VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Penn’s attention centered on hearing

Thursday, April 1, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at tim@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4096.

Now ear this.

Penn Jillette had a flare-up of an old auditory problem while waiting with partner Teller to fly to New York on Monday to host an AIDS benefit. After consulting with his doctor, he was told to turn around and go home instead of flying.

"It is fairly serious," Penn & Teller spokesman Glenn Alai told us Wednesday. "Not only can't he go on planes -- at all -- for a while, but he can't even go on fast hotel elevators. He is pretty grounded, literally, for the next few months."

For the past six years, Alai said, Penn has had a prosthetic eardrum, which was inserted after an operation to remove a tumorlike growth from his left ear.

"He has lost a good deal of his hearing," Alai said.

The Cable Positive event in New York that The Rio headline duo missed honored Showtime prez Matt Blank. The network airs "Bull----!", P&T's Emmy Award-winning show, which makes its second-season debut tonight (it airs locally on Cox cable channel 78).

The episode is devoted to debunking the policies and motives of PETA, the activist animal rights organization.

Also, The Rio is set to announce as soon as today that the Samba Theatre, where the duo performs nightly, is going to be renamed The Penn & Teller Theatre.

And, also because of an ear infection, Halle Berry was forbidden by her doctors to fly to Vegas from Los Angeles to pick up the Female Star of the Year award last week at ShoWest.

Success

We often refer to Call Back, a local entertainment trade tabloid, as a local version of Backstage, the well-known New York and Los Angeles industry journal.

Well, it turns out that Backstage is looking to buy Call Back from publisher Minnie Madden. The newspaper has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, and its monthly Salute the Producer fetes -- the last one was Tuesday's party for Lynne and Dick Foster at Little Buddha (Palms) -- have evolved into must-be-seen-at events.

The new owners, we hear, would retain Madden and the entire staff -- why mess with success? -- and actually plans to add positions.

Diva role

Drag performer Frank Marino -- the longtime star of "An Evening at La Cage" (Riviera) -- has landed a role in the upcoming Sandra Bullock film "Miss Congeniality 2."

"She called me herself yesterday to tell me the good news," Marino told us. "And several of the kids in my show will have cameos."

Marino will essentially be playing himself, he said, posing as the star in a drag revue where Bullock goes to learn how to pose as a member of the opposite sex.

Filming opens next month in Las Vegas.

Revamp

The monthly gay-themed publication Las Vegas Bugle is changing its name to Q VEGAS and going to a high-gloss magazine format (it had been a tabloid).

Also, while it had primarily focused on news and politics, the mag will now place more emphasis on celebrity, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment.

"While remaining true to our roots and our obligation to keep the community informed about important issues, we feel it's time to start acknowledging that Vegas is a glamorous place," Editor Jere Keys said.

The periodical was founded in 1978 as the Nevada Gay Times, and has evolved into the premier voice of the gay community in Southern Nevada.

Film short

One of the highlights of CineVegas, the film festival that hits the Palms in June, might be a short called "One in a Million."

It was made by Henderson resident, UCLA film school grad and longtime Beach Boys keyboard player Billy Hinsche.

The film was shot during a 1974 Beach Boys tour and features never- before-seen images of Dennis Wilson, set to an original Hinsche composition, also called "One in a Million."

The two started out as pals and ended up related when Wilson married Hinsche's sister Annie.

VegasBits

Tough guy: Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner of New York City who led the department in the days and months following the 9-11 attacks, was spotted having a late lunch Wednesday at Grand Lux Cafe (Venetian). Kerik was the keynote speaker at the opening event of ISC (International Security Conference) West 2004 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center ...

Talk: We hear Joan Rivers is making a rare Las Vegas stand-up appearance when she brings her new act to the Stardust over Father's Day weekend in June ...

Competition: Caesars Palace prez Mark Juliano, his wife, Jacqueline, and another couple walked slowly across the Palms casino, checking out the gaming activity in the room, after dinner at N9NE on Tuesday night ...

Young: Adam Brody, star of the Fox series "The O.C.," dined Monday night at Simon Kitchen and Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel. The show is shooting scenes at the hotel this week. Tuesday night, Brody and other cast members Benjamin McKenzie, Tate Donovan and Chris Carmack hit Studio 54 (MGM Grand) ...

No Fooling: Veteran Vegas entertainer and one-time casino operator Debbie Reynolds turns 72 today ...

Change: Sabrina Brummond, the executive producer of the KVVU Channel 5 morning news show, has left the station. The show has been doing well in the ratings, but we hear that new news director Mark Neerman wanted his own person in the key slot ...

Jack: "Saturday Night Live" player Amy Poehler was hanging out at the blackjack tables -- but not playing -- at the Palms on Saturday night. Her show was a rerun that evening ...

Playa: James Lesure ("Las Vegas") and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. at OPM (Forum Shops at Caesars) Saturday night ...

Hoop action: ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit was muttering into his cell phone outside ESPNZone (New York-New York) the other night after St. Joseph's lost in the NCAA tourney ...

Tape: Robin Leach recently recorded the voice of Genie for the new DVD version of Disney's "Aladdin" movie at Oakdale Studios on South Jones Boulevard. Disney also brought a crew to shoot some behind-the-scenes footage to add to the disc. It goes on sale in early May ...

Tummy: Jeannie -- also known as Mrs. Maj. Anthony Nelson -- is 2,068 years old today. The fictional genie, played by Barbara Eden on "I Dream of Jeannie," was "born" on April 1, 64 B.C.

From Sun wires

Wanna be startin' somethin': Michael Jackson is promoting the idea of staging a concert tour in Africa to help raise money to fight AIDS -- if a California court where he faces child molestation charges will let him.

Wearing a satiny red jacket, embroidered across the chest and sleeves with silver sequin brocade and bearing purple-sequined military-style stripes on the shoulders, Jackson met for more than an hour Wednesday behind closed doors with a small group of black lawmakers and African ambassadors.

Later, his only words at a brief news conference were "That wasn't loud enough," when plans for the tour in Africa were announced and met with mild applause.