VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Seinfeld throws Wallace a line in debut

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 10:24 a.m.

New Flamingo Las Vegas comic headliner George Wallace absolutely killed in his Sunday night opening performance -- and it sure didn't hurt to have Jerry Seinfeld come onstage for a sparkling cameo.

About 15 minutes into his 10 p.m. set, Wallace was mumbling "Auld Lang Syne" ("Nobody knows the lyrics to that song, do they?" Wallace said.) when Seinfeld suddenly appeared, stage right.

"I'm going to show you how to really do this," the star of the sitcom about nothing told Wallace to the delighted surprise -- and happy roar -- of the crowd. "You've got to be current."

Seinfeld then went on a riff about the new NBC reality show "The Apprentice," making some hilarious remarks about Donald Trump's hair.

The comics are close friends, which was obvious from their onstage banter. "You mind if I do a little more?" Seinfeld asked Wallace, who had made himself comfortable on a stool.

"I'm getting the same check either way, so take as long as you want," Wallace said.

So Seinfeld did, doing another 10 minutes of, yes, current material.

Wallace then went on for another hour, touching on everything from Kobe Bryant ("Must be hard for him to get room service these days") to the evolution of popcorn from Jiffy Pop to microwave.

Remembering Bernie Allen

A memorial service for comic Bernie Allen, who died Friday, will be at 5 p.m. today at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave.

On Feb. 25 -- what would have been his 88th birthday -- friends and fans of Allen's will gather at Bootlegger Bistro on Las Vegas Boulevard South to continue Allen's annual birthday benefit for the homeless.

The public is being asked to bring food, blankets and clothing to donate at the 4 p.m. event.

To each his own

New York City has Las Vegas glitz to thank for its hottest new restaurant.

Schiller's Liquor Bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side is the new hangout for an impressive and diverse set of celebs, including Nicole Kidman, James Gandolfini, PBS commentator Charlie Rose, musician Moby, designer Cynthia Rowley and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.

The restaurant was supposed to open at Steve Wynn's new hotel, but restaurateur Keith McNally told The New York Times on Sunday that he was "sickened by the whole idea of being out there" after Wynn flew him in for a look-see.

McNally, who owns several other trendy Gotham destinations, told the Times that Schiller's was built "in reaction to rejecting this wonderfully wealthy guy's offer."

The moneyed McNally, who lives in a multimillion-dollar town house and has a vacation home on exclusive Martha's Vineyard, said he was turned off by the opulence of Las Vegas, where "the working-class people on the slot machines" subsidize "everybody's free hotel rooms."

Slam dunk

Mark Kriedler, sports columnist at the Sacramento Bee, wrote about a swell rumor in his Saturday column.

The owners of the Kings -- the Maloof family -- have vowed never to move the NBA team out of Sacramento.

Instead, reported Kriedler, the Maloofs being the "business sharpies that they are, they'll sell the franchise at the absolute peak of its skyrocketing value (right about now), then use the whopper profit to take an expansion franchise or some other team to Las Vegas."

We called Palms owner George Maloof to get his take on the tale.

"That one is not true," he told us with a chuckle. "Professional basketball teams are hard to get, you know. After my father died and we sold the (Houston) Rockets, it took us another 17 years to get a new team.

"So we're going to hold on to the Kings, in Sacramento, for as long as we can."

VegasBits

Fore: Former President George Bush, casino kingpins Wynn and Mike Ensign, and Sheriff Bill Young had a 10 a.m. tee time today at Shadow Creek. The current president's dad is in Vegas to speak at the big home builders show at Las Vegas Convention Center ...

Purple: The Artist Now and Formerly Known as Prince took in the 8 p.m. Saturday performance of "A New Day..." at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Afterward, he met backstage with Celine Dion. Then he and a group of friends partied away the rest of the evening at Tabu (MGM Grand) ...

Open: Former Auburn football coach and current ABC television analyst Terry Bowden was at the opening Friday night of the new Plush nightclub at the Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin. Also enjoying the scene: Christina Trainor of MTV's "Real World: Paris," VEGAS Magazine Publisher Michael Carr, Orleans Arena boss (and former UNLV quarterback) Steve Stallworth, scenester Michael Shulman and weather guys Dana Wagner (KVBC Channel 3) and Jerry Brown (KVVU Channel 5) ...

Dinner: At the Palms steak house N9NE on Saturday night: Heisman Trophy winner and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, former Philadelphia 76ers owner and motivational speaker Pat Croce and NASCAR stud and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch ...

Happy: Boulder City resident Desi Arnaz Jr. turns 51 today. He'll be having a celebratory lunch with Henderson resident Billy Hinsche, Arnaz' boyhood bandmate in "Dino, Desi & Billy." "We were sort of like the Hanson of the 1960s," Hinsche explained to a young 'un at the Martin Nievera party at the Golden Nugget last week ...

Role play: Actress Monet Mazur has her first starring role, alongside Ice Cube and Jaime Pressly, in the film "Torque," which opened nationwide on Friday. Her father is Las Vegas artist Ruby Mazur, who designed the legendary Rolling Stones lips-and-tongue logo ...

Passing: A good friend of this column, Wendy Jo Korol, died unexpectedly on Thursday after suffering an apparent asthma attack. She was the producer of the KLUC 98.5-AM "Morning Zoo" show with jocks Spence, Trejo and Amy Sweet. Las Vegas radio listeners, and Korol's friends and family, have all suffered a tremendous loss.

From Sun wires

No time for "60 Minutes": Those "60 Minutes" debates between former President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole failed partly because Clinton was writing a book and didn't have time to concentrate on the show, the program's executive producer says.

Announced with much fanfare last spring, the Clinton-Dole minidebates lasted only 10 episodes. They brought little ratings buzz to the CBS newsmagazine and were considered boring by many TV critics.

"It didn't work because Bill Clinton is so involved in writing his book he never could give us the time," said Don Hewitt, "60 Minutes" founder, who is stepping down as executive producer in May after 35 years.

Bono accepts King honor: As a teenager in Ireland, when violence and unrest were escalating because of the conflict over Northern Ireland, U2 frontman Bono longed for the voice of reason from somebody such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Those thoughts and understanding of King's teachings and life led the singer to write a song about the slain civil rights leader, a 1984 hit called "Pride (in the Name of Love)."

"We despaired for the lack of vision of the kind Dr. King gave to people in the South," Bono said Saturday before accepting one of the highest honors from the King Center, the organization founded by King's widow, Coretta Scott King.