The Party Itself Was the Star : Fund-raiser: The event, which benefited the American Heart Assn., was a decorator’s dream with a ‘50s theme.

Supporters of the local chapter of the American Heart Assn. twisted the night away Saturday in a pink-trimmed ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach. The party, with a “Fabulous Fifties” theme, drew 320 black-tie guests at $225 each, raising an estimated $135,000. Proceeds will be used for basic research in heart disease and educational programs for schoolchildren, said Gregg Pane, president of the Orange County chapter and assistant director of emergency services at UCI Medical Center. Pane said most of the money will be used locally.

Dressed for Social Success

Sure, the guests were dolled-up and glitzed-out--that almost goes without saying at high-ticket galas on the sequin coast. But the dressed-up star of this party was the party itself--a more-is-better decorator’s dream, topped with an hour-plus stage show of ‘50s hits.

“That’s just how I do things,” explained Heidi Miller, the 37-year-old founder of the Heidi’s yogurt shop empire and chairwoman of the event. “I’m a detail person.”

Breezing between the press party, auction tables and ballroom in a cloud of fuchsia chiffon, Miller mixed and mingled energetically. All around were the decoration details she and her committee pulled together: columns of pink and black balloons; cutouts of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean; pint-size Betty Boops, cardboard 45s, paper jukeboxes, handfuls of candy.

The dining room, lit pink, was awash in symbols of the decade--from the poodle skirts and pompons on the “Tunnel of Love” centerpieces to the inflatable ’59 Cadillacs propped in the corners and the soda shop ambience of the stage. After dinner, a 30-member troupe from Chapman College performed as impersonations of the decade’s pop stars, including Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Leslie Gore.

On the Scene

Newport Beach car dealer Lee West was given the 1991 “Lifetime Achievement” award. Among underwriters were Patty and Jim Edwards, Eva and Ralph Mann, and Lee-Ann and Tom Siffermann.

Committee members included Dawn Brewster, Mimi Crosson, Jane DeNis, Sally DeYoung, Dafri Estes, Betsy Forman, Karen Hall, Ken Horio, Cindy Kwak, Tina Schafnitz and Candy Steigler.