Social Diary 9/2/04 - From Monaco to the Hamptons and beyond

From Monaco to the Hamptons and beyond

The lineup at the Monaco Red Cross Ball (from l. to r.): H.R.H. le Prince de Hanovre, S.A.S. le Prince Rainier III, S.A.S. le Prince Héréditaire Albert, M. Lionel Richie, S.A.S. la Princesse Stéphanie, M. Bernard Montiel, Mlle. Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, M. et Mme Woody Allen, et M. Gaël Leforestier

Under the presidency of His Serene Highness the Hereditary Prince Albert of Monaco, the Monaco Red Cross Ball, one of the most prestigious galas in international society took place the first Friday of this past August at the Salles des Etoiles of the Sporting Monte-Carlo.

Lionel Richie

This was the 56th anniversary of the famed Red Cross Ball, founded in 1948 by HSH Prince Louis II, grandfather of Albert. It was Albert’s mother, formerly Grace Kelly of Philadelphia and Hollywood, who married Prince Rainier in 1956 and subsequently brought fresh young glamour to Monaco and to the Red Cross Ball. Today her children, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline, now HRH Princess Ernst of Hanover, and Princess Stephanie carry on their mother’s glamour.

Lionel Richie performed in concert for the guests. Mr. Richie began his career thirty-five years ago with The Commodores. After a long successful career of the group, picking up a string of gold and platinum, Richie embarked on his solo career in a duet with Diana Ross with the song “Endless Love” from the Franco Zeffirelli picture of the same name. Mr. Richie has sold more than 100 million discs and won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, five Grammys, a World Music Award and 40 other honors across the world.

PRIZES LIST

1st prize:
A vintage cigarette case from the 50’s in solid gold, decorated lid set with three hundred and thirty four saphires offered by Van Cleef & Arpels

2nd prize:
A gold necklace citrin “Lemon” faceted, set with diamonds offered by Repossi Joailliers

3rd prize:
Choice of 7 days cruise, for 2 persons, around the Mediterranean offered by Silversea Cruises

4th prize:
A woman’s watch, CHOPARD Geneva, in white gold and brillants offered by Club Allemand International

5th prize:
A chiffon evening dress offered by A K R I S boutique

6th prize:
Three nights for two persons at the Meridien Beach Plaza,
choice of destination : Milan, Rome, Vienna, Monte-Carlo
offered by Meridien Beach Plaza Monte-Carlo

7th prize:
A Methuselah Champagne bottle Cuvée Brut Piper Heidsieck offered by Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck

The soirée featured music by the Orchestre du Sporting Monte-Carlo (arranger and conductor François Legrand), “Monte-Carlo Violins” and “Banda Bananeira”. “Soul Circus” performed dance routines.

Since its inception, the Monegasque Red Cross's purpose has been to help people suffering in a spirit of solidarity that governs the International Movement of the Red Cross and Croissant-Rouge of which the Red Cross is an integral part.

Under the leadership of its successive Presidents, which includes the late Princess Grace and her son Prince Albert, the humanitarian services offered by the Red Cross have multiplied, enriched and adapted to local and international contexts.

Locally, the Monegasque Red Cross daily provides permanent humanitarian services organized by specialized sections meeting numerous emergency situations such as giving out food vouchers, clothes or shoes and also providing practical and mental help for the families and people in lasting difficulty. In the retirement houses, volunteers organize regularly outings and activities while first-aid workers and nurses take care of several first-aid posts and other volunteers, discreet and devoted, give a comforting presence to the sick in the hospital or make clothes for the poor.

In 2004 Prince Albert heads a strong and very active association, with some 500 volunteers, giving more than 400,000 euros per year to international aid, more than 601,200 euros to the social action of the Principality and approximately 80,000 euros to regular aid of various kinds.

S.A.S. la Princesse Stéphanie, S.A.S. le Prince Rainier III, S.A.S. le Prince Héréditaire Albert, LL.AA.RR. le Prince et la Princesse de Hanovre, la Baronne Elizabeth-Ann De Massy, S.A.S. la Princesse Antoinette

Mlle. Tatiana Parackova et Monsieur Stéphane Valeri, Président du Conseil National

Mme Karin Dolfen, Mme Gina Lollobrigida et M. Xavier Rigau

S.A.S. la Princesse Stéphanie et S.A.S. le Prince Rainier III

Messieurs Paul Anka et Woody Allen

M. Francis Vandenhende, Mme et M. Yves Piaget, Mme Denise Fabre

Mme Karen Moore et M. Paul Anka

M. le Maire de Monaco et Mme Georges Marsan

Mme et M. Gaël Leforestier

Mlle. Corinne Coman

Mme Patrick Leclercq et S.E.M. le Ministre d’Etat

M. et Mme Woody Allen

Mlle. Vanessa Von Zitzewitz

Le Prince et la Princesse de Hanovre

Shirley Bassey and friend

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Out in East Hampton at the oceanfront home of Jane and Jack Rivkin, above the sound of the crashing surf, Safe Horizon thanked their many loyal supporters at its 2nd Annual Sunset Celebration. More than 100 guests and their children enjoyed the gesture.

