VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: ‘O’ pools in big name with Sawyer

Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 10:41 a.m.

Nice lady, that Diane Sawyer . And a lot braver than VegasBeat.

The ABC news anchor and "Good Morning America" host invited VegasBeat backstage Wednesday after she performed in "O," the long-running Cirque du Soleil show at Bellagio.

Sawyer performed in three segments, plus the finale, where she was dressed in a zebra suit and submerged in water. She was also dangled 100 feet above the stage.

"To be honest, I was really scared," said Sawyer, her hair still wet. She was clad in a black "O" T-shirt, jeans and an embroidered Cirque du Soleil denim jacket.

"I don't know how those people do that every night. It is really amazing," she said. "I felt like ('The Producers' star) Nathan Lane up there. It was the first time I have ever performed in front of a live audience like that."

She told us that she had about three hours of prep time before she hit the stage.

"It was do or die for me out there," Sawyer said. "I think I did both."

There was no public announcement before the performance about the special guest star, the first the show has ever had.

"I kept wanting to shout, 'Look at me,' but they told me not to do that," Sawyer said.

Sawyer's performance was part of a ratings effort during the networks' sweeps period. Each of the "GMA" stars -- Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Tony Perkins and Robin Roberts -- lived out a fantasy for the cameras.

"I had never seen the show, but my husband (film director Mike Nichols) and several friends all said it was great, and I have always wanted to do some kind of live thing, so I decided on this," Sawyer said.

Roberts piloted a fighter plane last week; her father was one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary all-black World War II military unit.

Post Jacko

Now that it appears Michael Jackson won't be using the facilities at CMX Sports & Entertainment anytime soon, the staff can start work on its Richard Pryor project.

The same on-the-money source who gave us the heads-up on Jackson's video shoot at the Petra Avenue studio tells us that next up is an HBO tribute to the groundbreaking comic, who is battling an advanced case of multiple sclerosis.

The tribute will be held in an auditorium at a yet-to-be-determined Vegas casino and hosted by Hilton headliner Eddie Griffin. Bits with Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Billy Dee Williams are scheduled to be taped in the next few weeks.

Reporter returns

A familiar face has returned to local television news: Alicia Jacobs is back, reporting on the entertainment beat for KVBC Channel 3.

She was a fixture for several years as an entertainment reporter on KXNT Channel 13 before she left to do a show with VH1 that never got off the ground.

The Las Vegas native and former Miss Nevada is quickly making her presence felt. On Wednesday night Jacobs nailed an exclusive interview with LaToya Jackson, who offered her thoughts on the charges filed against her brother.

VegasBits

Dynasty: Joan Collins and her pal Robin Leach took in the 7:30 Wednesday night performance of "Zumanity." Afterward they had a late dinner at Alize atop the Palms ...

Artiste: Disco diva Donna Summer is expected to attend the opening reception tonight for "Driven by the Music," an exhibition of her paintings, at S2K's Entertainment Gallery at The Venetian ...

Funny: Comic John Padon, an Emmy Award-winner and a partner in the OPM nightclub (Forum Shops at Caesars), headlines tonight and Saturday at the Golden Nugget ...

Down under: Hillary Hindi -- the Las Vegas teen who VegasBeat reported was a finalist in AOL's contest to visit New Zealand and conduct red-carpet interviews with the stars of "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" -- has won the contest. She will host the live online event Dec. 1 ...

Delay: The process to convert the former Center Stage Showroom at Aladdin into Steve Wyrick's new home is a slow one, so the opening of Wyrick's new show has been postponed from this week until Dec. 11 ...

Celebrate: V, the bar at The Venetian, celebrated its third anniversary Tuesday night. Among the revelers: ballplayer and Vegas resident Marty Cordova, Andrew Sasson of Light, members of the cast of "X," New York City club impresarios (and V owners) David Rabin and Will Regan and Greenspun Media Group prez and VEGAS Magazine publisher Michael Carr ...

On sale: To follow up on an item from Thursday, tickets for Bette Midler's Feb. 14 show at MGM Grand Garden Arena will go on sale Nov. 29, the hotel tells us ...

Star turn: Davis Gaines, who performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" more than 2,000 times on Broadway and in Los Angeles and San Francisco, will play the leading role in the holiday classic "Scrooge" at Starbright Theatre in Summerlin from Dec. 9 to Dec. 28 ...

New club: Retired rapper and urban mogul Jay-Z has contacted several Strip properties about opening a Las Vegas branch of his New York City restaurant and bar, the 40/40 Club. The name is a baseball term for the rare player (only three have ever done it) who hits 40 home runs and steals 40 bases in a single season.

From Sun wires

It's a front-page question in France: Does President Jacques Chirac wear a hearing aid?

France's Le Monde newspaper became the latest to chime in on what it called the "presidential ear affair," concluding in today's edition the matter had "taken on astonishing proportions, without gaining any clarity."

It is the president's left ear that has sparked debate ever since weekly news magazine L'Express reported in its Nov. 6 issue that Chirac, 70, wore a discreet hearing aid.

Hilton bows out: Socialite Paris Hilton, star of an upcoming Fox reality series and an inadvertent Internet icon, is pulling out of her announced interview on David Letterman's "Late Show."

Hilton was to have appeared next Wednesday on the CBS late-night show, the network said Wednesday. But Hilton, 22, is scrapping all planned media appearances promoting her new TV show, a spokesman said. He added that Hilton wants to keep a lower profile because of the extraordinary amount of attention she's received from her now-ubiquitous Internet porn video.

Diaz photographer to go to trial: A photographer who allegedly used topless photos of Cameron Diaz in an attempt to extort $3.3. million from her must stand trial, a judge ruled Thursday.

John Rutter, 41, of Los Angeles is set to be arraigned Dec. 8 on felony charges of attempted extortion, attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury.

Aniston settles: "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston has reached a $550,000 settlement with a man she accused of illegally distributing photographs of her sunbathing topless, her publicist said Thursday.

The settlement ended a suit accusing Francois Navarre of invasion of privacy, trespass and misappropriation of Aniston's name and likeness.