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Children’s
Hearing Makes
Marty Richards its Honoree
THESE
really are the halcyon days of glamour, with the ladies in their designer
gowns and glittering jewels, and men striking some individuality with
colored ties, hankies, cravats and boutonnières. It’s a glam
world out there, and there are so many people who enjoy it.
CHILDREN’S
Hearing Institute is only in its third year, but already this party is
joining the “best, must go to, hot” event of the year. Famed
furrier Dennis Basso weaved his special brand of glamour, and all
his friends came. In fact, there was a lineup on the sidewalk of
Cipriani's 42nd Street with everyone wanting to see who all the stars and
celebrities were.
The
delicious Susan Lucci, drop dead glam in a draped purple Grecian
gown, was on the arm of her hubby, but Leba Sedaka, in dazzling
emeralds, came sans Neil.
The
night’s honoree was Mr. Broadway – Marty Richards. Everyone
came because they love him so much.
Marty
received the Jule Styne Humanitarian Award. Jule’s widow, Margaret
Styne, led the standing ovation. Broadway legend Chita Rivera
was there to cheer on her old friend, along with Marty’s young niece Casey
Johnson, who is fast becoming one of the young beauties to watch on
the social scene.
Joy
Behar was here again
(perhaps Christie's should give her an auctioneers job?) Reigning
publicity queen Denise Rich stopped traffic and photographers on
42nd Street, and was beset by the crowd of paparazzi inside. Good
natured by all the turmoil, Denise joined old pals Dennis and Marty, and
later Susan Lucci for all the flashing cameras.
How
do you turn a gothic bank building into a candlelit fantasy?
Create
drop dead floral displays (white again – there must be a theme here).
They were huge and high, but candles were placed inside them. But once the
candles burned down they were setting the flowers alight. There was
a lot of drama at the tables that evening.
A
great deal of New York society was on hand to celebrate with Marty:
Michele
and Larry Herbert, Michael Cominotti, Somers White and Jonathan
Farkas, Francine LeFrak and hubby Rick Friedberg.
Also Michele and Frank Rella, famed style-setter Colin
Cowie. CHI board chairman Leonard Boxer with wife Enid
had just scored the BIGGEST real estate deal in history that morning.
He had closed on the sale of the World Trade Center for client Larry
Silverstein, so his table was having a truly fabulous time.
The
list went on and on and on for almost 500+ more. Of course, the goodie
bags were divine: faux fur Dennis Basso bags, choc a block full of
CDs, makeup and other goodies.
Then
I had to speed off to a little cocktail party Laura Steinberg was
hosting for TRH Prince and Princess Charles De Bourbon Deux Siciles.
It was private, so I can’t talk about it here, but it was glamorous and
filled to the brim with names you all know.
March of Dimes Creates
Glam World at Beauty Ball
THE
venerable March of Dimes created the Beauty Ball some 20 years ago for the
beauty, fashion and retailing industries. Almost every event reached
a million dollars. This one reached $1,500,000, and I bet they’re still
counting.
It
was glam, it was fab, it was over the top fun! Bring some of the
world’s most beautiful women together to celebrate a friend, stir in
some magic, and voila – the Beauty Ball at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria.
John
Demsey of M*A*C*
cosmetics was this year’s major honoree. And, befitting a man who
has worked for some of the major beauty houses in the country, everyone
showed, including Leonard and Evelyn Lauder (M*A*C* is one
of their brands).
Also
there was the beautiful Della Rounick, a former fashion model,
artist, businesswoman, and dear friend of John.
The
beautiful Hilton girls, Paris and Nicky and mother Kathy
provided some of the magic. They were confections in white, and brought
the photographers to a stop!
But
the big showstopper of the evening was the loud, whistle blowing entrance
of 30 super glam transvestites (transgender, trans-whatever because I
honestly don’t know).
Miss
Divine was there in all
her pink haired glory. Beautiful young women, handsome young men, and
outrageously primped up queens. They were charged with moving the
700 guests into dinner, to be seated, and begin the program! It was
tough, but boy were they bossy, and they got the job done.
It
was amazing to see so many famous names stunned by the person bossing them
into their seat. M*A*C* had one the room up proud. A
confection of white flowers and tablecloths, and incredible white masks
graced the tables.
Of
course, I couldn’t forget the goodie bags! They are the best part
of the Beauty Ball, as every major industry player wants to outdo their
competitor. The bags bulged with about $500+ of fabulous makeup,
perfumes and other goodies. A fantastic time was had by all.
Boys
Town of Italy Honors
Grace Mirabella, Linda Dano
AT
Boys Town of Italy at the Waldorf-Astoria, the magical Peter
Duchin and his orchestra reminded so many people of the glory days of
his father, when Eddy Duchin ruled the Waldorf-Astoria, and all of
New York society.
Boys
Town has for some 50 years been one of the premier social galas for
Italians, Italian-Americans, and everyone who loves Italy. Bowers of
white flowers formed a bower for guests to walk through. A silent
auction, which netted some $150,000, and a boisterous live auction capped
the evening’s fun.
Rosanna
Scotto, co-anchor of
Fox’s 10 o’clock news, played hooky for the evening She
had a date with her favorite man, hubby Louis Ruggiero.
There were nuns, priests and brothers all over, and they were having as
much fun as the rest of us!
The
ballroom was a confection of fragrant white flowers towering over the
tables, which were decorated with elegant packages for the women, and
small shopping bags filled for the men. As always, it’s the goodie
bags that get you!
Supermodel
Carmen dell Orrefice, who will soon celebrate almost 60 years in
the business, and must surely be the most beautiful 70-year-old woman in
the whole wide world, was on hand to spread her glamour.
Not
to be outdone in the glamour department is the ever-glorious Arlene
Dahl, a Technicolor queen from the magic days of ruling MGM studios.
Joy Behar was mistress of ceremonies and kept the proceedings fast
paced.
Soap
queen Linda Dano was one of the honorees, along with publishing
giant Grace Mirabella. Two corporate biggies, Vince
Giardano and Joe Lombardi, were also honored.
Tom
Postilli,
star of Sinatra, entertained the troops. If you closed your eyes
tightly, and danced cheek to cheek with your partner, you could almost
believe you were listening to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.
The
Hilton Girls spread their youthful charm again, and cuddled with a star of
the show, a winsome Lhaso Apso donated by Le Chien. And a
fabulous evening was had by all.
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