UnMStakable

For this year’s Race to Erase MS event at the Century Plaza Hotel, the dress code might as well have been “personal ad.” The 1,300 guests were comfortable in everything from jeans to ball gowns, not to mention the occasional tiara.

The random Beverly Hills princess notwithstanding, the sparkly headgear was the crowning glory of the 2005 theme for Nancy Davis’ 12th annual fundraiser on April 22: “rock and royalty,” perhaps fitting given Davis’ aristocratic lineage in the charity world. Her mother, Barbara Davis, throws the Carousel Ball, the uber-gala on the local social calendar, and both mother and daughter are known for scoring football fields’ worth of silent-auction items and gift bags that are practically nuclear-powered.

But there was at least one bona fide royal wandering among the autographed scripts and certificates for Botox sessions beckoning from the silent-auction tables: Catherine Oxenberg, daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and the wife of Casper Van Dien. The couple costar in the new unscripted Lifetime TV series “I Married a Princess.”

They joined other familiar faces modeling in a fashion show for Tommy Hilfiger, Davis’ longtime gala co-chair, whose sister has multiple sclerosis. The two teamed up to raise money for research two years after Davis, in 1991, was diagnosed with the disease, which affects the central nervous system.

With $30 million raised over the years -- $2.7 million from this event alone -- the Nancy Davis Center Without Walls program has funded the work of scientists at seven institutions, including Harvard, Yale and USC. The program requires researchers to share their findings, distinguishing the projects from those sponsored by drug companies, which typically require scientists to keep their work proprietary.

“I have great admiration for her,” said Digby Diehl, who is working with Davis on “Lean on Me,” her memoir of her fight against MS, which is scheduled for publication by Simon & Schuster next spring. “Not only did she say, ‘I’ve done this for myself,’ but she said, ‘Now I’m going to take on this disease, and I’m going to beat it.’ ”

Davis told the crowd that the past year had truly been a mixed blessing for her. In September she lost her father, Marvin Davis, the billionaire and former oilman who bought and sold 20th Century Fox in the 1980s. But days later, at 47, she gave birth to twin girls. “The sharp contrast of giving life and losing life has reenergized my commitment,” she said.

Teri Garr, who in 2002 went public with her battle against the disease, warmed up the room with a little MS stand-up: “MS is such a popular disease that people say they have it so they can get the medical marijuana.”

Then she gently lowered the boom on an entertainment industry that filters out people who don’t meet its physical standards. “I assume a lot of you work in show business,” she said. “When was the last time you hired someone who might not be as healthy as yourself? Let’s be leaders in employing people who may not be physically perfect.”

Earth, Wind and Fire joined benefit stalwart Natalie Cole in entertaining the crowd after a live auction emceed by Bill Maher, Tony Danza and Tom Arnold, which included a winning bid of $320,000 for one of the first Ferrari F430 Spiders available in the U.S.