New York Diary

Geffen's trees not Welk-come; Ron Silver burned by toast; Paris on the Mississippi

Vanities

Frequent phone calls to the White House haven't kept David Geffen out of trouble in his own backyard. His neighbor Larry Welk, son of the late Lawrence Welk, is complaining that the power broker's juniper trees block his side view of the ocean—possibly against the law in Malibu.

The trees in question separate Welk's home from Geffen's new, 54-foot-long swimming pool. A three-bedroom house used to divide the two properties, but in 1991 Geffen bought it for $3 million, then razed it to make room for the pool, planning to convert his small original pool into a lily pond. All the work had been approved by Malibu's stringent planning board. But Welk protested when Geffen replaced a myoporum tree with an unapproved juniper; another tree was planted four feet closer to Welk's dining-room window than the plans had speci-

fied. Geffen had to stop the landscaping until the city decided that the offending trees could remain in place, with the provision that he keep all the junipers well pruned. Welk is now closely watching Geffen's branch growth.

This is not the first time the man with the golden touch has gotten into a squabble over his green thumb. Three years ago, Geffen went to court and won a lot of money in damages when a neighbor in Beverly Hills chopped down 16 trees on Geffen's property.

TARNISHED SILVER?

A changing of the guard has taken place at the Creative Coalition, the star-studded political-advocacy group. Blair Brown and Christopher Reeve are the new co-presidents, replacing Ron Silver, who now holds the title of "founder and president emeritus.'' Some disgruntled coalition members are not sorry to see their former president go, accusing him of sexism. They cite Silver's introduction of Susan Sarandon at a Tavern on the Green gala two years ago. "When 1 first met Susan Sarandon, she was with my good friend. . . The next time I saw her, she was with my friend. . ." said Silver, who actually listed Sarandon's romantic history—hardly an appropriate way to salute the politically active actress as a "Woman of Achievement.''

"It was an incredibly hostile, sexist toast,'' Sarandon recalled at a recent Food & Hunger Hotline benefit in her honor (where Harry Belafonte and Ruth Messinger praised Sarandon's political involvements in their introductions). Is that why she has been less committed to the Creative Coalition lately? "I'm not very involved right now, it's true," she said. "But that's not the only reason." She did attend the board meeting at which the leadership change was decided. Silver insists he isn't a sexist. "My attempt at postfeminist humor was a failure," he admits. "But it was not done with any malice."

AND...

. . .Edith Wharton has gone high-concept, and she doesn't even know it. When her out-of-print novel The Glimpses of the Moon was auctioned off to Hollywood, it was touted as "a turn-of-the-century Indecent Proposed. ' ' The phrase is credit-

ed to Jay Cocks, who adapted Wharton's The Age of Innocence with Martin Scorsese. Producer Paula Weinstein bought the Moon rights, though she says she doesn't buy Cocks's description. Other Wharton properties in pre-production: The Custom of the Country, by Michelle Pfeiffer (who stars in Scorsese's Innocence), The Buccaneers, by Lynda Obst at Fox, and director Ken Russell'sThe House of Mirth.

. . . Yes, it was a surprise. Diandra Douglas was expecting a quiet family dinner when her husband, Michael, dragged her downtown to Lotfi's Couscous. Instead, the out-of-the-way restaurant was packed with friends yelling, "Happy birthday!" A belly dancer enticed most guests—including artist Jim Rosenquist and the birthday girl—onto the dance floor.

. . . The Paris Review celebrated its 40th birthday with a catfish fry in Paris, Mississippi. "It was too expensive to go to Paris, France," explains editor George Plimpton, who is on a quest to find all the Parises in America.

. . ."She told me she was scared," said art dealer Herve Aaron. "/ was scared she would think the drawings are not good enough." But Annette de la Renta loved the two Carle Vernet drawings she unveiled at the Didier Aaron Gallery for a Frick Collection benefit. Nancy Kissinger stopped by to offer friendly support. De la Renta later explained how she overcame her stage fright: "I prac-

ticed."

DEBORAH MITCHELL