October 13, 2006 |
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"I WOULD wish you the best of luck, but for all I know you're planning to kill me," says Jackie Mason.
A little gallows humor on this Friday the 13th.
USHER, who describes his personal style as "sex walking," winds up his Broadway box-office bonanza run in "Chicago" on Oct. 14. (This talented kid has really established himself. He set the city on fire. Broadway needs exactly this kind of attraction. Here's my suggestion - bring back "Guys and Dolls." Usher would be sensational in the Sky Masterson role!)
But there's no rest for the gifted. On the 28th, Usher will appear with Jay Leno and Barry Manilow at the fabled Carousel of Hope Ball. This year Barbara Davis' charity gala - benefiting childhood diabetes - honors Clive Davis and Quincy Jones.
Other stars on the invite list include Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Courtney Love, Eva Longoria, Sharon Stone, Forest Whitaker, Teri Hatcher, Brooke Shields, Nicollette Sheridan, Bill Maher, Tony Danza, Robert Downey Jr., Ray Romano, Larry King, Blair Underwood and Serena Williams. By the time the big night arrives, Mrs. Davis will have corralled so many stars to her little event that the Golden Globe Awards and even the Oscars often look a little pallid afterward.
SPEAKING OF gifted young singers, Josh Groban received an ovation the likes of which has rarely been seen, after his performance at Hollywood's City of Hope bash. (Suffering bronchitis, his duet with Sarah McLachlan tore the Pacific Design Center apart.) The shy, curly-haired phenom - he's like all four Il Divos rolled into one hit-that-note-through-the-roof package - is never satisfied with his own work, no matter. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. But maybe he wouldn't be as good if he didn't. Josh sold 14 million CDs worldwide before he reached the ripe old age of 25. Everybody's always telling Josh, "relax!" I say, stay tense. It's obviously working.
His new album, "Awake" hits stores Nov. 7. The first single from the disc, "You Are Loved" is already an airwaves hit.
TONIGHT Sofia Coppola's fascinating "Marie Antoinette" screens at the New York Film Festival. Alas, her famous dad, Francis Ford Coppola, will be unable to share his daughter's big night. He's off in Romania finishing up his own movie - his first in a decade! Titled "Youth Without Youth," Coppola wrote and directed this film, which stars Tim Roth. It opens next year . OUR FAVORITE TV cop, Mariska Hargitay will be honored at Mt. Sinai's Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention fund-raiser on Oct 16. It happens at Strata (Broadway and 21st Street) For ticket info, call 212-873-1965. If you go, you'll probably bump into our other favorite hot cop, Hargitay's "Law & Order" co-star Chris Meloni . ROSEANNE BARR, of whom not enough is seen (I remain addicted to re-runs of her brilliant sitcom!) can be found on HBO, Nov. 4. She has a new stand-up concert, "Roseanne Barr: Blonde and Bitchin'" Among her targets - religious fanatics, Viagra, the diet industry and growing up Jewish in Mormon-saturated Salt Lake City. Welcome back, Rosie. Now, get yourself another TV series.
THE SHIRTLESS: "He does own a shirt!" So says In Touch magazine, winding up a two-page spread on the almost-always stripped to the waist Matthew McConaughey. The mag even showed photos of the actor fully dressed, to prove it. Mathew's lack of attire has certainly seeped into the public consciousness. Just the other day, somebody said they'd recently seen him, and before I knew it, I blurted "Are you sure it was him? Was he wearing a shirt?"
And when I was down in Austin recently for Gov. Ann Richard's funeral, I spotted Matthew sauntering out of the posh Four Seasons Hotel, sipping from a cup, shirtless, in raggedy shorts and flip-flops. I yelled at him, "Yo, Matthew!" He turned, kept sipping, looked unfocused and walked on with his gang of male pals. I was the first person to ever mention this guy's name in a newspaper, but to him I was just another pestiferous fan. Oh, Well!
IT WAS Goldilocks and the Three Bears here the other day. Some people thought we were too nice to Barbra Streisand in our remarks about her Wednesday night concert. Some people thought we were too mean. Others thought we were just right.
Everywhere I went in Manhattan this week people were talking about Barbra: Her giant talent, her politics. But I hear that Streisand's second night at Madison Square Garden was slightly different. Her Bush imitator got a little less stage time. She cut, entirely, the impersonator joining her in a parody of her legendary "Happy Days"/"Get Happy" duet with Judy Garland. (She sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" by herself.) Of her now-famous outburst to a heckler, she remarked, "Well, you can take the girl out of Brooklyn."
And that Voice? Better even than opening night. She's still the greatest star! She is, by far!
(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)
©2006 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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