VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Adult star Jameson has X-citing news

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 | 10:31 a.m.

One of Las Vegas' most famous adult film stars, Jenna Jameson, has started a fund to help out sidelined sex workers in the wake of the HIV scare that has postponed production on porn movie sets.

The billion-dollar-per-year adult film industry went on a voluntary 60-day hiatus after last week's announcement that stars Darren James and Lara Roxx had tested positive for HIV.

Jameson told the New York Post, which first reported news of the fund, that she and Jay Grdina, her porn director husband, are starting the Adult Industry Assistance Fund to help her "comrades in carnality."

"These are people working paycheck to paycheck, who cannot work in the industry for 60 days," Jameson, who grew up in Las Vegas and still has family here, told the Post. "I'm asking people who have the means to donate something so they can get back on their feet."

One of the projects that had to be halted seems to have been taking place inside The Venetian. KLAS Channel 8 newsman George Knapp recently reported on the unauthorized activity. He said that the unnamed film was to star Annie Swenson.

A Venetian spokeswoman told Knapp that such illicit filming likely takes place behind closed doors at hotels all over town -- there was little anyone could do if it stayed behind closed doors, and no one saw the equipment being brought in.

Bye, Tom

Biggest news out of the National Association of Broadcasters convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday was network confirmation that Dec. 1 will be Tom Brokaw's final broadcast as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News."

Brian Williams will take over the newscast Dec. 2.

Brokaw, 64, had already announced his intention to step down after the conclusion of this year's presidential race. He has been the face of the peacock network's flagship news broadcast since 1983.

Old, new

Some duffers from Michael Douglas' charity golf event last year are returning for the May 2 event at Caesars Entertainment's exclusive Cascata Golf Club in Boulder City.

The returning stars include Mark Wahlberg, James Woods, Alice Cooper, Kenny G., Martin Sheen and Haley Joel Osment.

New faces who are going to tee off include Kyle MacLachlan, Shelby Lynne, Luke Wilson, Leslie Nielsen, William Petersen and the one we are really looking forward to seeing, Heather Locklear.

Unlike lots of other events where celeb attendance is touted and fans are disappointed when no one shows up, this event is a keeper. Douglas always delivers.

Tickets for the charity nine-hole scramble event benefiting the Motion Picture and Television Fund are $15 and $30, and are available at the Caesars box office or at Ticketmaster.com.

Celebs everywhere

Immediately after the show, most of the "VH1 Divas" performers at the MGM Grand on Sunday night went to the official afterparty in the abandoned MGM Grand Theme Park behind the hotel, now called The Garden at MGM. Spotted were Patti LaBelle, Jessica Simpson, Cyndi Lauper, Gladys Knight, Joss Stone and Sheila E.

Then, the famous faces spread out all over town. Tom Jones, Eve and Interscope Records prez Jimmy Iovine hit N9NE (Palms). Iovine is partnering with the Maloof brothers on a new record label and recording studio that will be part of the Palms expansion next year.

Also at N9NE was Carmen Electra, who had an early birthday dinner with her band, Pussycat Dolls. Electra turns 32 today.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Pete Rose, taking a meal break from his weekend gambling spree, also were in the restaurant.

Debbie Harry turned up at Simon Kitchen and Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Jessica Alba, Daryl Hannah, Nia Vardalos and Rachel Bilson (The "O.C.") discreetly (and separately) wandered the MGM casino floor, taking in the scene.

Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, Amy Henry and Heidi Bressler of "The Apprentice" all went their separate ways, we were told, but no one would say exactly where.

VegasBits

Ante: Ben Affleck and James Woods showed up Monday afternoon at the World Poker Tournament event at Bellagio ...

Match: Reality show genius Mark Burnett ("The Casino," "The Apprentice," "Survivor") went to see Elton John's "Red Piano" show at Caesars Palace the other night with "Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey. Friends of the producer say it is getting serious between Burnett, a divorced father of two, and Downey, a twice-divorced mother of one ...

Dine: "Nightline" host Ted Koppel had dinner Sunday night at Le Cirque (Bellagio). He's in town to address the National Association of Broadcasters convention ...

Cowboy: Sandra Bullock and boyfriend Jesse James were dancing in the aisle when they attended the Kid Rock show at Mandalay Bay on Saturday night. Hockey star Sergei Federov, Warren Moon, Kato Kaelin, Jeff Beacher and dozens of Miss Hawaiian Tropic contestants partied with Rock and his band after the concert in the Hard Rock Hotel's penthouse bowling alley suite ...

Gussied up: Entertainer Burt Bacharach got the full treatment at the AMP Salon (Palms) on Sunday afternoon ...

Meal: Conservative and caustic broadcaster Michael Savage and wife Julie Weiner (her family business is Rockstar energy drink) had dinner Saturday night at the Stirling Club. The couple has an apartment in the Turnberry Place condos above the club. Savage is known for getting booted from his MSNBC talk show last summer after telling a caller whose opinion he did not agree with "to get AIDS and die." Savage's real name, incidentally, is Michael Weiner ...

Meal: New Dallas Cowboy Keyshawn Johnson hosted a private dinner for a dozen friends and family members at Crustacean (Aladdin) on Friday night. Former teammate Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was in the party ...

Moving: Siegfried Fishbacher has put his Spanish Trail home on the market for $2.9 million, according to broadcast and print reports Monday night and today. He has no plans to leave town, however. He still shares the Jungle Palace compound and a Mount Charleston property with Roy Horn ...

From Sun wires

King needs surgery: B.B. King will not perform at his annual homecoming in Indianola, Miss., in June because he needs cataract surgery and recuperation will be lengthy, his manager said.

King, 78, issued a statement saying he was disappointed that he will not be able to make the June 11 trip.

"It's a highlight of my year, and I was looking forward to seeing everyone and performing at home again," said King, who now lives in Las Vegas.

The surgery is scheduled for June 3, and recuperation is expected to take three weeks.