Scene & Heard: ‘Race to Erase MS’ gala

There were masses of jewelry, handbags, celebrity memorabilia and dream trips up for bid at the 17th annual “Race to Erase MS” gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. But for actress Linda Gray of “Dallas” fame, the 13-week-old Maltese puppy and the Lamborghini were standouts.

And they were standouts when it came time for the bidding as well. The sports car was purchased for $210,000; the Maltese, for $9,000 (with two tickets to “Dancing With the Stars” thrown in ).

Presented by Nancy Davis, daughter of the late industrialist Marvin Davis, and Tommy Hilfiger, the May 7 event originated after Davis had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “I was told my life as I knew it was over,” Davis said. “There were no drugs available and I was told the best I’d be able to do was go home and use the TV remote.”

Instead she formed the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis’ Center Without Walls, a collaboration of top researchers seeking a cure for the disease.

The invitation read “Dress: Rock,” in honor of the night’s entertainers: Avril Lavigne, Heart and Dr. Hollywood. But as usual in Los Angeles, guests chose their own code and wore gowns, cocktail dresses, skinny pants or whatever the spirit moved them to pull from their closets.

Among the 1,200 guests were Anne Heche, Gilles Marini, Drake Bell, Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Apolo Ohno, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Loni Anderson with her daughter Deidra Hoffman, also battling MS. “It seemed like a good way to start the Mother’s Day weekend,” Hoffman said.

The evening netted an estimated $2 million for the organization.

LACMA Costume Council

If your organization supports the Costume and Textiles Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the site of a luncheon and private tour takes on added significance.

On May 4, that site was Dawnridge, the Beverly Hills home made famous by designer Tony Duquette and now owned by protégé and business partner Hutton Wilkinson, who opened his doors to the Costume Council’s Fashion Circle.

Wilkinson is the author of “More is More: Tony Duquette,” about the home’s original owner, who — as fashion superstar John Galliano wrote in the book’s foreword — would “break the rules, mix things up, add spice and adventure and the unexpected.” That philosophy permeated every corner of the house and gardens.

Wilkinson said he purchased the house following the death of Duquette — a legendary designer of interiors, movie sets, costumes and jewelry — “to save its life.” He described the décor as “natural baroque” and “Hollywood chinoiserie — Tony’s idea of the Far East,” meaning shell-encrusted obelisks, antler-framed mirrors, multiple pagodas, sculptures of the Buddha, near-life-size painted-wood elephants, lanterns, birdcages and Duquette’s own watercolors, once displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

“He liked to say he was an artist/designer,” Wilkinson said. “He said the artist part fed his soul; the designer part paid the bills.”

After discovering the treasures of the sunburst-paneled drawing room, the dining room dotted with monkey head sculptures and the pavilion of plastic insulation painted as 18th century Chinese tiles, the group settled beside the koi pond in the lower garden for lunch. Costume Council chair Joni Smith joined Fashion Circle chair Donna Wolff and others, including Judith Krantz, Liza-Mae Carlin, Sheila Weisman, Marcella Ruble, Lois Howard, Kathy Offenhauser, Betty Leonard and LACMA curator Sharon Takeda.

ellen.olivier@society-news.com