PARTY LINES : MM LIVES ON VIA EVENING AT CHRISTIE'S.

Byline: Barbara De Witt 

Marilyn Monroe attended numerous parties in her short lifetime, but her most memorable appearance was at President Kennedy's birthday bash, where she sang ``Happy Birthday, Mr. President'' in a sparkly beige gown by Hollywood costumer Jean Louis that was rumored to have been sewn onto her shapely body.

And that dress was the highlight of the party at Christie's Beverly Hills, where members of the Music Center's Blue Ribbon Club were invited for cocktails and a sneak peek at the ``Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe'' exhibit.

More than 300 attended the soiree, including Rick and Kathy Hilton of the famous Hilton Hotel empire, actress Angie Dickinson, Blue Ribbon president Joni Smith and husband Clark of Los Angeles, and Encino members Leonard and Iris Bovee.

Besides getting a chance to see hundreds of Monroe's personal belongings, which will be auctioned by Christie's in October, guests got to talk to party host Eugene Grisanti, CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances. The company, which makes Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds, is currently working on a Marilyn Monroe fragrance. Although Grisanti wouldn't tell us what's in the perfume or even divulge details on the bottle shape, he did say, ``It will bring pleasure to mankind, much as the star did through sight and sound.''

And he thinks if she were alive today, she'd like it better than her signature scent Chanel No. 5.

In Malibu at the home of L.A. attorney Peter Knecht and his author-wife Ava Cadell, more than 350 guests gathered to celebrate life.

Literally.

Knecht, who was left for dead in 1998 after having his throat slit while trying to protect his family, vowed that if he survived he would devote one day a year to celebrate life - and love. Not just his, but other people who have beat the odds.

So, at his second annual luncheon, he honored six survivors of catastrophic diseases and acts of violence: Actors Dan Haggerty and Stanley Ralph Ross, Los Angeles Police Department officer James Zborovan, Malibu lawyer Patrick Maginnis, West Hollywood attorney Harry Weiss, and Congressman Howard Berman of Van Nuys.

Down the coast at Marina del Rey, more partying was going on. About 400 guests boarded the FantaSea One yacht for the second annual Party at Sea that included dancing to the music of the California Cowboys Band and dining on an international vegetarian feast of stir-fried tofu, vegetable lasagna and grilled eggplant and pesto.

The event was a fund-raiser for the Encino-based Ark Trust, Inc. organization, and before the boat docked, more than $71,000 was raised for animal protection programs, including the Red Alert dog adoption project at L.A. city and county animal shelters, according to Ark Trust president Gretchen Wyler.

Applause for the party goes to the dinner committee, including Marlene Goodman of Sherman Oaks and Ellen Irving of Granada Hills.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Honoree Dan Haggerty, center, is congratulated by Ava Cadell and Peter Knecht at the Celebration of Life and Love party.

(2) Encino residents Leonard and Iris Bovee, left, with Eugene Grisanti, CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances, at the Marilyn Monroe exhibition at Christie's Beverly Hills.

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