::: George Christy ::: From the Beverly Hills Courier

ÒIÕve been watching The Simpsons since I was ten years old when the series first appeared on television, and I rarely miss it,Ó says our BH Courier production artist, now 28, with any number of the seriesÕ 400 episodes under his belt. Like millions of fans, heÕs hooked on the hell-raising humor of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the wacky Springfield denizens that Matt Groening, producer Jim Brooks and their imaginative colleagues have concocted these 18 years. Time and again, Matt and company invited hundreds of stars to ÒvoiceÓ cameos, from former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair to Elizabeth Taylor, Steve Martin, Dolly Parton, Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammar, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, James Brown, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mr. T, Michael Jackson, NBA players Yao Ming and LeBron James, footballÕs Tom Brady, John Waters, who swears, ÒEverybody gets the same fee.Ó Coming up next season are Jack Black, Lionel Richie, Stephen Colbert, Dan Rather. While the creators havenÕt asked the current president, producer Al Jean says, ÒWeÕve invited every other president going back to Nixon, and they all said no.Ó Packing the Mann Village and Bruin Theatres for The Simpsons Movie premiere, the crowd of all ages chuckled at frame after frame, watching Homer practically obliterate Springfield with his Òpig poopÓ accident, with Albert Brooks, as EPA chief, chewing him out. WeÕre told this $75 million laugh riot took three years and constant persuasion from the studio for the movie to be realized, and many in the audience were hoping that, down the line, would there, please, be a sequel. We sat near FoxÕs Bert Livingston and Bruce Snyder, whoÕd seen the film, and laughed all over again and must be thrilled with this past weekendÕs box-office gross of $74 million. Globally, it broke records, having been dubbed in Dutch, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai and Greek. FoxÕs Len Iannelli and his event planning team that includes Michelle Cardona and Poco CateringÕs Ina Poncher organized a slam-dunk after-party for 2,000 on the Wadsworth Theatre grounds, where HomerÕs favorite Sprinklicious doughnuts were here, there and everywhere. We caught fans such as Patricia Heaton and Fred Willard polishing off a few, as did Dr. Phil and son Jordan, and one Little Miss Sunshine told her family that the SimpsonsÕ yellow faces look Òlike cheese omelets,Ó while younger brother Ògot a big kick out of those Ôquack-quackÕÓ voices of the characters. FoxÕs Pam Levine, co-president of domestic theatrical marketing orchestrated an original and sensational marketing strategy to turn some of the 7-Eleven convenience stores into Kwik-E-Marts, with hundreds of fans lining up around the blocks for hours to buy Squishees, Sprinklicious doughnuts and Simpson culinary specialties such as KrustyOÕs Cereal, Buzz Cola, etc. Also coming aboard promotionally was Burger King, with JetBlue anointed as Òthe officially recognized airline of Springfield.Ó HomerÕs boss, C. Montgomery Burns, advises JetBlue chairman David Neeleman Òto make your customers beg for their chocolate chip cookies and Terra Blue Chips.Ó Jumping onto the Simpsons bandwagon was the August issue of HarperÕs Bazaar, with the beloved characters joining model Linda Evangelista for a ÒFrench fashion folly.Ó They don designs by Versace, Chanel, Lanvin, with the labelsÕ designers Donatella Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz looking on as cartoon figures. FoxÕs creative director of animation, Julius Preite, did the honors. In the 1942 film classic, Casablanca, voted the AFIÕs third favorite movie of all time starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, who incidentally was paid $25,000, has that often-quoted line of BogartÕs: ÒWeÕll always have Paris.Ó Through the decades itÕs become a tag line for the film, was voted among AFIÕs favorite movie quotes, and itÕs inspired New York Times critic Tony Scott to title his review of The Simpsons Movie rather appropriately, ÒWeÕll always have Springfield.Ó Going strong in their nineties are Phyllis Diller, who celebrated the 90 milestone last month, Kirk Douglas, Edie Wasserman, Tomoko Takei, the mother of celebrity hairstylist Yuki Takei, now based at the Borrelli Salon in Beverly Hills. At 92, Tomoko flies on her own on Japan Air from Tokyo to Los Angeles to visit her successful son several times a year. And what inspirations they all are. This month, Vogue magazine features its ÒAge Issue,Ó with a gorgeous Winona Ryder, 35, on the cover, and nods to such as Norris Church Mailer (Mrs. Norman) in her 50s, Vanessa Redgrave in her 70s, and Beverly HillsÕ very own Connie Wald, who celebrates her 91st year in mid-August. ÒShe swims every day in the pool for an hour or two, works in the garden, tending the camellias É planted by her father 50 years earlier,Ó writes Susanna Moore in her profile, which hails ConnieÕs Òyouthful chic.Ó ÒEach week, she puts in her time at the Colleagues. A charity concerned with the welfare of children that runs an elegant thrift shop in Santa Monica stocked with many of its membersÕ clothes.Ó Two years ago, Connie was voted onto Vanity FairÕs Best-Dressed List, with the ÒsecretÓ judges purportedly being jeweler Kenny Lane, Reinaldo Herrera, whose wife is designer Carolina Herrera, VogueÕs Andre Leon Talley, and who knows who else? At the annual Vanity Fair Oscar party at MortonÕs, the New York TimesÕ fashion reporter Cathy Horyn singled out Connie as one of the eveningÕs most stylish women. After leaving her family home in Huntington, West Virginia, Connie modeled for designers Claire McCardell and Hattie Carnegie in New York, soon left Manhattan to join her parents, who relocated to California. Marrying film producer Jerry Wald, Connie raised two sons: Robby, who arranges film financing and Andrew, a pay television executive. Included among JerryÕs renowned films are Johnny Belinda with Jane Wyman, The Long Hot Summer with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford, whoÕd bring Clark Gable to the Walds for ConnieÕs superb dinners, Peyton Place, An Affair to Remember, The Best of Everything. Connie recalls the nightly blackouts during World War II, when gasoline was rationed, and most of the men were away. Jerry was ineligible for the draft, and made war films. ÒThere were small parties with Oscar and June Levant, Gloria and Jimmy Stewart, the Ira Gershwins, Rosalind Russell, the William Wylers É all of Beverly Hills was asleep by nine oÕclock during the week. The day started early for people in the movie business, and they worked six days a week. It was a very disciplined life. We would have friends to dinner on Saturday night and then run a movie.Ó ÒWhen I think about going to dinner at ConnieÕs Ð which IÕve been doing since the mid-Õ60s Ð I feel a great sense that the world is about to be corrected,Ó author Joan Didion told Susanna Moore. ÒThere will be warmth, there will be the most comforting possible food, and the most comforting possible company. I donÕt think I ever met anyone with a more developed gift for drawing people together and making them happy.Ó Year after year, Audrey Hepburn houseguested with Connie, as do New YorkÕs Kenny Lane and San FranciscoÕs Denise Minnelli Hale these days. Friends whoÕve savored ConnieÕs ÒcomfortingÓ food have been Mick Jagger, Jascha Heifetz, William Faulkner, Brian Moore, Nancy Reagan, Janet de Cordova and husband Freddy, Betsy Bloomingdale, Rupert Lowenstein, Jerry Zipkin, Swifty Lazar, Doris and Jules Stein, Jean Howard, Natalie Wood, Mae West, Billy Wilder, Bill Frye, Natasha Richardson, Tony Richardson, Anjelica Huston, Robert Graham, Earl McGrath, Gore Vidal, Tim Vreeland and Diana Vreeland. Best of all, ConnieÕs her own chef, serving food thatÕs so good you wish you could take a taste home to mother. Online at www.bhcourier.com.