The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

Jay Leno came to Orange County last week and made a spectacle of

himself at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The crowd went wild.

The international comic sensation who is celebrating 10 years on NBC as

the host of “The Tonight Show,” donated his considerable talent to raise

money for children’s education programs at the Center.

The Saturday night party began with Leno center stage, sharing stories

and breaking up the crowd. The one-man show filled Segerstrom Hall to the

rafters, and Leno entertained nonstop for an hour and a half.

Following the show, patrons and donors shared a cocktail with Leno in

Founder’s Hall. Underwriters were then invited onto the stage at

Segerstrom Hall for an intimate dinner with Leno. Center boss Jerry

Mandel entertained the crowd with his supreme saxophone playing. Leno

threatened to hire him away from the Center to work with “The Tonight

Show” orchestra. Mandel only recently signed his Center contract and was

forced to turn down the offer.

In the crowd were the handsome couple Bob and Carole Follman and the

debonair Gene Moriarty and his elegant wife, Ruth Ann. Dover Shore’s

Laurie Veitch was there with her son Christopher, a freshman at UC Santa

Barbara. Leno refused to believe that it was her son, insisting that

Veitch was dating a much younger man.

Veitch, a single mother, commented, “Mr. Leno, it is not above me to

date a younger man, but I assure you this is my son. Do you think that I

would date someone who looks just like me?”

* * *

The old expression “It’s in the mail” applies concerning the

invitations for the upcoming Children’s Hospital Orange County Follies.

Executive Producer Gloria Zigner reports that the post office was delayed

in getting the invitations out to the general public, and they have only

just been mailed.

The sixth annual CHOC Follies will premiere May 17 in a spectacular

tent erected next to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The show

will run through May 19 and will feature a star-studded cast of local

talent.

Zigner and her associate Lois Augustine at the CHOC Foundation for

Children were pulling their hair out over the postal mistake this

morning. However, in true blue show biz fashion Zigner offered: “It’s

probably a good luck sign. Remember that last year I lost my theater

right before the show. This year, it’s just a late invitation.”

Actually, Zigner and crew were thrilled to report the progress of the

show, which she claims is the best ever. They are calling it “The Slipper

and the Surfer: An Orange County Cinderella Story.”

National newsman Keith Morrison, a correspondent on “Dateline NBC,”

has even joined the cast via video. Morrison, who lives in Laguna Beach

but spends most of his time either in New York or somewhere on the planet

chasing a story, wanted to do his part for this worthwhile endeavor. So,

Zigner sent a video crew to Morrison to record a little number to slip

into the show. She reports that it is a hoot.

The Follies once again are possible because of the unlimited

generosity of John and Donna Crean and countless other supporters who are

giving time, money and talent to the show. If your invitation isn’t in

the mail, call Lois Augustine at the CHOC Foundation for Children at

(714) 532-8690 to reserve your seats.

* * *

Local design treasure Marie St. John Gray fronted a spectacular

fashion show of her internationally acclaimed St. John product at a

special runway event presented by Nordstrom in South Coast Plaza. The

Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel entertained an overflow audience of

Orangewood Children’s Foundation supporters who came together for lunch

and a peek at the sleek St. John Knit collection.

Sara Parker of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation worked with

Nordstrom’s Kylie Allensworth to support event chairwoman and a

foundation board member Shirley Pepys in producing a delightful spring

luncheon that raised more than $40,000 for the Orangewood Children’s

Foundation.

Founded in 1981, the private nonprofit foundation has for more than 20

years served abused and neglected children in Orange County. Through

traditional forms of child welfare, including foster care and emergency

shelter, as well as through numerous innovative programs designed to help

turn around the lives of troubled children and their families, Orangewood

has come a long way in helping to break the cycle of abuse from

generation to generation.

On May 11, Orangewood support group 44 Women for Children is putting

on a spectacular concert at The Theatre at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

The rock concert will star Sugar Ray, Pat Benatar and The Calling.

Sponsored by Wet Seal and South Coast Plaza, the concert is expected to

raise thousands of dollars for the foundation.

For information, call Sara Parker at (714) 636-4781, Ext. 206.