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He knocked out the crowd with his impassioned acceptance of the Distinguished Artist Award during the bi-annual Angels’ Night 2011 benefiting the Center Theatre Group at the Beverly Hilton. Tony Award-winning actor, singer, dancer Ben Vereen couldn’t say enough about the necessity for young people to experience live theater. “Believe me ... this changes lives.” Ben then delivered a rousing interpretation of The Impossible Dream to stand-up applause.

The evening benefited the CTG’s youth education program, now in its 40th year, adding another million toward the $14 million that Queen Ava of the House of Fries raised during her 20-year tenure as chair of the CTG Affiliates. Ava being the indomitable Ava Fries, who, with producer husband Chuck Fries, is a diehard benefactor, which led us, long ago, to crown Ava our Queen of CTG Angels in our City of the Angels.

Proof of “lives being changed,” as Ben Vereen declared, was confirmed by Center Theatre Group’s artistic director Michael “Mike” Ritchie, an honoree, who recalled his teenage youth during the ’70s when he attended his first Broadway show. “I remember where I sat to this day, and I’ll never forget the show. Pippin, starring Ben Vereen, which won Ben his Tony.” Next spring, Ben co-stars in the Broadway production of Pope Joan – “I’ll play the Cardinal.”

A dinner with Michael and his wife Kate Burton was among the auction items. They offered to open their Hollywood residence for six guests to share an evening of dinner and conversation. With Michael cooking! What menu we asked? “Mac and cheese.”

Also on the auction block was Laddie John Dill’s art masterwork, Golden Light Trapped, that fetched $25,000 from Tim Regler, producer of Judge Judy. A journey to Turkey fetched $38,000 from KCAL and KCBS weather-caster and helicopter pilot Derek Bell and wife Yvonne Bell.

We recall Michael’s 2005 arrival in Los Angeles. Welcomed as he was during a Sunday brunch at Ava and Chuck Fries’s mansionette in Beverly Hills. New to California, Michael confessed he didn’t know how his New York psyche would adapt. Ava and Chuck’s friends greeted him with flutes of chilled champagne followed by a groaning board buffet, with Michael beaming, as the warm California sunshine poured through the windows, “I can easily get used to this.” Now, years later, the CTG continues to enrich our community with its diverse programs.

In January, the CTG’s AhmansonTheatre world-premieres Funny Girl, directed by Tony winner Bart Sher (South Pacific) and starring Lauren Ambrose as Fanny Brice in the role that became a signature for Barbra Streisand. Bobby Cannavale co-stars as Fanny’s husband Nicky Arnstein, which Sydney Chaplin played on Broadway. The 1964 musical won eight Tony Awards, and was produced by Ray Stark, who had wed Fanny’s daughter Frances (Fran), with our entrepreneurial Wendy Stark being their daughter. Wendy underwrote Ray’s, the café designed by Renzo Piano at LACMA that’s named after her producer dad, a powerbroker at Columbia Pictures during the ’70s and ’80s.

Angels’ Night honorees included civic benefactor Stephen Hinchcliffe, with Bill Ahmanson presenting the Distinguished Service award, and theater aficionado Janice Brock Wallace receiving her Guardian Angel award from CTG-A president Rosalind Zane. NBC weather man Friitz Coleman, emceed, and as always had the audience laughing, and auctioneer Jonathan Holiday was at his best.

During her introductory remarks, Ava promised the evening would end by 10 o’clock. Wrong. By 9:45 PM, everyone headed home. Nirvana!

Earlier in the week, we were invited by philanthropist Louise Danelian who hosted a table for the annual Inner City Arts Gala at the Beverly Hilton. Louise has supported the Inner City Arts time and again. She was thrilled that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chose to stop by the school and meet its many talented youngsters during their brief Southern California visit. A coup, indeed, for Inner City Arts.

Inner City Arts honored Colleen Bell for her philanthropic leadership with the 2011 Imagine Award. Colleen is wed to Bill Bell, the six-time Emmy award-winning producer and writer of the perennially popular The Bold And The Beautiful.

Stone-carver/sculptress Soraya Sarah Nazarian received the Artistic Excllence Award, also acknowledged was DreamWorks Animation SKG. Several years ago, the studio contributed $500,000 for the establishment of the DreamWorks Academy at Inner City Arts to provide at-risk youth with arts education and acquiring skills needed for jobs in the creative community. This week’s evening raised $1 million.

Dining with Louise were son Steve Danelian, a world-class photographer whose work appears in national publications, with wife Lulu Powers, renowned for her event planning and catering (Madonna being among her loyalists), celebrity hair-stylist Yuki Takei; Joel Briskin, who knows more about Hollywood than we’ll ever know; and globetrotter Gary Pudney, the former ABC Television v-p.

Gary’s the BFF of the royal family of Monaco, and reveals that he and Prince Albert are planning several television projects. And that Prince Albert and bride Princess Charlene are arriving in New York for the Princess Grace gala honoring Julie Andrews. She’ll also be the honored on March 14th by the Professional Dancers Society at the Beverly Hilton. Gary adds that Princess Stephanie chairs the Fight Aids Monaco Foundation.

Good news for those who loved ABC’s Dynasty (1981-1989). Linda Evans starred as Krystle Carrington, the secretary who marries John Forsythe, the oil-rich patriach Blake Carrington, and that born-to-bitchery ex-wife Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins.

Contentedly ensconced now in the Northwest, Linda’s published Recipes For Life, My Memories. Kirkus Reviews praises its “attention-grabbing anecdotes, glossy photos and delectable recipes.” Including Hot Dog Stew, a dish her mom was serving to our servicemen during the Korean War when times were tough. Among the 40 recipes are John Wayne’s favorite green chile and cheese casserole, Tony Curtis’ lemon soufflé with raspberry sauce, Gracie Allen’s roast beef, and Barbara Stanwyck’s hobo steak.

Linda doesn’t mince details about her marriages to John Derek, who made boots and soft leather clothes for her by hand, and real estate hotshot Stan Herman. The liaisons (Yani, George Santo Pietro, Richard Cohen). Reminiscences about Rock Hudson, Dynasty costume designer Nolan Miller, chef Nobu Matsuhisa. And training the 200-pound leopard Sheba for Circus Of The Stars (Linda’s been a cat-lover from birth).

“I loved that Joan and I were older than most leading ladies on TV, and that our Dynasty characters were portrayed as glamorous and vital.”

Growing older, “you get wiser,” Linda told Oprah Winfrey, “and that’s the great thing about aging.”