Civics Lessons
It was a room full of lawyers--but nobody was arguing. Nearly 800 attendees, many from the city’s top law firms, gathered to honor real estate executive Steve Soboroff and Judge William P. Hogoboom for their civic involvement at the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s annual spring dinner.
The event raised more than $850,000 for the foundation, which has been sponsoring hands-on educational programs on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in area schools for 40 years. Students were among the guests at the dinner, which included a display of their school projects ranging from the Boston Tea Party to the Nuremberg trials to Beatlemania.
Among those impressed: writer Michael Beschloss, the keynote speaker at the dinner. Beschloss, who is currently working on a history of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, admitted he was bowled over by their knowledge. “A couple of those kids knew more than I did about the assassination,” he said. “I actually got some research done here!”
Soboroff received the foundation’s Bill of Rights Award, presented by Getty Museum executive Harold M. Williams. Soboroff, president of Playa Vista and a candidate for mayor in the last election, is former president of the L.A. Recreation and Parks Commission and chairman emeritus of Big Brothers. Hogoboom received the Lloyd M. Smith Award, presented by Judge Raymond C. Fisher. Hogoboom is the retired presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Court and a former president of the foundation.
The foundation also recognized the contributions of teachers by honoring the dedication of four: Helen Doherty of Bridges Community Day School in Charter Oak; Lee Rosenthal of Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel; Glenn West of Belmont High School in L.A.; and Cheryl Greer-Davis of Chavez-Tubman High School in Compton.
Jess Marlow, host of KCET’s “Life and Times,” emceed the event at the Century Plaza Hotel May 22; Joseph A. Calabrese, John A. Kronstadt and Lester W. Olson were co-chairs.
--Patt Diroll
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Quite Relevant
Paul T. Salata, the man whose idea it was to celebrate the last player selected in the NFL draft each year--an idea that has become part of football tradition--was the honoree at a gala dinner that raised $100,000 for the Orange County chapters of Goodwill Industries and the American Red Cross.
Salata, a former football player, created “Irrelevant Week” in 1976. “The underdog didn’t get much action--and the last guy is as good as the first--so we decided to honor him,” explained Salata, who also founded the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that has raised millions for scholarships and athletic programs.
Salata received the American Tribute Award at the benefit, which began with a “Pre-Game Warm-Up” reception and entertainment by the USC Trojan Marching Band and featured a portrayal of the “four quarters” of Salata’s life--from his years at Franklin High in Los Angeles to the mid-’70s, when he created Irrelevant Week.
Guests attending the May 23 event at the Grove of Anaheim dined on filet mignon at tables crowned with T-shaped pipes-- a nod to Salata’s career as a pipeline contractor--filled with sprays of orchids. Table favors were packaged trading cards featuring photographs from Salata’s life.
“Paul is an inspiration because of the generous way he has lived,” said Dan Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries of Orange County.
Seventy-five percent of the proceeds will go toward Goodwill’s programs for the disabled; the remainder will be used for the Red Cross’ emergency disaster relief services.
--Ann Conway
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Listening to Fugard
The cast of “Sorrows and Rejoicings,” Athol Fugard’s play about a South African expatriate poet, joined with theater supporters in celebrating the show’s Los Angeles opening at the Mark Taper Forum.
Actor John Glover, who portrays the play’s lead character, Dawid, had high praise for Fugard. “Athol creates a spirit that is quite unique. It’s not just the actors, it infects everybody in the rehearsal room,” he said. “Some people believe that Dawid is more personal to him than any other role he has created. It could be intimidating if it weren’t for Athol. But, he’s so generous, I just shut up and listen.”
Fugard didn’t join the party, but Glover’s co-stars, Judith Light, Brienin Nequa Bryant and Cynthia Martells, were there on May 23 to mix it up at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Impresario Room. Light, who participated in a 100-mile AIDS trek in South Africa just before starting rehearsals, said she feels that she will be “connected to South Africa forever.”
Among the first-nighters spotted were Gina Hecht and Jason Alexander, Judith and Rene Auberjonois, Angela Bassett, Joan Van Ark and John Marshall, Mary Jo Catlett, Yvette Freeman, Richard Libertini, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash, Christina Pickles, Lawrence Pressman and Jane Wyatt.
--P.D.
