08/29/2008 - Puppy love is where it’s at during charity auctions, as we experienced the other night at Hollywood’s jazz boite, Catalina Bar and Grill. A fierce bidding war ensued for a blue-blooded King Charles spaniel that, says PR maven Jeffrey Lane, “were it a human, the pup would be a British royal – I assure you his pedigree will be in demand to sire future blue-bloods.” Fred (Mr. Beverly Hills) Hayman battled Wallis Annenberg, who presides over the Annenberg Foundation

and is funding the soon-to-bebuilt Wallis Annenberg Cultural Center in the old Beverly Hills Post Office building. Winning bid of $50,000 came from Wallis, while the other auction item, a Lawrence Schiller photo of Marilyn Monroe popping her head out of a pool fetched $3,500. The evening raised $150,000.

Michael Feinstein and Alan Bergman (Photo: Maxine Picard)

Michael Feinstein charmed all with his “memory lane” remarks before crooning those haunting, known and little-known songs by our Oscar winning lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman. He was followed by Alan, wowing the crowd with heartfelt interpretations of Windmills of Your Mind and other classics that we look forward to listening to for the rest of our lives. Alan proves, as have other artists of a certain age, that it’s heart and soul and not years that matter with performing. “Like Sinatra, Alan can turn

a 32-bar song,” says Quincy Jones, “into a three-act play.” Jim Casey, president and CEO of Integrated Wealth Management hosted and underwrote the evening of cocktails, dinner and entertainment that benefited the Deane F. Johnson Alzheimer’s Research Center at UCLA, founded by his wife Kate Edelman Johnson. Of concern to Kate are Alzheimer sufferers without transportation, and Jim, not one to overlook a necessity, surprised Kate with keys to a new Chevy van to make that travel available. Celebrating birthdays were Kate and Valerie Harper, who’ll be taking her Pasadena Playhouse hit, Looped, an homage to the inimitable Tallulah Bankhead, to Broadway. Presiding over the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, which also benefited from the event, JoBeth Williams reminded, “We are there for out-of-work actors without basic necessities such as rent money. As we were for Hilary Swank who was living in her car, and we help those without health insurance, as well as those facing catastrophic illnesses.”

Jim Casey, JoBeth Williams, Elliot Gould, Dihann Carrol, Valerie Harper and Marcia Smith
(Photo: Maxine Picard)

Wining and dining were the foundation’s executive director Marcia Smith, UCLA Medical Center’s Dr. Jeff Cummings, Loni Anderson with son Quentin Reynolds and husband Bob Flick, Joy and Regis Philbin, Diahann Carroll, Linda Gray, Michele Lee with Dr. Stan Frileck, Arthur Cohen with Lynne Rothman, Maj and Larry Hagman, celebrating the 14th year of his liver transplant, Faye and Frank Mancuso, USC theatre major India Irving with beau Mario Rivelli, Elliot Gould, Roslyn Kind, Tony Cacciotti, Donna Mills, Leba and Neil Sedaka, Lorna Luft, Anne Archer and Terry Jastrow with Anne’s mom Marjorie Lord, Charlotte Rae, Debby Boone and Gabriel Ferrer, Adrienne Frantz, Jonathan Goldsmith, Nicki Micheaux, Jessie Lewis, Catherine Carol DeLuise, James Van Patten, our Beverly Hills Design & Life editor Marcia Hobbs, Carla Howard, editor of Desert Sun Magazine, and Tierney Sutton, who also performed.

Only the week before, everybody’s favorite columnist, Liz Smith, reports that strolling along Manhattan’s midtown was Michael Feinstein, who discovered a pack of books and tapes soon to be picked up by the garbage trucks. Rare tapes of fine singers, and hard-to-find books on the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein. A lady passing by was shocked that “such a famous person is pawing through garbage,” but Michael corrected her. “This isn’t trash, ma’am,” he nodded, taking home “a heap of treasures.”

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