Summer’s almost here and Hollywood’s party circuit is already getting hot, hot, hot as the stars start hitting some of the swankiest bashes. And if the parties are good enough to draw Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, Teri Hatcher and Lindsay Lohan (twice!), you know I’ll RSVP, too.
Cavalli On the Rocks?
Fashion genius Roberto Cavalli and his stylish Italian crew took over a mammoth Bel-Air mansion overlooking Sunset Boulevard as the designer tried his hand tailoring a very different kind of specialty label, his own signature $60-per-bottle Cavalli brand of vodka, which, judging by the volumes of the liquor his A-list guests consumed during the evening, proved to be a potent potable indeed.
Nicky Hilton, decked out in a flowing Cavalli gown, was one of the first stars on hand to sample the designer’s drink menu, though as a woman with her own fashion line, his couture creations were more on her mind. “He has the most amazing colorful prints,” she said as she and her mom Kathy, dad Rick and aunt Kyle settled into the guarded VIP section featuring luxurious sofas in Cavalli-esque zebra-stripe prints. “I think I’m inspired by a lot of designers, and he is among them.” Her sis Paris skipped the bash in favor of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis’ birthday blowout at Magic Mountain—great, there’s the bash with all the literal flash—but I asked Nicky if she was going to miss having Paris’ recently minted ex Stavros Niarchos around all the time. Nicky stopped to think: “I mean, he goes out every night, so I probably won’t miss him, you know?”
Nicky spent a lot of time dancing to the music played by London import DJ Max Chipcase with Anne Heche, a pal of her aunt’s—Anne was Nicky’s BFF for most of the night, chain-bumming Miss Hilton’s smokes. Danny Masterson showed late in the evening with attached girlfriend Bijou Phillips and his brother’s Chris’ gal Laura Prepon and they all got their Scientology on. Cavalli’s crew spoke mostly Italian, but Lisa Rinna proved she was fluent in the language of air-kissing, telling Cavalli how amazing his clothes were, which I’m sure he’s never heard before.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. strolled in the door and hungrily eyed my friend’s sunny blonde 19-year-old sister, remarking to his friend, “There’s a lot of fine-looking women here,” before being asked to pose for photos with about 30% of them. Two of the beauties Cuba didn’t get snapshots with were Cindy Crawford, who sat nearly hidden amid her entourage of friends, and Rosario Dawson, who only had eyes for beau Jason Lewis. Mingling around the bar, several guests were wagering over who was taller—towering Aisha Tyler or Amazonian Natasha Henstridge—but were ultimately too shy to ask for a back-to-back comparison from the statuesque sirens themselves.
Lindsay Lohan made a surprise appearance in the party’s wee-er hours around midnight—most of the celeb contingent had moved on, and LL‘s arrival was not a big to-do. Lindsay’s famous tresses, which were red when I saw her just a few days earlier, was back in black again. She looked slim–but not too slim, tabloid watchers; her curves are back, in spades–and very pretty in black top and jeans, but Just Our Luck, she refused to exhibit any scandalous behavior as she hung in the VIP section with a gaggle of gal pals who had been waiting for her. Perhaps the proximity of a pair of parents (a hard-partying mom and pop, sure, but still someone’s parents) curbed her wild child instincts, as Rick and Kathy Hilton looked on approvingly.
Check out Hollywood.com’s photos here!
[PAGEBREAK]Erasure
Hitting the red carpet the next night at the Race to Erase MS gala, I wasn’t sure if Nicky Hilton had actually changed from the night before or just stayed up all night, but she assured me with a giggle she was in a different Cavalli gown this time out.
Race to Erase is one of L.A.’s prototypical social events of the season, thrown by Brandon Davis’ mom Nancy, who raises funds to battle multiple sclerosis (a condition she lives with). The turnout brought out the widest spectrum of stars and socialites imaginable to the Century Plaza Hotel, ranging from the young blonde cutie Kristin Cavallari to Hollywood uber-wife Candy Spelling.
