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Over the weekend we were discussing the 122nd Tournament of Roses Parade during Princess Lilly Fallah Lawrence’s dinner at Cache in Santa Monica, where we met Raul Rodriguez, the Big Kahuna of Float Design.

Raised in East Los Angeles and having studied at the Art Center School of Design, Raul’s created his majestic floats since age 14, and is acknowledged as the best of the best, winning more awards than any other float designer. The Hispanic Times headlines that “Raul Makes Magic for Millions.” His floats have graced Six Flags, Las Vegas gaming establishments and the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. Considered Numero Uno in Sin City, Raul assesses that, all told, he’s created more than 800 floats.

For the 2011 Roses Parade with its theme, “Building Dreams, Friendships and Memories,” Raul is creating 16 floats. The Reagan Library’s anniversary, Dole Pineapple, Kaiser Pemanente, Natural Balance Pet Food, for which he designed the longest float in history in 2010, the City of Torrance, China Airlines, plus others. Raul’s intricate floats with their iconic images and elegant floral tableaux are built in Raul’s Irwindale and Azusa studios. Admittedly, Raul’s often inspired by the vibrant colors of his beloved toucans, macaws and parrots in his aviary.

Our hostess that evening, Lilly Lawrence, is the beautiful daughter of the late Dr. Reza Fallah, the Ambassador Commissioner General Minister of Oil during the reign of the last Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi. The brilliant and powerful Dr. Fallah declined a nomination for the Nobel Prize.

We met Lilly and her sportsman husband Bunty Lawrence, a Marine Corps officer and a major player in New York’s financial scene, during our youthful years in Manhattan. After losing Bunty, Lilly relocated to Los Angeles, buying The Castle on the mountaintop in Malibu. During one of the fierce Santa Ana conflagrations, a tree toppled, and the estate became engulfed in flames, destroying her family treasures. “Fortunately, my possessions have never possessed me. The truth is that I’m more concerned about our boys in Iraq,” she said. An insurance lawsuit is ongoing.

Philanthropist that she is, Lilly purchased more than 1,000 hours of prepaid phone cards for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the USO president claiming he has rarely seen such a gift. She’s made generous contributions to the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital to provide medical care for underprivileged children, contributed apparel and books to the Sojourn Women’s Shelter in Santa Monica, donated hundreds of furnishings to schools and hospitals.

Lilly resides in Santa Monica, where she became a Presenting Sponsor for David Katz’s Santa Monica Film Festival that screened 18 movies last weekend. After her Cache dinner, she was honored by David with a reception at the Loews Hotel. For eleven years she served as the Founding Sponsor of David’s Malibu Film Festival.

Lilly’s is an extraordinary life-affirming spirit, noting, as she does that her mom, Mahine Fallah, believed strongly in helping young artists. Hence Lilly’s film festival support. Her late mother’s jewelry wardrobe was second only to the Queen of England, much of it lost during the horrific fire at The Castle. Years ago, Loretta Young was invited to visit Mahine and Reza Fallah, entertaining her, as they did, at the Fallah Palace, along with the Shah of Iran at the Royal Palace. Loretta was overwhelmed with the Fallahs’ hospitality, stayed for seven months!

Here and abroad, Lilly’s a best-dressed fashion icon, be it Paris couture or couture of her own design. At her intimate dinner parties, Lilly gathers people of interest that we should know. At her Cache evening, we also were introduced to Robert Cash, a relative of country music legend Johnny Cash, whose life story was filmed in Walk the Line with Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny and Reese Witherspoon as June Cash.

Robert informs that the Cash family history dates back to 1160 AD in Scotland, with later generations pioneering Tennessee and the South. His father was a diplomat, with Robert traveling and schooled in many countries. Today, he manages the Raul Rodriguez Design Studio. Lilly’s guests included Dr. Randy Pokomo, an emergency room physician at the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital, and his charming best-dressed wife, Cheryl, who is Lilly’s personal assistant (and a look-alike for Sharon Lawrence).

Speaking of the best-dressed, we mentioned last week that the 30-year-old entrepreneur Jay Penske (of the Penske Automotive Group family) is a Vanity Fair inductee in the September issue’s Best-Dressed List. He likes Cucinelli blazers (as do we). We should clarify that Jay’s the chairman and CEO of MMC that includes Nikki Finke’s Deadline.com, HollywoodLife.com, and MovieLife.com. He owns the inviting Dragonbooks in the Beverly Glen Circle that specializes in rare first editions and literary classics. Additionally, let us clarify that Lynne Segall is the publisher and vice-president of MMC Entertainment.

Meanwhile in Malibu, Lisa and Dustin Hoffman celebrated his birthday at Taverna Tony with two dozen guests chowdowning on Tony Corfu’s Greek feasts while sipping the fine Tsantali wine that’s made by monks. Nearby, Christina Aguilera partied with a dozen guests. Jim Cameron dined with his family, and they were planning a visit to Lake Baikal in Russia, the deepest and clearest lake in the world with rare species of underwater life. Lake Baikal is halfway between Moscow and Vladivostock.

Summer sparks the scene at Taverna Tony and along Malibu’s Carbon Beach, aka Billionaires Beach. David Geffen and Oracle’s Larry Ellison each own five or six houses thereabouts, and seaside players include Jerry Bruckheimer, Terry Semel, Eli Broad, Peter Morton, Garry Winnick, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chaim Saban, Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, Arnon Milchan, Lou Adler. The late Nancy Daly Riordan’s beach estate – part of her divorce settlement? – is listed at $47 million by Ron DeSalvo of Coldwell Banker’s Beverly Hills North office.