The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

They gave away $1.6 million. Pacific Life, headquartered in Newport

Beach, held its annual community reception to distribute $1.6 million of

$3 million in grants to more than 170 nonprofit organizations in Orange

County.

The Pacific Life Foundation, the charitable giving arm endowed by the

largest life insurance company in California, welcomed distinguished

guests from a diverse field of humanitarian and scientific pursuits for a

late afternoon reception in the Fashion Island headquarters of the

insurance giant. Pacific Life boss Tom Sutton was on hand with his bride,

Marilyn, for the reception.

The 2002 grants include, to name only a few, the American Heart Assn.,

AIDS Services Foundation, Bowers Museum, Drowning Prevention Foundation,

Human Options, Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation, Newport Beach Fire

Department, Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation, South Coast Repertory and

the Smithsonian Institution.

Lido Isle resident and high-ranking Pacific Life executive Bob Haskell

did the honors, helping to pass out the awards to the grateful crowd.

* * *

Lorraine Hennessy, gorgeous former San Diego TV news anchor turned

wife, mother and super-volunteer, reports that the Lido Isle Women’s

Charitable Foundation will present the third annual Newport Beach Spring

Antiques Show, set for April 11 through April 14. This year, the

extravaganza will be set up on the Newport Beach Back Bay in the Newport

Dunes Waterfront Pavilion.

Hennessy, who is working with the glamorous Linda Giannini, wife of

longtime Newport Beach yachtsman and entrepreneur Valerio Giannini, adds

that the committee is thrilled about the move to the larger venue, which

will accommodate more dealers and a greater participation by the public

at large.

This year’s production is being chaired by Pamela Nestande, a fabulous

designer in her own right and wife of the politically prominent Bruce

Nestande. Nestande reports, “The show is proving to be one of the premier

antique shows in California, and this year will attract more than 50

dealers featuring antique furniture, silver and china.”

Nestande and her volunteer committee are naming the show “Discover the

Magic.” Their aim is to create a decidedly American theme, mixing style

and periods, blending the old with the new.

“Our intent is to infuse European formality with the elegant, witty

sensibility of the 21st century,” offers Hennessy, adding, “The new site

will allow the expansion of the lecture series, as well as the launching

of a new attraction being called ‘The Young Collectors Event.’ ”

Major support for this year’s production is coming from Ambassador to

Spain George Argyros and his dynamic wife, Judie. Also supporting the

cause is the Whittier Trust Co., Fashion Island, South Coast Plaza and

the Urban Gardener.

For more information on the show, call Lorraine Hennessy at (949)

723-3405 or Linda Giannini at (949) 675-1740.

* * *

Natalie Mandel of Newport Beach will be honored as the Anne Entin

Woman Of The Year at the Women’s Voices Luncheon sponsored by the women’s

division of the Jewish Federation of Orange County.

The gala luncheon will unfold on Valentine’s Day at the Hyatt Regency

in Irvine. More than 500 women from throughout Orange County will turn

out to honor Mandel and to hear guest speaker Deborah Lipstadt, professor

of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta.

Lipstadt has been embroiled in controversy with Holocaust denier David

Irving, recently winning a landmark libel trial in London against him.

Appropriately, her topic will be “Denying the Holocaust: Prospectives

From a British Courtroom.”

The Valentine’s luncheon is being chaired by Newport Beach residents

Jodi Greenbaum and Jacquee Lipson. For more information, call (714)

755-5555, Ext. 222.

* * *

The celebrity roster is growing for the tribute to the late actor and

former Newport Beach homeowner Rock Hudson, benefiting AIDS Services

Foundation in Orange County.

On Saturday, organizers Allison Cato, Stuart Byer and a dedicated

volunteer committee will produce “Art for AIDS -- A Tribute to Rock

Hudson” set at the Laguna Art Museum. On the guest list are Merv Griffin,

Penny Marshall, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Sarah Ferguson,

Duchess of York.

Cato reports that there is a very large Newport-Mesa wing of support

for the affair, which will feature a celebrity silent auction with

donated memorabilia from a list of stars that would make the Oscars

nervous. Some of the donors include Dustin Hoffman, Cher, Lauren Bacall,

Warren Beatty, Halle Barry, Sharon Stone and Bette Midler.

An art auction will feature works from Billy Al Bengston, Don Bachardy

and other celebrated artists. Before the event, a celebrity dinner will

be thrown, with tickets selling at $2,500 per place and up. Admission to

the museum fund-raiser is set at $125 per person, which also includes

dinner. Please call (949) 809-5700 for last-minute reservations.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.