The show goes on for Abraham Judah Macabee

It may have been the worst case of bar mitzvah jitters in Jewish history, said one of the guests. Rather than recite the Portion of the Law, the bar mitzvah boy died. This did not deter the organizers, the Pacific Jewish Center of Venice Beach and the Jerusalem College of Technology, from having their Los Angeles fundraiser. The invitations for the Dec. 11 event, called a bar mitzvah even though the 92-year-old honoree was not called to the Torah, had already gone out. The room had already been booked at the Beverly Hilton, the caterer and band hired. Elliot Gould had agreed to be the master of ceremonies, Shelley Winters said she'd take a bow. However untimely from the organizers' point of view, oil magnate Armand Hammer's passing the day before, at the age of 92, was not deemed a reason for cancelling. Indeed, it may well have heightened interest in the event. It certainly brought out the media, and more than a few celebrities. A spokesman for the Pacific Jewish Center, Howard Bragman, declared that the show would indeed go on. "It's really the wish of Dr. Hammer that this event continue," he told reporters. And so, with what appeared to be minor inconvenience, Hammer's bar mitzvah became Hammer's commemoration. Armand Hammer's death did not, in fact, surprise actor Cesar Romero.The silver-maned performer said Hammer had not looked well as the opening of the controversial Armand Hammer Art Museum in Westwood, a L.A. neighborhood, a few weeks before.

Hammer, who suffered from kidney ailments, had been confined to a wheelchair. "He would have liked to have had his bar mitzvah, though," said Romero. "God knows he worked long enough for it." Former California governor Jerry Brown who attended the dinner with another former California governor, his father, Edmund G. (Pat) Brown characterized Hammer as an "incredible human being who continued living to the last second. He fought hard for his oil wells," said Brown, "and he fought hard to bring Israeli and Arab kids together." Much was made at the dinner of Hammer's contributions to Jewish and Israeli well-being. Ran Ronen, the Israeli consul-general in Los Angeles, recalled that a few weeks earlier, Hammer had met with President Chaim Herzog during the latter's visit to Los Angeles. He added that Hammer had made significant contributions both to Israel's technological edge over its neighbors, and to its improving relations with the Soviet Union. On the subject of Soviet relations, former refusenik Ida Nudel, also present at the dinner, acknowledged that her departure to Israel in 1987 was largely Hammer's doing. Philanthropist Guilford Glazer was effusive in his praise, attributing to Hammer pivotal responsibility for the end of the cold war, the coming cure for cancer, the current Russian aliyah and the discovery of high-grade oil near Ashdod. The latter discovery, Glazer said, had helped advance Hammer's dream of an energy-sufficient Israel. He noted, with misplaced awe, that some 800 barrels of crude a day are being produced. Hammer's Jewish awakening during the past decade is said to be the result of pressure from his former private secretary, a newly observant Jew who is a member of the Pacific Jewish Center, who also is said to have obtained Hammer's support for the institution. Hammer had no religious training as a youth. Had he lived one more day, said PJC Rabbi Daniel Lapin, he would have joined his people under the name Abraham Judah Maccabee. And he would have received the biggest fountain pen a hefty 7-footer (2.13 meters) ever bestowed upon a new member of the Jewish community.