Jane Rivkin, Gabriel Verde, Jack Rovkin, and Joshua Verde

This year, the celebration was in recognition of Safe Horizon’s Child Advocacy Centers (CAC) in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island that provide assistance to more than 3,000 physically and sexually abused children and their families each year.

Jane Rivkin welcomed guests and board members, and after a brief introduction by Safe Horizon CEO Gordon J. Campbell and Jacqueline Winston, Senior Director at Safe Horizon’s Jane Barker Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum praised the work of Safe Horizon in aiding the recovery of children of abuse and extolled the importance of increasing the network of Child Advocacy Centers in New York and beyond.

It was a family party. The children were kept busy painting birdhouses, decorating cookies, having their faces painted, and laughing at the magician, juggler and stilt walker, who were brought in from NY Fun Factory.

Cynthia Lufkin, Peter Powers, Jane Rivkin, Gordon J. Cambell, Susan Solomon, and Marty Newman

Among the guests: designer Douglas Hannant, Bettina Zilkha, Helen and Tim Schifter with daughter Storey, Cynthia and Dan Lufkin with daughter Schuyler, Michèle Gerber Klein, Julia Wallace, Eva Dillon with children Lily and Charlie, lighting guru Bentley Meeker with son Jensen, Dr. Howard Sobel, Sotheby’s Royce Pinkwater, Amy Rosi, Frederick Anderson, Lucia Hwong-Gordon, Daniel Benedict and Andrew Saffir sipped Champagne Veuve Clicquot and devoured tasty mini-cheeseburgers while grooving to the smooth music of the band Crushed Velvet.

Special thanks were extended to the host committee including Stephanie March, Mario Buatta, Bobby Flay, Cornelia Guest, Cynthia and Dan Lufkin, Gillian and Lydia Hearst-Shaw, Lisa Jackson, Muffie Potter Aston, Nicole Miller, Thom Filicia, Zang Toi, Alvin Valley, Judy Licht, Andrea Stark, Tinsley Mortimer, Marc Bouwer, House & Garden’s Dominique Browning and Cynthia Frank, CeCe Cord, Elisabeth Kieselstein-Cord, Jodi and Jesse Della Femina, Mark Epstein, Jamee Gregory, Pamela Gross and James Finkelstein, Esquire’s Steven Jacoby, Alexandra Kramer, Cynthia Rowley, Julie Dannenberg, Sean Byrnes, Annie Churchill and Fabian Basabe, for their support of this wonderful evening.

Amy Rosi R. Couri Hay, and Maile Zambuto

Gordon J. Campbell, Betsy Gotbaum, and Peter Powers

Jason Zambuto, Nicolas Zambuto, and Maile Zambuto

Nicholas Kohana, Howard Sobel, Royce Pinkwater, and Jonathan Kohana

Douglas Hannant, Frederick Anderson, Bettina Zilkha, Andrew Saffir, and Daniel Benedict

Myra Shapiro, Gordon J. Campbell, and Jacqueline Winston

L. to r.: Jo Hook, Jensen Meeker, and Bentley Meeker; Melinda Hackett, Velma McLean, and Cricket Burns; Victoria Brown, Jae Lee, and Todd Millstein.

Last Sunday out in Southampton at the UA Cinema Southampton, a big crowd turned out for a screening of Director Marc Forster’s Finding Neverland, a tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan. The fabulous Johnny Depp plays the literary genius who wrote the classic a century ago and spawned not only an industry with his tale (making a few international stars along the way such as Maude Adams, Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby), but also provided an enduring personality-cum-psychological description that probably articulated more than one of the individuals attending Sunday night’s screening. We’ve all known a few Peter Pans, for better or for worse, no?

Roy Scheider with wife Brenda, daughter Molly, and son Christian

The film, set in 1904, is a fictional account of Barrie’s creative journey to bring Pan to life, from the first inspiration he had of the story right up until the play premieres at the Duke of York’s Theatre. The film combines fantasy and everyday reality – just like the character of Barrie’s creation, and melds the difficulties and heartbreak of adult life with the spellbinding allure and child-like innocence of “the boy who never grows up.” You know a few of those, do you?

The audience does too, and maybe that is why people LOVE this film and almost go weak in the knees in recommending it to others.

This night’s screening had a healthy dose of New Yorkers with their own two feet on the ground as well as a few who are loyal citizens of Neverland. Who is who and which is which depends entirely on your experience of these denizens who were hosting, the list of which included Fabian Basabe, Gilles Bensimon, Nicolas Berggruen, Jason Blum, George Brokaw, Chris Brookis, Bartle Bull Jr., Bob Colacello, Jamie Johnson, Paul Kanavos, Frederic Fekkai, Robert Fomon, Chris Heinz, Adam Lindemann, Michael Mailer, Gilles Mendel, Carlos Perez, Euan Rellie, Aby Rosen, Antony Todd, Alex von Furstenberg, John Ylvisaker.

After the seven o’clock screening, the enchanted sun-bleached mob went over to Savanna’s at 268 Elm Street where mob-directrice Peggy Siegal who handled the glamour logistics of the screening of this Miramax Film saw that everyone was happy despite having to leave Neverland behind.