Columnist Kate Maddox: Easton: No mourning train

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com.

Sheena Easton doesn't have much to say regarding her final days with David Cassidy in the Rio's "At the Copa." Unlike Cassidy, the pop songstress didn't have fond farewells or thank yous, not even the requisite "grateful for the opportunity" mush from most departing headliners in these parts.

Speaking through her manager, Harriet Wasserman, Easton only managed a brief nod to her contractual obligation to the production, which is up on Jan. 18.

"If David chooses to close the show, it's out of (Sheena's) realm of responsibility," Wasserman said. Easton announced in October, amid rumblings of a rocky relationship with her co-star, that she would fulfill her contracted dates and said nothing more.

As for Easton's future dealings in Vegas, Wasserman didn't have an answer, but many speculate that Easton is shopping around for a one-woman show. One source close to the action is guessing the "Sugar Walls" singer might have trouble landing a deal without a "bigger name" attached to a production, but those working on Easton's behalf insist she's not ready to quit the Vegas game just yet.

One CineVegas party-goer let it slip as to why Nicolas Cage might have been a no-show at last week's filmfest.

The man, one of those Hollywood types (strong on name-dropping, light on etiquette, somewhere in the middle on reputable credentials), said that since Cage's wife, Patricia Arquette filed for divorce last month, Cage has been on a bender.

"Yeah, I know Nic pretty well. He's a crazy one," Mr. Hollywood chuckled. "I ran into him at a bar on the Strip (Sunset, baby, not Vegas,) about a week ago and could only keep up with the guy for a couple of stops before I smelled trouble brewing and split."

Hollywood then regaled me with another beaut of a tale involving Cage, a pretty blonde, some guy with a staring problem and an entanglement of fisticuffs. Hmm, hold that thought while I grab my pen ...

From what I gather, Cage isn't in the best of spirits these days and that might have accounted for his no-show status at CineVegas. Those who were feeling pleasant enough to attend included Danny Glover, Martin Landau, Amanda Donohoe, Sydney Pollack, Wayne Newton, director Mark Rydell and, of course, Tony Curtis.

Rick Springfield is in at the MGM Grand. Springfield, long-rumored to be Tommy Tune's replacement, will take the lead in "EFX" after the Broadway star departs (Tune's final performance is scheduled for Jan. 13). Details regarding the deal were to be announced at a press conference today at the hotel.

The Bellagio is a hotbed of celeb activity these days. Those popular villas, reserved only for the cream of the crop, are getting a workout. Just as Mariah Carey and her boyfriend Luis Miguel were checking out on Monday, Britney Spears was checking in (insert your own changing-the-sheets joke here). Spears is in town for tonight's Billboard Music Awards at the MGM. No word whether her beau, 'N Sync-er Justin Timberlake, was in tow.

The PETA fanatic who threw a tofu-based pie in the face of last year's NFR Miss Rodeo America 2000, Brandy DeJongh, is back. Dawn Carr, whose pies have also landed on corporate bigwigs, chicken farmers and people who wear fur, will once again protest the rodeo on behalf of the animal rights' group. But this time she'll be doing it sans pie. Thanks to last year's antics, Carr is on probation.