There were some surprisingly emotional moments as the title of honorary mayor passed from Gavin MacLeod to Sugar Ray Leonard at the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce installment dinner Thursday night at the Riviera Country Club. Both men had nothing but affection for what emcee (and Pepperdine University associate vice chancellor) Sam Lagana called ‘one of the greatest towns in America.’ MacLeod was praised for his work in the community as honorary mayor for five years, and received colorful commendations issued by State Senator Fran Pavley, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. Lagana opened the Chamber’s tribute to MacLeod with an improvisation of ‘The Love Boat’ theme song. (For those too young to remember, MacLeod, as Captain Merrill Stubing, commanded the cruise ship of the popular sitcom from 1977-1986.) ‘You were an open smile on our Palisades shore,’ Lagana intoned. Then a surprise guest, U.S.N. (Retired) Rear Admiral Daniel H. Stone, stepped to the podium to say that MacLeod had been a captain for far too long. Stone delighted the crowd by pinning on a single star on MacLeod’s lapel to ‘promote’ him to rear admiral. ’With all the service that he’s given, both entertaining us with his great career, and also what he does for the community, I think it is definitely appropriate,’ said Stone, who lives in Ventura county. ’The Chief of Naval Operations gave me a call’ to say that MacLeod could now be recalled to active duty, Stone said, prompting big laughs and joking reassurance that, at worst, MacLeod (who recently moved to Palm Desert) would be the officer in charge of the Navy’s Palm Springs recruiting office. But the tone turned serious when Stone presented MacLeod with an admiral’s baseball cap, embroidered with his name, which had been mailed from the Persian Gulf by the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (which carried Osama bin Laden’s body to a burial at sea before returning to San Diego a short while ago). A letter from the carrier’s captain declared that MacLeod was now an honorary crew member of the ship. MacLeod was overcome with emotion, and the guests rose for a standing ovation. ’I’m not deserving of this, and I’m so grateful,’ said the outgoing and longest-serving ‘mayor’ in the town’s history, his voice choked with sentiment. But, ever the comedian, MacLeod quickly recovered, quipping, ‘I wonder if this means I’ll get a raise from Princess Cruises’ (he’s a spokesman for the cruise-ship line). Emcee Lagana then took the reins again. Changing into a red bow tie and adopting the booming voice of a boxing ring announcer, he bellowed, ‘And n-o-w-w-w, it’s time for the main event!’ Leonard, the legendary champion, played along from his seat, rolling his shoulders as if prepping for the ring, as Lagana introduced him: ‘In the black suit with the gray tie, weighing in somewhere around 176 pounds, from the Riviera Palisades, please welcome the next honorary ma-a-a-yor!’ Leonard, 55, began by acknowledging the ‘very special people’ who had joined him and his wife, Bernadette, for the evening, including three of his children, ‘Little’ Ray, Daniel and Camille, his sister and brother-in-law, family members who flew in from Argentina, a woman he called his ‘second Mom,’ his personal assistant for more than 35 years, and the head of his foundation in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He offered high praise to his wife as ‘a woman who is my rock, she’s my protector, she’s a better fighter than I am.’ The former fighter is in the midst of a book tour promoting his autobiography, ‘The Big Fight: My life In and Out of the Ring,’ and the man who co-authored his story of struggle and triumph was also on hand. Michael Arkush was the ‘guy who allowed me, who gave me the room, the space, the time, to reveal things that were very, very tough for me for 30 years.’ ’It’s made me a better father, a better husband, a better friend,’ he added, with what he said were tears of happiness in his eyes. Leonard said it was local sporting goods store owner and former Chamber president Bob Benton who ‘never gave up’ asking him to take on the job of mayor. Once Leonard accepted the offer, he was boyishly enthusiastic, calling his mom to tell her, ‘You won’t believe this’I’m going to be the mayor of Pacific Palisades!’ He joked that no matter what the issue, from dog poop to parking tickets, ‘whatever it is that you need’just call Bob (Benton),’ but Leonard also told the assembled Palisadians, ‘I take this job so, so seriously.’ When he first moved to California, Leonard said he thought Beverly Hills or Bel-Air was the place to be. But before he and Bernadette were married, they often jogged along Amalfi Drive and wondered, ‘What’s behind those hedges?’ Having bought a house there in 1993, he now knows and said, ‘This I where I want to be, this is home for me. ’Life is good, life is wonderful, life is Pacific Palisades.’
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