VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Rob gives lowdown on career

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 4:42 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.

WEEKEND EDITION

April 24 - 25, 2004

Rob Lowe, who just wrapped shooting the "Dr. Vegas" CBS pilot at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino and elsewhere around Las Vegas, is feeling old these days.

"I'll tell you how I know I've been around a long time. Gwyneth Paltrow can recite every line of 'St. Elmo's Fire.' I'm not kidding. She's seen it like 100 times. She likes to mortify me with obscure 'St. Elmo's' dialogue," Lowe tells the upcoming edition of Details magazine.

Lowe said that after he left "The West Wing," he was looking to do more movies, but ended up back on the small screen, this time in "Dr. Vegas."

"I feel like Al Pacino in 'Godfather III.' Every time I try to get out, they (TV networks) keep pulling me back in."

In the "Dr. Vegas" pilot, which has not yet been scheduled for broadcast, Lowe plays the doctor at a casino who handles such cases as the potential suicide of a patron who blows his child's college fund at the craps table.

The full Details interview, in which Lowe discusses everything from why he left the "West Wing" to the last time a 16-year-old told Lowe she loved him, hits newsstands Tuesday.

Jerry Lewis is home and feeling great. He returned to Las Vegas on Thursday after a three-week tour of Europe, part business, part pleasure.

Several of his classic films are about to be released overseas on DVD.

Several readers looking for updates on Roy Horn's recovery have queried us, asking why Siegfried & Roy's Web site has no information on the topic, nor any mention whatsoever of the tragic events of last Oct. 3.

The "Performance" section of Siegfriedandroy.com says that the show has been "cancelled indefinitely," but otherwise, there is not one single mention of what happened.

"During the first few months, we had updates all the time, as well as notes to the fans from Siegfried and Bernie Yuman" (the duo's longtime manager), spokesman Dave Kirvin told us. "But that came down around the first of the year.

"The Web site is now a work in progress. There are several Siegfried & Roy projects that are continuing, such as their annual K-9 event, the TV show ("Father of the Pride") and of course the Secret Garden is still open," Kirvin said.

"We'll update and change the Web site as it is appropriate to do so."

Taye Diggs hit the town Thursday night. After dinner at Chinois (Forum Shops at Caesars), he headed upstairs to OPM, where he helped judge a bikini contest.

Then he and some pals from his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., sampled some adult entertainment at Spearmint Rhino.

He told us his next film is "Slow Burn," which is scheduled for a late summer release. It stars Ray Liotta as a politically ambitious district attorney who becomes entangled in a showdown with a gang leader, played by Diggs.

The Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV is holding auditions for the orphans in the musical "Annie" on Saturday. Performances will be in December at the Judy Bayley Theatre.

Glenn Casale, the Broadway director of the hit musical "Peter Pan," will direct the production.

For additional details, contact the Department of Theatre office at (702) 895-3666.

There is a charity VIP screening on Thursday of the feature film "Bobby Jones -- Stroke of Genius" at the Green Valley Ranch Regal Cinemas. The film is based on the life of the golfing great.

The film stars Jim Caviezel, who is now internationally known for his starring role in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."

Mark Stark of the Mark L. Stark Family Foundation, which is hosting the screening, is the owner of Prudential Americana Group Realtors of Las Vegas.

For more information or tickets, call Kayla Davis at (702) 250-9884.

The film opens nationally Friday.

Boulder Station has been nominated by the Academy of Country Music in the category of casino of the year.

Because of time constraints, the category is one of several that will not be televised on the Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast, which airs live May 26 on CBS (Channel 8).