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‘Turandot’ Turnout
The buzz at the party following the premiere of “Turandot” revolved around composer Luciano Berio’s new ending to Puccini’s warhorse. Some liked it; some didn’t. But with or without the new spin, “Turandot” is regarded as a benchmark for L.A. Opera. “It was in 1984, the year of the Olympics, when I appeared in the Covent Garden production of ‘Turandot’ in Los Angeles,” recalled artistic director Placido Domingo. “The opera was so well received that Peter Hemmings became general director, and that marked the real beginning of this company.”
Joining the cast at the party in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Impresario Room following the May 25 opener were Berio’s daughter, Christina; conductor Kent Nagano; and Rosemary and Milton Okun, sponsors of the production with Cherry Lane Music and the Opera League of Los Angeles. Other partygoers included Marta Domingo, Kara Fox, Leonard Green, Tara Colburn, Cat and Elisabeth Pollon, Richard Colburn, Melody and Warren Schubert, Alyce Williamson, Alicia and Ed Clark, Lenore and Bernie Greenberg, Robyn and Mel Gibson, and Noriko and Masaharu Kohno, consul general of Japan in Los Angeles.
--P.D.
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Design Matters
The plan Richard Koshalek, president of Art Center College of Design, shared is grand enough to reshape a city: “Pasadena is going to be our Oxford,” he told luncheon guests. “We’re going to define it as the ‘education city,’ and Art Center is going to be pivotal because it will become an international institution with a cross-disciplinary curriculum.”
Koshalek was addressing members of Art Center 100, a group of leading supporters of the college, gathered for their annual luncheon May 22.
His blueprint includes the implementation of a new program called Design Matters, which will encourage students to seek solutions to problems surrounding water, housing and medical care. The plan calls for collaboration with the city of Pasadena, Caltech and the Huntington Library and includes two new satellite campuses for public education: the 87,000-square-foot Dacor building on Raymond Avenue and the abandoned five-acre Pasadena power plant.
“The mayors of Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona are architects,” Koshalek said. “We intend to attract the most gifted students in the world and develop them into the creative leaders of the future.”
--P.D.
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South Africa
Actors Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood performed in playwright A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters” at a benefit for the Amy Biehl Foundation and Artists for a New South Africa. Staged at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, the May 25 event for about 200 guests included a wine reception and a post-show gathering with the stars.
The Amy Biehl Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to prevent violence in South Africa and the United States. It was created in 1993 after Biehl, an American Fulbright scholar, was stoned to death in South Africa, where she had gone to help fight apartheid.
Artists for a New South Africa is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 by Woodard, Underwood and other arts activists. It works to combat the global AIDS pandemic and provide resources and support to South Africa.
--A.C.
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Coming Up:
* Aish HaTorah will honor Kirk Douglas with its first Triumph of the Spirit award Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Tickets $500. (310) 247-7483.
* The Fifth Annual Golden Plate Awards Luncheon, Wednesday at Monrovia Holiday Inn, will focus on National Hunger Awareness Day. Tickets $36. (626) 444-6030.
* Friends of Sheba Medical Center will honor Suzanne Pleshette, Gwen Gross and Marjorie Pressman at the annual Women of Achievement Awards luncheon on Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel. Tickets $125. (310) 843-0100.
* California Design College’s 11th annual graduation fashion show gala will honor Esther Williams on Thursday at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Show tickets $50-$100; dinner $250-$500. (213) 251-3636.
* The Heart Project presents its 10th anniversary celebration, “An Evening at L.A.’s Historic Union Station,” to benefit teen art workshops, Saturday. Tickets $75. (213) 744-1404.
* Former ABC “20/20” anchor Hugh Downs and philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson will receive the 2002 ICON Awards from the UCLA Center on Aging on Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Tickets $250. (310) 794-0676.
* Circles of Life, the sixth annual fashion luncheon to benefit the St. Joseph Hospital Regional Cancer Center, takes place June 9 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Tickets $55. (714) 771-8211.
* Target a Time for Heroes, a celebrity carnival to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, will be staged from noon to 4 p.m. June 9 on Ken Roberts’ Mandeville Canyon estate. Adults $1,000; children $250. (310) 201-5033.
* The Pasadena Arts Council’s Gold Crown Awards Gala & Reunion will be June 9 at the Pasadena home of Jim Watterson and George Martin. Tickets $100. (626) 799-8886.
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Information for Social Circuits can be directed to Patt Diroll in Los Angeles or Ann Conway in Orange County. Diroll is at pattdiroll@earthlink.net or (213) 237-7144. Conway is at ann.conway@latimes.com or (714) 966-5952.