Inside the pre-show silent auction, Anne Heche and CSI: Miami star Eva LaRue battled over a trip, eventually finding out they were in competition when Anne’s hubby spied Eva playfully upping the bid every time Anne turned her back. Name-alike beauties Brooke Burke and Brooke Burns giggled and joked over how many people mix them up, and then onstage Tom Arnold accidentally introduced Ms. Burns as Ms. Burke as they presided over the live auction.
Lindsay Lohan and new BFF Nicole Richie arrived together at the last possible moment of red carpet arrivals, holding hands and vamping for the cameras while flashing peace signs and blowing kisses. On the red carpet, Lindsay, her hair already ravishingly red again, wore a pale peach off the shoulder gown, gathered in billowy plumes at the knee with an oversized bow on her right shoulder, a glittery bodice and a sheer panel over her neckline, while Nicole wore a simple bright white sleeveless cocktail dress and toted a smart-looking black purse.
As I shared a table with Boston Legal’s Julie Bowen and the Dick Clark of MTV, Carson Daly, the gal pals changed to appear on stage together for the finale of the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show: Lindsay, her hair now down, was in a tight white sleeveless Hilfiger mini-dress covered with silvery, reflective fringe–it was super, super short, almost showing off her goodies, while her plunging neckline offered a fine view of her renewed pneumatic form. On the flip side, the increasingly deflated Nicole was in a simple sheath of metallic silver with long, dangling earrings and a metallic bracelet with a big daisy on it. As they walked the runway, they waved to a whooping Kelly Osbourne and her boyfriend in the audience.
Lisa Rinna opened the fashion show with an amazing red dress with a sky-high slit, dancing up a sexy storm with her Dancing with the Stars partner Louis van Amstel. When she returned to model Hilfiger clothes and danced with her husband Harry Hamlin, she was in a similar black dress, and she flashed her bright white panties at Tom Arnold, who sat at a table at the end of the runway. Also flashing her panties—leopard-print—was Rod Stewart’s daughter Kimberly, while her rocker dad sat in the audience, chagrined.
Also hitting the runway in Hilfiger were the astoundingly leggy Stacy Keibler in thigh-high red patent leather boots, a metallic bikini-topped Kristin Cavallari, red-hot Eva LaRue, all-grown-up looking Andrea Bowen, sultry Brooke Burke, radiant Sophia Bush and sweet-faced Samaire Armstrong.
At the end of the fashion show, Lindz and Nic escorted Tommy Hilfiger on stage for a bow. After the show they made a quick exit, stopping at Sharon Osbourne’s table at the very back of the ballroom to confer with Kelly about where they would meet up later (That same evening, Lindsay got into her much publicized dust-up with Paris Hilton at an L.A. nightclub after the heiress blew off her attempt to say hi—seriously, Lindsay, after strutting your stuff all night with Paris‘ ex-BFF, what did you expect?!)
Paris had arrived shortly after her sister Nicky. I asked Paris what she was wearing and, as she didn’t know, she let me check the label in back. There was no name inside, but I did get to see that Paris was, at least, wearing underwear. As we talked, she called her sister Nicky on the Sidekick and went into the silent auction room, clearly in need of some shopping. Paris and Nicky shared a table at the gala, while their parents Rick and Kathy sat at another table nearby.
Paris, who’s known the Davis family since she was a tot, popped onto the stage to auction off a tiny little Maltese puppy with a pink bow on its forehead. The dog eventually sold for $10,000 to Sharon Osbourne, who shared a table with music legend Stevie Wonder. Previously, during the silent auction, Sophia Bush and Michelle Trachtenberg fussed, kissed and cooed over the puppy. Drew Lachey from Dancing With the Stars also auctioned off hotly contested private dance lessons with his equally hot partner Cheryl Burke.
Taking a break from the bash, The OC stars Rachel Bilson (in a gorgeous red dress) and Melinda Clarke shared a table and slipped outside to sneak cigarettes with a group of girlfriends. Also outside was Lara Flynn Boyle, who randomly told me about the power of pilates–it seems easy at first, she said, but you’ll soon really feel the burn and it gets you into amazing shape. Let’s assume that’s how she got so lean.
