His “Top Gun” attire served as a warning: Bill Klein was not going to miss his target.
A crowd of 420 embraced the ’80s theme of the Anaheim Ducks Center Ice Party presented by the Klein family to support Orangewood Foundation. And no one decked out in neon, spandex or a Members Only jacket stood a chance for the top prize against Klein, one of the evening’s hosts with his wife, Jenny, at South Coast Plaza.
He won the live auction for an hour with hockey’s ultimate trophy, the Stanley Cup, and said he planned to spend the time with students at the Samueli Academy in Santa Ana.
Ducks players’ images graced ’80s movie posters – think “Cam Fowler’s Day Off” and team captain Ryan Getzlaf co-starring with Corey Perry in “License To Drive.” The team avoided some of the regrettable fashion choices of the decade and stuck with aloha shirts inspired by “Magnum, P.I.” as players mingled with fans in an arcade loaded with video games and pinball machines.
The live auction only paused the action on the dance floor, where Ducks co-owners Henry and Susan Samueli got in on the fun as The Spazmatics covered ’80s favorites from Journey to Madonna. When the party was over, the event had netted a cool $110,000 for the cause.
