Scene and Heard

Joan Rivers and the $500,000
Can we talk about risk—and a payoff in dollars, sensibility … and just plain fun? The organizers of the 2007 Arts for ACT Auction moved the event last August from its home for a decade at Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs. They also doubled the price of tickets and offered a sit-down dinner instead of hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. The results of this altered highlight of the season? An enthusiastic turnout of about a thousand people really getting into it with their sophisticated tastes, zest for bidding and relish for irreverent host Joan Rivers’ every ploy.

I helped Joan with the hosting, and I can tell you that she’s really a trooper. She’s tiny, wrinkle-free, looks great and carries around her own box of Altoids. She’s a real pro, but, believe it or not, seemed a little nervous when we went over the program backstage before the event. Once we got going, though, she was unstoppable: on her feet for four hours straight (though she took off her shoes halfway through) and using her potty mouth when necessary to drive up the bids.

More than 80 pieces were auctioned. Once again, well-known philanthropists Dr. John and Fran Fenning drove up the prices on select pieces and ended up buying a Roy Lichtenstein painting for $25,000. Tony Broll won the bidding for a piece by our legendary Robert Rauschenberg for $70,000. A newcomer to the event, Captiva’s Michael Mullins paid $20,000 for a bottle of Taittinger champagne that was decorated by Mr. Rauschenberg himself. In all, the auction raised more than $500,000 to help abused women and their children.

P.S. In case you’re wondering how ACT gets its celebrity hosts, such as Joan Rivers, a lot of the answer is world-renowned Robert Rauschenberg. He’s practically a member of the Benton family. Jennifer Benton is the executive director of ACT and her brother Darryl Pottorf, a noted artist himself, is Rauschenberg’s protégé. Bob’s reputation helps lure the celebrity guests to do the auction, and he throws in a stay at his Captiva estate and an original piece of art to seal the deal each time out.

She Was Mrs. Pennsylvania
Down Naples way, my photographer Chris Miller and I had the pleasure of spending time with Wilma Boyd, owner of Preferred Travel of Naples, on a recent video shoot. Did you know that she was crowned Mrs. Pennsylvania back in 1957? Wilma went on to open a modeling and career school in Pittsburgh for young ladies, teaching them charm, style and grace. That school later became the Wilma Boyd School of Travel, which she sold years later to start Preferred Travel, one of the largest travel agencies in town.

Cool Guests
Back on the celebrity beat … Denise Cobb and her husband, Brian, summered in Malibu and got right with the showbiz vibe. Some of those attending their dinner parties were Dustin Hoffman and his wife, Lisa; Florence Henderson; Dana Delany; Kyle McLaughlan; Jane Seymour; and James Keach. The Cobb home was right next door to Steve Levitan, creator and executive producer of the new TV hit comedy Back to You. Thus, on a visit to the Cobbs, my colleagues Matt (Gulfshore Business 40 under 40 honoree) and Lauren Bernaldo, got to watch a taping for the sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton.

Making Friends
Part-time Fort Myers residents and Kentucky natives Mark and Tracy Hatcher spent a month in Greece in the off season, island hopping and living it up at the best hotels. While on a private hired yacht, they struck up a conversation with another couple onboard. Tracy loves to brag about Mark’s cooking. I think she likes to stroke his ego so she will never have to set foot in the kitchen again. This country girl started telling them about the very cutting-edge grill they had special-ordered for their south Fort Myers home. She kept pouring on the superlatives and the whole time Mark kept trying to get her attention. "Baby," she continued to reply, "Hold on! I’m tellin’ a story." When she finally paused for a breath, Mark whispered in her ear, "Baby, that is Bobby Flay you are braggin’ on."

That would be celebrity chef Flay who has hit shows Boy Meets Grill and Throwdown on the Food Network. His wonderful wife, Stephanie March, a regular on NBC’s hit series Law & Order, had politely let Tracy go on and on. She was mortified when Mark finally revealed their identities. The bottom line: Bobby and Stephanie had such a good time with my partying friends the Hatchers that the two couples spent the next few days together enjoying the glories of Greece.

Chutes Rock
Suzanne Chute and her beloved Bob spent a couple of weeks in Europe. The highlight of their trip was the 60th birthday party for the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood at Homewood (don’t you love it when people name their homes?), about 40 minutes from London. The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend from The Who were there for the occasion. Bob Chute is a big rocker himself and met all of these superstar musicians back in the ’70s, when he was raising capital and partying in Manhattan. These days, the Chutes get in on a lot of their over-the-top parties.

Future Model?
Years ago, Bruce Springsteen looked out at his audience and summoned Courtney Cox to join him onstage. And the rest was history for her. Now we’ve got Community School of Naples student Paige Allen and her mother turning up at a Bill Blass show during Fashion Week in New York City last September. It seems that one of the models fell ill and—lo and behold!—out comes one of his assistants scanning the crowd. Suddenly, the assistant is in front of Paige, asking the 16-year-old, "Would you like to be in this show?" Next thing you know, Paige is doing the runway with amazing grace. Such a hit, she’s then put up on Teen Vogue’s Web site. She—and we—are waiting to see what comes next after her spectacular Blass-toff.

Lesson Learned
And one final note on the fame game. This is about Sanibel tennis pro Mitch Hodge and a guy staying on Captiva he gave a couple of lessons to last summer. They hit some balls together and, after they were done, Mitch says, "Hey, you look familiar. What do you do?" "I’m an actor," the guy says, "but I met you when you gave me a few lessons when I was here last time." Mitch figures he’s an actor at a local theater here and lets it go at that. A day or so later, he’s at the airport with his wife, Sue, and, at the newsstand, spots a People magazine with a familiar face on the cover. It’s his tennis student, the actor otherwise known as Matthew McConaughey.

"Matthew McConaughey?" says Sue. "You missed that twice?" She added a few more uncomplimentary words about his powers of observation. Our Mitch feels aced and will certainly keep a sharper eye on the ball—and his students—from now on. Right, Mitch?