Brooke Shields arrived with her husband in a dark blue mumu that stylishly hid her post-baby body, and she wore a giant black afro to fit the night’s ‘70s disco theme. Also sporting an afro was Natalie Cole, though hers was blonde–Natalie performed in between Me Decade superstars Sister Sledge and Kool & the Gang, each running through the roster of their classic hits like the old pros they are. It was impossible to resist shaking one’s groove thang on the dance floor, and I soon found myself boogieing alongside Anne Heche and my own new BFF Kathy Hilton, as papa Rick watched approvingly in the safety of his shimmery disco shirt.
Check out Hollywood.com’s pics—but NONE of me dancing—here!
[PAGEBREAK]A Wish Come True
Teri Hatcher went from Housewife to bartender at the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s annual Wine Auction & Tasting event, slinging drinks for guests who had donated to the charity that helps seriously ill children live out one joyful fantasy.
Teri‘s a huge fan of the cause. “It’s not just to see the effect on the kids themselves,” she told Hollywood.com. “The whole extended family—the mom and the dad and the siblings—are so thrilled to see this moment of their child getting happiness, because they deal with so much agony day after day with treatments and having to deal with their disease, so it’s just a great organization. Tonight’s a big money raiser for them, so I’m happy to be here.”
Along with crafting cocktails, Teri also auctioned off an autographed copy of her book Burned Toast and a necklace with a toast-shaped black diamond pendant identical to the one she gave Oprah Winfrey. In addition, she posed for photos with fans to raise extra funds: “We set up a really classy little photo booth with a digital printout, so you get your photo instantly and I autograph it and put it in a frame.”
“Kind of like the old carnival kissing booth?” I wondered as I reached for my Breath Assure. “I’m not kissing anybody!” said Teri. Apparently she’d learned her lesson from Ryan Seacrest—you never know where those photos will end up.
Click here for photos!
Still Best “Friends”
Jennifer Aniston arrived at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel on a sunny 90210 afternoon, dressed in a simple, sleek black top and matching black slacks in her usual minimalist style–looked like Armani to my semi-trained eye–with bare arms and simple gold jewelry on her left arm—and no Vince Vaughn on her right arm. What could bring out Jen in the midst of publicity for The Break-Up? Yep, it’s another BFF, from both TV and real life: Courteney Cox Arquette, who was the subject of an AFI tribute luncheon along with her famous in-laws, the Arquette family.
Courteney and David, as always, were the picture of marital bliss—very touchy feely and affectionate. Daughter Coco, blonder than both of her parents, was absolutely adorable in a poufy white dress with short sleeves and a little camera shy. D and C arrived in a luxury SUV with a driver, and unloaded Coco out of the car seat and headed inside, where Coco was appropriately doted on all afternoon by all the Arquettes: David’s sibs Rosanna, Alexis, Richmond, Patricia and her hubby Thomas Jane.
Not to be outdone by a mere tot, Jennifer was seated next to director David Fincher (Arquette family member Richmond is in his film Zodiac) and never left her table to mingle with the other guests, but people would come over to talk to her. Courteney in particular spent a lot of time lavishing Jen with attention, stroking her hair and rubbing her back.
Another old Friend, Matthew Perry—trim and healthy looking in a navy pinstripe suit and open white shirt—arrived in his own sportscar and got out drinking a Diet Red Bull. He was there to provide the introduction to Courteney’s clip reel (each member of the Arquette clan got an individual tribute). On stage, he revealed that when he arrived he went straight to the green room, where Courteney was surprised to see him: “What are you doing here??” she exclaimed. He said he had actually never gotten an official invitation to attend but showed up anyway.
Paul Reubens (that’s Pee Wee Herman to anyone born before 1984) introduced David–he’s appearing in David’s first directorial effort and is an old pal—and told how he and David once cleaned out the sales items at a Christmas store, although it was nowhere near Christmas. Paul was afraid that Courteney would flip out when she came home and saw her house filled with boxes of all these off-season Christmas decorations, but she didn’t bat an eye. That’s how Paul knew David had married the perfect woman.
A blonde-wigged Roseanne Barr showed up and gave a speech to introduce transvestite (and aspiring transsexual) Alexis, who, true to form, did everything she could to make the event about herself.
