It was a hip evening for the glitterati who gathered at the Tribeca Grand Hotel for Cinema Society’s special screening (followed by a dinner in the Soho Grand Gallery) of Candy starring Heath Ledger. The film, which also stars Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush, is a powerful and harrowing depiction of a couple hooked on heroin.

Cole Haan partnered with the Cinema Society in hosting the evening. Cinema Society evenings are authentic Noo Yawk glitterati, great people watching as well as movie watching.

M Missoni hosted a cocktail party at the SoHo boutique to preview photographer Douglas Friedman’s latest work in his first ever public exhibit. The photographs document a road trip from Saigon to Hanoi and into Halong Bay during a three week period in the summer of 2006.

The excitement surrounding Douglas’ debut exhibit brought an enthusiastic crowd to the M Missoni store to offer their congratulations. Allison Sarofim, Martha Stewart, Bronson Van Wyck, Derek Blasberg, Melanie Charlton, Blaire Clark, Carrie Cloud, Celerie Kemball, Bonnie Morrison, Ellen Niven, Olivia Palermo, Byrdie Bell, Melissa Berkelhammer, Claire Bernard, Lily Rafii, Miles Redd, Kate Schelter, Peter Som, Vanessa Von Bismarck, Eleanor Ylvisaker, Bettina Zilkha, and Jessica Zirinis made their way around the crowded store to see the oversized color photographs of Vietnam which were hung high above the crowd.

Graziano de Boni, President and CEO of Valentino Fashion Group USA, was thrilled with the success of the evening and promised there would be more "things"in 2007. As a brand, M Missoni will continue to support talented young artists and the SoHo store is an ideal location to display their work", says de Boni.

Douglas Friedman lives and works in Manhattan as a photographer and is best known for his work in Wallpaper, Elle Décor, Tatler, V, Domino, InStyle, and New York magazine.

Jamie and Frank McCourt, the owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers were honored by American Friends of the Hebrew University at their annual Scopus Award Gala a week ago Sunday at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom. 

The McCourts join a distinguished group of past Scopus Laureates including Steven Spielberg, Ted Turner, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Larry King, Merv Griffin, Elie Wiesel, Zubin Mehta and Billy Crystal.  Vin Scully, Hall of Fame Broadcaster and Voice of the Dodgers, was emcee.The Honorable Al Gore was the Keynote Speaker.

Dinner Chairs are Beth and Joshua Friedman, Mary Hart and Burt Sugarman, and Daphna and Richard Ziman. 

The Scopus Award, the highest honor conferred by the American Friends of the Hebrew University, is awarded to outstanding community leaders who have maintained an active involvement in humanitarian causes of local, national and international scope.

Throughout their lives, the McCourts have focused their philanthropic efforts on educational initiatives believing that educational opportunities provide the building blocks for future success. The funds donated from this event go to providing educational opportunities for students at Hebrew University.

Upon joining the Dodgers, the McCourts rejuvenated the Dodgers Dream Foundation and launched the $1 million “Team 42” scholarship fund in honor of legendary Dodger and civil rights pioneer, Jackie Robinson.  The program provides college scholarships to 42 Los Angeles-area minority students each year.

More wisdom of pearls. "Pearls have occupied a very, very important place in not only the history of jewelry but in the history of art, the history of fashion... and the history of Palm Beach," says Tiffany's longtime design director, John Loring at a recent visit to Tiffany’s Worth Avenue store in Palm Beach. Loring was there promoting his new book “Tiffany Pearls” (Harry N. Abrams $50) in which he details the world’s history of celebrated pearls. (see  NYSD Shopping Diary/ Passionate Shopper).

John Loring has written a number of books on Tiffany Design. Jackie Onassis edited the first six.

In his talk, he pointed out that pearls historically “were far more valuable than diamonds for most of history.” At the New York World's Fair held in 1939, the Tiffany diamond was priced at $200,000, the Tiffany pearl was $600,000.). They are also the greatest jewel in the history of portraiture. “When you go to a museum,” he pointed out,  “the only jewel that you see that (looks like it should) is the pearl because it was the only one that could be rendered accurately." The same with black-and-white photography, “Before colored photography came in in the 1930s ... what do you see in those portraits? You see pearls or diamonds. So the public had the impression the only fashionable thing to wear were pearls or diamonds but pearls showed up better."

"We have a great example of pearls in the portrait of Mary Lily Flagler in the Flagler Museum in the music room," said Loring. "She is wearing her (60-inch) opera-length strand of fine Oriental pearls, which Henry Morrison Flagler purchased from Tiffany & Co. for the cool sum of $2 million."

Loring  doesn’t know what happened to the pearls of the third wife of Mr. Flagler but if it hasn't been made into several smaller necklaces, he estimates its current value at close to $40 million.

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