The Crowd

B.W. Cook

Actor Karl Malden stole the show recently at the 1999 American

Celebration presented by Chapman University. The legendary Hollywood

figure, recipient of an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his

performance in the 1951 film “A Streetcar Named Desire” had come to the

university to receive its Lifetime Arts Achievement Award.

Telling the black-tie audience of more than 800 guests -- championed by

event co-chairs Cecilia Presley and Ron Soderling of Newport Beach --

that throughout his career, despite his success on stage, in film and on

television, he was never really recognized in public. He could walk down

the street unbothered, which is a terrible bother to an actor.

Malden teased the crowd repeatedly as he chronicled his achievements,

with the line, “nobody knew me.” Malden was leading up to his finale,

sharing with the Orange County assemblage that his grandchildren and his

children and his beloved wife of 60 years, Mona, all “know him very well,

and that is all that really matters.”

The crowd was moved to tears and applause simultaneously as the tributes

ended and a marvelous student musical production capped the evening for

Chapman.

The 18th annual American Celebration raised $600,000 for student

scholarships at the local university.

“We did 25% better than last year, and we are shooting for a million next

year,” offered event co-chair Ron Soderling, hosting the evening with his

wife, Gail. The handsome Newport couple enjoyed the success of the

evening with son, Kurt Soderling, and his new wife, Melinda, and friends

Bill and Judy Barry, Gisela and Bill Madden, Mia Maffei and Stephanie

Bond, all of Newport Beach.

Before the tributes to Malden and to local entrepreneur Dick Marconi, CEO

of Global Health Sciences Corp., and recipient of Chapman’s 1999

Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award, the crowd dined in a beautiful white

tent, with catering provided by the Hyatt Regency Hotel and sponsored by

Chapman board chair and Newport Beach resident George Argyros through the

Argyros Foundation.

Additional support for the evening came from The Hutton Foundation, and

the Los Angeles Times. Special recognition was bestowed upon Edison

International for their generous support of Chapman goals.

“Yesterday this was a parking lot,” mused Chapman president Jim Doti. The

transformation was stellar. An elegant evening found past Chapman

honorees Paul Pressler and Elmer Bernstein in the crowd hosted by the

lovely Cecilia Presley and her distinguished developer husband Randall

Presley.

Always best-dressed Suki McCardle was on hand with mate Randy McCardle.

Virginia Knott and Paul Bender joined Knott sister Toni Oliphant, Gloria

and Ray Osbrink, and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a Chapman graduate,

for an evening of considerable style to raise funds supporting the dreams

of future generations.

* B.W. COOK’S column appears Thursdays and Saturdays.