A benefit, a chopper and arrival by La Liz

The rumors about Elizabeth Taylor were whirling as fast as the blades on the chopper that whisked her from L.A. to the gala. “I hear she isn’t going to make an appearance tonight because she broke a rib when she got off the helicopter,” said one guest at Art for AIDS II at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point. “She’s broken her foot,” said another. “She can only eat soft food,” ventured yet another.

Reality check: La Liz had broken her foot during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. And, suffering from a nasty cold, she was feeling a little iffy about leaving her cushy hotel suite to give a speech at the benefit that raised $230,000 for Aids Services Foundation Orange County and the Laguna Art Museum. But, hey, Gov. Gray Davis had proclaimed it Elizabeth Taylor Day (for her work on behalf of AIDS research). So, with some firm nudging from good friend and event co-chairman Arnold Klein, La Liz was brought into the hotel ballroom in a wheelchair pushed by her escort, L.A. businessman Brad Freeman.

After gingerly making her way up the stairs to the stage, Taylor told about 600 guests at the Feb. 8 gala that if not for Klein, she might be dead. “I think he’s the most brilliant doctor in the world. He has helped save my life,” the screen legend said of the Beverly Hills dermatologist-to-the-stars, who just days earlier had been sued along with Botox-maker Allergan Inc. by movie producer Mike Medavoy and his wife, Irena. “He’s supposed to be a dermatologist, but he’s so much more. I cannot tell you how many times he has seen me and said, ‘Elizabeth! Off to the hospital!’ ”

And then Taylor delivered the kind of impassioned speech for which she has become famous: “Every day is filled with threats ... but the reality is, we are in the middle of one of the worst threats, global AIDS,” she said. “As of January, 42 million people worldwide are affected. In 1984, I made a vow to myself and a vow to God to do something. Together, we will!”

Earlier, about 70 partygoers -- who’d paid a premium $2,000 per ticket -- dined in a private hotel chamber that they hoped would be graced by Taylor. But her chair at the circular table at Club 19 remained empty as her would-be dinner partners Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Carrie Fisher, Penny Marshall and Tom Petty enjoyed filet of beef and chocolate mousse at tables topped with roses and silver candelabras. (Also seated at the celebrity table was Klein, who spent most of his dinner dialing up Taylor on his cell phone, encouraging her to show up.)

“We can’t do enough for AIDS,” Beatty said. “And I think the country is waking up to that.” Added Bening: “I think what President Bush said in his State of the Union address about [helping AIDS patients in the U.S., Africa and the Caribbean] was a wake-up call for our country. In our community, we’ve been dealing with AIDS for a long time. The fact that the rest of the country is going to become more aware of it through the president’s efforts is a great thing.”

His brother-in-law died of AIDS, Petty said, so he and his wife try to be as active as possible on behalf of AIDS research and patient services. “We do as much as we can,” he said.