Lyonses Share Their Lighthouse; Domingo Sings for His Supper

First it was William Lyon’s classic automobile museum. Then it was John Crean’s take on Tara. Now it’s Phil Lyons’ lighthouse that has the social-set clamoring for a peek.

The Harbor Island home that sits next to billionaire Donald Bren’s double lot was up for exploring on Sunday when Mary and Phil Lyons welcomed guests to a benefit for the Assessment and Treatment Services Center in Santa Ana.

“People have such a curiosity about this place,” said Mary Lyons, a retired schoolteacher. “And we get such a wonderful response when we tell them where we live. They say, ‘Oh! So you’re the ones who live at the home with a lighthouse.”

Over the years, rumors have flown about the New England-style spread built by Ernie Kanzler, once a top aide to Henry Ford.

People thought it was haunted. That its lighthouse had been transported--piece by piece-- from Maine. That the late “Bonanza” star Dan Blocker had holed up there. Or that it was old, old, old.

“People think it’s been here forever because it has so much character,” Mary said. But the 7,500-square-foot structure was built in 1971. “Kanzler grew up in New England,” she explained, “so he wanted the house to look like it was from there. He designed the lighthouse after one he’d seen on the east coast of Canada.”

During the day, the lookout is a conversation piece for the boaters who zip around Newport Bay. But at night, flooded with light, it becomes a beacon--a landmark boaters count on.

“I know this sounds crazy,” Mary said, “the lighthouse is not really a navigational aid, but Phil and I have come to feel like it helps protect the environment.”

The Lyonses take their lighthouse so seriously they’ve joined the national Lighthouse Society. “We wanted to let them know our lighthouse was here,” Mary said.

Real estate investor Phil Lyons chuckled. “It’s a lot of responsibility,” he said. “But somebody’s got to keep the ships from crashing at sea.”

Domingo Dines Out: Where did tenor Placido Domingo dine on Saturday night following his final performance of “The Girl of the Golden West” at Segerstrom Hall?

At What’s Cooking? the Newport Beach bistro belonging to plastic surgeon George Luhan and his wife, Lucy.

Along with opera buffs, Center VIPs, and restaurant regulars, Domingo and his wife, Marta, enjoyed an intimate supper that began at midnight with grilled eggplant cooked up “envelope style” (stuffed with grilled shrimp and fresh tomatoes) and ended at 3 a.m. with strawberry Charlotte (fresh berries and almond cream layered with Lady Fingers soaked in Grand Marnier).

What came between will keep the arts set buzzing for months. For starters, the chance to schmooze with one of the world’s great tenors. And, the chance to toss down more specialties by What’s Cooking?--among them, ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.

Two tables were set up for the private affair, and during the wee hours, Domingo table-hopped. During dessert, guests Tim and Susan Strader chatted with the superstar. Susan remembered seeing him at the Universal Amphitheatre where he did a fund-raiser for victims of the earthquake in Mexico. “He gives so much to the people of the world,” Susan said. “Not only in music, but in helping people with the quality of their lives.”

Also among guests: Jose and Sue Perewozki, Martha and Malcolm Green, Thomas Kendrick and Judy O’Dea Morr, Dick and Jolene Engel, Rusty and Bill Hood, and Joanne and Gary Hunt.

There They Are, Miss Americas: Not one, but three former Miss Americas were in the audience at South Coast Repertory on Friday night enjoying Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “Happy End.” Turns out that one of them--Lee Meriwether--is the wife of cast member Marshall Borden, who plays an inebriated, trombone-wielding member of a Salvation Army band in the musical.

The other two Miss Americas--Jean Bartel and Marian Conway--are her good friends.

During intermission, Meriwether said it was her first visit to SCR. “It’s along way from the San Fernando Valley, where I live,” she said. “But I’ll be back. This is a wonderfully intimate theater.”

The beauty contest winner/actress (who said she’d rather not mention the year she became Miss America) met her husband during a theatrical production. They have been married nearly five years. “He’s wonderful in this,” she said, “deliciously funny.”

On a serious note, Meriwether spoke about the courage of her fellow Miss America, Marilyn Van Derbur, who has recently gone public with the fact that she is an incest survivor.

“None of us knew,” said Meriwether. “I plan to call her soon, after all of the media attention dies down. I know she has founded an organization to help out with this sort of thing. I plan to join the cause.”

Moonstruck: Developer Art Birtcher and his wife, Gaye, were hosts of “Bajo la Luna Capistrano” (Under the Capistrano Moon) at their Rancho de Dios estate in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday night. The event was held to raise funds for the South County Community Clinic.

Talk about houses the social set is clamoring to see. The marble and parquet-floored Birtcher compound--Chateau Tranquille--was built to imitate the Paris city houses used by the court when they came from the Loire Valley to visit the Louvre. And the bed in the Birtcher master suite was made to imitate one belonging to Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II. Its rich-looking throw pillows were created from priests’ vestments discovered at the Paris flea market.