• July 26, 1993
• Vol. 40
• No. 4

Grand by the Strand

Day and Night, It's Party Time at the Santa Monica Shore

WHEN SUMMER HITS HOLLYWOOD, HOLLYWOOD hits the beach. Or more specifically, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Tori Spelling, Nicollette Sheridan and even TV tool-guy Bob Vila took to the sand in front of the hotel on July 10 for the Honda del Sol Pro/Celebrity Volleyball Challenge that drew in $25,000 for the American Oceans Campaign. Alas, the celebs seemed more familiar with grosses than nets. "I've never played [volleyball] outside of P.E. in high school," said Spelling. (Her team lost.)

The next night the action was in the hotel ballroom, as the sixth annual Cool Comedy-Hot Cuisine gala raked in more than $200,000 for the Scleroderma Research Foundation. Lily Tomlin kept the celeb crowd laughing, while Full House star Bob Saget—whose sister Gay suffers from the autoimmune disease—emceed a high-spirited auction during which John Candy plunked down $8,200 for a sports package (including a trip to next year's Super Bowl) and onetime China Beach-er Dana Delany paid $8,300 for two tickets to Paris and a Paloma Picasso bag. Surrounded by platters of hip California cuisine from L.A.'s City restaurant, Delany chirped, "This is probably the most fun benefit I've ever been to."