SANTA MONICA, CA, Sept. 22, 2001–Hollywood’s grandest dame Elizabeth Taylor proved that despite her frail health her compassionate spirit remains as powerful as ever at the Macy’s/American Express Passport ’01 event, a high-profile AIDS fundraising music/fashion/auction gala she helped found 19 years ago.
Though La Liz typically restricts herself to a wheelchair, this time she walked onto the stage before a crowd of about 2,500 people assembled in the Santa Monica airport’s massive Barker Hanger. The legendary actress started off by revealing that she was visiting New York at the time of the World Trade Center attacks.
“You could smell the smoke and the burning all over the city,” she told the audience. “It permeated everything.”
She added that after learning of the attack she stopped briefly at a church to pray, visited an armory where concerned family members awaited news of their loved ones’ fates, then was escorted by the chief of police to Ground Zero, where she thanked and hugged the New York firefighters and police officers for their valiant efforts.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” Taylor said. “I pray I never see anything like it again.”
She then got back to the business at hand, reminding people that the feeling of fear all Americans experienced in the wake of the attack is akin to the fear HIV and AIDS patients live with on a daily basis.
“She is the classiest woman in the world,” said event chair Ervin “Magic” Johnson after Taylor’s impassioned appearance. “I call her ‘The Queen.'” When the ex-Laker arrived with wife Cookie on his arm, he playfully called out to his old teammate Michael Cooper, who arrived only a few minutes before, “Hey! World Champion! Over here!”
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Magic made a genial host in a sleek pinstriped suit tailored to his six-foot-nine frame as he presided over a crowd of Hollywood and fashion industry bigwigs, including movie superstar Will Smith (the upcoming Ali) and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith; hip-hop music exec and Phat Farm fashion entrepreneur Russell Simmons and his wife, model Kimora Lee; Carmen Electra and L.A. morning radio show host Jamie White (Rock Star), both of whom also took turns as runway models; novelist Jackie Collins; Cloris Leachman; and fashion designer Jessica McClintock.
As the crowd munched on cuisine and cocktails from an assortment of top L.A. area restaurants (my favorite being the sensational soul food from Reign, the Beverly Hills eatery owned by NFL great Keshawn Johnson), the extravaganza was kicked off with a high-energy performance by singer Macy Gray (a subtle bit of advertising synergy from the like-named department store sponsor), which suffered a bit from the hangar’s poor acoustics.
Fortunately, the sound problem was cleared up by the time country music diva and newly minted sitcom star Reba McEntire took the stage to deliver an electrifying one-song performance as “Panels of Hope,” a series of images by artist Simo Neri depicting nine San Francisco and Los Angeles residents who are living with HIV, was unveiled.
Also on hand was Gregg Rolie, one of the founding members of both Santana and Journey, who provided a blistering rendition of “Black Magic Woman” as models strutted their stuff in DKNY’s fall collection (including the underwear line, a huge hit with the audience, natch), Phat Farm’s urban hip-hop clothes, Joseph Abboud menswear and the prom-dress-on-steroids stylings of Jessica McClintock.
Making the biggest impression on the crowd, however, was a menagerie of pint-sized posers in ultra-hip kids fashions. One of the models was already the heir apparent to superstardom: young Mr. Trey Smith, whose appearance had dad Will on his feet leading his section of the crowd in an ovation.
Meanwhile, over at the auction block, two men found themselves at a standoff bidding for Magic’s Staples Center floor seats and a one-on-one game with the NBA great when Magic himself ended it by offered the same prize to both of them for $10,000 each. All told, the night raised in excess of $100,000 for a variety of AIDS-related charities– truly a slam dunk to be proud of.
