Tony Curtis

Actor Tony Curtis will appear at the 6th annual Senior Harvest Hoedown on Saturday Sat Huntington Pacifica Park. The event, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature entertainment, bingo, gifts, informational booths geared toward senior citizens and other activities. There is no admission charge. A pancake breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Lunch will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Huntington Beach Council on Aging and the city.

You can't get into Spago Monday night unless you're a major star or a friend of Irving Lazar. He books the entire restaurant every year for his famous Oscar party. But there's always the Tony Curtis party--and you're invited. The "Spartacus" star will be hosting dinner at Tatou in Beverly Hills from 6 to 10:30 p.m. For $40, customers get a special three-course Oscar dinner, a big-screen view of the Academy Awards presentation, and a chance to preview the actor's paintings.

In a way, the "reunion reception" Wednesday at the Bistro Garden for the Kirk Douglas-led cast of the 1960 epic "Spartacus" had a theme straight from ancient Rome. It was a circus. A media circus. Le Cirque du Kirk. Outnumbered two to one by the lions (sound-bite hungry television crews), the gladiators--in this case Douglas, Tony Curtis, Woody Strode, Nina Foch and Joanna Barnes--were thrown before the cameras with only a glib publicist for a shield.

Tony Curtis, who mixed drinks and managed the bar at Casa Roma restaurant in Lancaster for more than a dozen years, has died at his Lancaster residence. He was 74. Curtis died Thursday of cancer, said his son, Jack Curtis. Born June 17, 1916, in Hawaii, Curtis came to California as a child and served in the Army during World War II. He later worked as a bartender at a Bakersfield hotel before starting at Casa Roma in 1967.

On a recent night in Beverly Hills, crowds stood patiently behind velvet ropes on the sidewalk, waiting for admittance. Limousines lined the curb. Doormen checked their clipboards. Waiters cruised with silver salvers of shrimp and pate. Security guards with walkie-talkies kept things under control. The opening of a new discotheque? The premiere party for Hollywood's latest blockbuster? Hardly.

For a handful of lucky people, home is defined by 24-hour room service, clean sheets every day, daily maid and laundry service and someone to screen calls. It comes equipped with gourmet restaurants, gift shops, an opulent lobby and a concierge to book time on the golf course. These are people who call L.A.'s plushest hotels their homes. While most can only dream about life as Eloise, Kay Thompson's plucky heroine who lived at New York's Plaza Hotel, some actually live the fantasy.