The Crowd:

“Ninety-nine and doing fine” was the slogan greeting guests coming together at the Newport Beach Country Club recently to celebrate the 99th birthday of the beautiful, amazing Maggie Cox.

The recent Sunday birthday bash brought together a lively contingent of family and friends, some dating back more than a half century when Maggie and her family lived in the Pasadena/San Marino community before coming to the coast.

The vibrant birthday girl welcomed former San Marino neighbors Beth and Roger Liljestrom. Beating Maggie by two years was 101-year-old handsome gent Herb Nootbaar and his lovely wife, Elinor.

The Nootbaars are major supporters of USC and Pepperdine University, among other charitable endeavors with which they are generously involved.

Paul, Diane, Jennifer and Emily Morton mingled in the Newport Beach Country Club crowd sampling the Mexican food fare and chatting with guests including Pam and Carl Kubisak, Sandy and Vic Norton, Connie Unzueta, Pam Johnson, Beverly and Arlis Parkhurst, Ruthie and Leigh Collins, Martha Lea Smith, and Mary Lou and Jim Delaney, who entertained the birthday crowd with his singing talent.

Maggie’s daughters, Marilyn Wooten and Gail Finnell, joined husbands Dave Wooten and Jack Finnell in planning the upbeat affair, which was created around a cat theme representing Maggie’s love of kittens. Floral arrangements came out of cat food cans adorning tables sprinkled with faux birds and mice, adding a touch of whimsy.

Grandchildren in the crowd included Laurie Thiel, in from her home in London, with great-granddaughter Charlotte Thiel. Also sharing the wonderful occasion with their grandmother were Jill Markovsky of Costa Mesa, Annie Finnell of Newport Beach and Krista Ewart of Santa Monica. Entertainer Jim Roberts kept the party hopping as the gathering sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to the honored lady, wishing her many more years of health and happiness.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, in conjunction with Hoag’s 552 Club, Edwards Theaters and the Regal Entertainment Group, held another sold-out successful summer movie premiere event. This year, New Line Cinema generously provided the film “The Time Traveler’s Wife” for an exclusive pre-opening screening at the largest movie theater screen on the West Coast in Newport Beach.

The party was co-chaired by Terry Callahan and Rosalie Puleo with honorary chairmanship in the hands of Patti and Jim Edwards. Some of the committee members working on the fundraiser were super angler and local philanthropist Lynn Cathcart, Arleen Howard, Margaret Lord, John Martinelli, Gregory Miles, John Dugal, Margaret Von Tiesenhausen, Jane Taylor, Susan Vavak, Ilona Martin, Arlene Key, Betty Donellan, Janis Dinwiddie and Olga Megdal-Fedorova.

The enormous crowd arrived at 5 p.m. to enjoy the massive dinner service in the Regal Entertainment parking lot donated by a generous and large group of supporting restaurants. A few of the favorites included Cannery Seafood, Ho Sum Bistro, Muldoon’s, Newport Rib Co., Sabatino’s, Roy’s, Kitayama, Sol and Britta’s Café. All proceeds from the movie night will benefit Hoag Cancer Center.

If you haven’t already noticed, area restaurants are bustling with diners thanks to the competitive spirit of restaurateurs offering economy-related specials galore. The Ritz at Fashion Island has been offering a $5.99 Tuesday lunch at the bar. Pascal has opened a brasserie in Fashion Island featuring a $10 dinner before 7 p.m. Many more of the finer establishments on the coast are offering specials including two-for-one, three-course pre-fixe dinners, discounted special wine pairings and more.

O.C. restaurant publicist Lee Healy invited the press for lunch recently to sample an incredible midday meal at Morton’s South Coast Plaza Village. The high-end purveyor of steak, poultry and seafood is offering the public a marvelous three-course pre-fixe lunch for $25 that includes a starter course, an entrée and dessert from a wide selection of their recipes.

Morton’s General Manager Tom Innocenzi joined Morton’s executive Gina Mouri in welcoming local media guests including Michael Cho, Stephanie Phan, Brandon Prochelo, Ann Chatillon, and Laurie Veitch, and South Coast Plaza executives Debra Gunn Downing and David Grant. The crowd sampled grilled rib-eye steak, grilled colossal shrimp and sea scallops, and Morton’s popular chicken Christopher served in a garlic Beurre Blanc sauce. Chefs Carlos Gomez and Paul Avila shared applause from the luncheon crowd. The occasion also marked a preview distribution of the new Morton’s cookbook simply titled “Morton’s, the Cookbook . . . 100 Steakhouse Recipes for Every Kitchen.”

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.