BY JIM KNIPPENBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Yet another way to tell if it's a really good party: Guests have such a terrific time at cocktail hour that they won't go in to dinner. That tortures the poor soul in charge of the schedule.
That was the case at Saturday's Hollywood Does Halloween party, which the Greater Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky Film Commission threw at Old St. George in Corryville.
The same party where volunteer schedule keeper Jay Springer was mumbling frantically into his radio, trying to get 300 costumed guests moving.
They also saw former Cincinnatian and Broadway veteran D. Michael Heath hang over the balcony in full Phantom regalia to sing "Music of the Night." He wanted to do it waaaay up against St. George's giant rose window but there was this, ah, safety issue.
They also saw a tumbling act, namely Sherie Marek, in a massive hoop skirt, taking out Anne Zaring. Seems the skirt was too massive: As she sat, the hoops shoved Zaring's chair at the exact moment Zaring sat. She hit the deck.
Oops.
They also saw what party goer John Schenz described as "the best year yet for costumes": A full Camelot table where Merlin, armed with flash paper, tossed fire; at least two Tin Men and two Dorothys; several witches, including a scantily-clad one who called herself "tramp witch;" and two gargoyles who looked like they crawled off St. George's facade.
One thing they didn't see: Sally Struthers and Brenda Vaccaro, both in town working plays, were invited and expressed interest. But Struthers performed in Annie twice Saturday and couldn't arrange it. Word Psst! got was that she and Vaccaro both needed to chill. One more sign of a good party: As it's winding down, die-hards who can't sing but think they can gather around the piano to butcher show tunes and refuse to leave.
FEED THE MASSES:
That's what we like about a devoted caterer. It won't let 2,000 miles stop it from getting out a hot meal.
Montgomery Inn, for example. It catered the recent Billy Barty Foundation Scholarship Dinner in Hollywood. Barty, a 74-year-old little person who started in vaudeville nearly 70 years ago, has spent years working to advance research into dwarfism.
Hollywood honored him for that and his career.
And who did Barty want to feed him? None other than Montgomery Inn, which cooked and shipped 500 slabs of ribs and 25 gallons of sauce for 500 guests, including George Lucas, Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney and Inn owners Ted and Matula Gregory, and son-in-law Evan Andrews. Wife Terry Andrews stayed home to take her turn with the kid carpool.
Barty was apparently introduced to the Gregorys by Hope, a hard-core fan who gets a monthly shipment of ribs from the Inn.
SPECIAL DELIVERY:
And this from Japan: A biiiig phone bill.
To wit . . . The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is there on an 11-city tour. Wives and partners are here, including Tamara Sherwood, wife of associate principal French horn Tom Sherwood.
She was due to deliver the couple's third child mid-November but went into early labor. She delivered Olivia Joy Friday while husband, Tom, was in Shizuoka half a world away.
Gone, but not out of touch -- once he got the message from Jewish Hospital that Tamara was there, he called every half hour. When delivery time came, a friend held the phone to Tamara's ear so Tom could coach and coax. Which he did, for a full hour -- through delivery and Olivia's first wail.
And yes, says CSO director Steven Monder, the orchestra will pick up the phone bill.
The CPO returns Saturday.
Psst! appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Have an item to report? Call Jim Knippenberg at 768-8513; fax: 768-8330.
KNIPPENBERG ARCHIVE
