the Assistance League of Newport-Mesa will also feature dinner, live and silent auctions and a big-screen viewing of the Academy Awards.

“We are honoring the stars of our community,” says event chairwoman Nina Poe of Newport Beach. “Carl and Margaret Karcher and Glen and Dotti Stillwell have done a lot for Orange County. We want to salute that.”

Getting hundreds of people to dress up on a Monday night is something of a miracle, Poe believes. “It says a lot about the Orange County community that people are willing to leave home on a work night,” she says. “We’re so grateful for that.” For tickets, call (714) 645-6929.