Thursday, June 16, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Vanity Fair diarist big on Wynn bash

Elaine Wynn trips the light fantastic. Tom Brady enjoys some Pure pleasure. Marie Osmond and family seen at Luxor. Hugh Jackman a hit at birthday party.

Author and TV personality Dominick Dunne came away from Elaine Wynn's posh birthday party with some juicy column fodder.

In his monthly diary for Vanity Fair, Dunne said Broadway star Hugh Jackman sat on the lap of wheelchair-bound Elizabeth Taylor and serenaded her at the dinner for 140 guests.

After dinner, former President George H.W. Bush introduced his dinner partner to Dunne. It was Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives," who told Dunne that she had all of 45 minutes to rehearse for her performance with Jackman.

Jackman coaxed the birthday honoree on stage, and they danced together "like Fred and Ginger," Dunne wrote.

"But the entrance that rocked us," Dunne wrote, came when Siegfried Fischbacher pushed Roy Horn into the room on his wheelchair. That "brought the room to a standstill," Dunne wrote.

Opera star Renee Fleming capped the night by singing "Summertime."

Dunne confirmed one of the wildest rumors of the opening week: malfunctioning shower doors were locking big shots inside for lengthy stays.

One of the unlucky shower-door victims who was lucky he didn't turn into a prune was Barry Diller, filmmaking giant and member of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, Dunne reported.

Dunne's visit also included a stop at the federal prison at Nellis Air Force Base to visit Peter Bacanovic, Martha Stewart's stockbroker, who is doing five months there before starting five months of home confinement.

The Scene and Heard

Las Vegas-based Insomnia film company premieres "Standing Still" at 7:30 tonight at the CineVegas Film Festival at the Palms' Brenden Theatres and debuts "Vegas Baby" at 7 p.m. Friday. Cast members in town for "Standing Still" include James Van Der Beek, Mena Suvari and Colin Hanks. Donald Faison, Kathy Griffin and Daniel Stern are among the "Vegas Baby" stars expected on the red carpet Friday. ...

Toby Keith is making a July 22 appearance at an invitation-only party at his "I Love This Bar & Grill" at Harrah's Las Vegas. The restaurant opens June 29, not next week, as mistakenly reported here on Wednesday.

Sightings

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, closing down Pure nightclub (Caesars Palace) at 4 a.m. Wednesday with pals. ... Kimberlin Brown, longtime soap opera star from "One Life to Live," "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless," dined with her family at the Luxor Steak House over the weekend before attending "Blue Man Group." On Tuesday, Marie Osmond, her husband, Brian Blosil, and their children had dinner at the Luxor Steak House on their way to "Blue Man Group." ... Willa Ford, who had a Top 10 hit song in "I Wanna Be Bad," has joined the local Pussycat Dolls troupe. She is dating Chuck Liddell, one of the top stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. ... Newlyweds Kenny Chesney and Renée Zellweger, partying with friends and band members Sunday night at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville (Flamingo). Chesney and Zellweger were back for lunch on Monday.

The Punch Line

"Today it was so hot, Michael Jackson was buying ice cream for himself." -- David Letterman

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.