VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Thrilling thoughts put Penn to paper

Thursday, June 3, 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.

The guy has a headline gig at The Rio, an Emmy Award-winning television show, is an oft-quoted free-speech advocate and a regular and tireless presence at all kinds of Las Vegas fund-raising and charity events, was a presenter at the Country Music Awards last week and is a regular panelist on various CNN chat shows.

But that is not enough for Penn Jillette.

He just wrote his version of the Great American Novel.

"Mostly, I wrote it at the Starbucks at Decatur and Tropicana," Penn told us via cell phone from the Toronto airport, where he was heading for a vacation in Newfoundland, his family's ancestral home.

"Sock" (St. Martin's Griffin, $12.95) hits bookstores next month. But some advance copies are floating around. A review of the paperback appears in the current edition of Publisher's Weekly, the book-industry bible.

Of course, coming from a mind such as Jillette's, the book is far from traditional.

It is an opinionated thriller, to coin a term, narrated by a philosophical, slightly twisted and often angry sock monkey called Dickie, owned by a member of the New York City police scuba diving unit.

Dickie's owner fishes the body of a stripper he once dated out of the water. The plot revolves around the search for the killer.

Penn said the inspiration for the work was to deal with the deaths of his parents, who died within a few months of each other in 1999.

We read the book and liked it. But Publisher's Weekly was less than kind in its review, saying, "a lot less monkey would have strengthened the book considerably; as it is, it fails to work either as a literary experiment or as a straight thriller."

Meet, greet

The three biggest names from "Survivor: All-Stars," winner Amber Brkich, her fiance "Boston" Rob Mariano and cuddly bear million-dollar viewer-vote winner Rupert Boneham, will be at CBS Television City along the MGM Grand Studio Walk to sign autographs Friday.

They'll be on display from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Skivvies scandal?

Camera crews from "E! True Hollywood Story" have been at The Rio all week for a report on "Chippendales," talking to dancers, show patrons and hotel exec Madeleine Weekley about the history of show, the crowds that flock to it and what happens offstage.

The show is set for a late summer or early fall airdate.

Party plan

Never too early to make plans for a big party, especially in Las Vegas.

Our pal, promoter Scott E. Rodder, tells us that he is now the official tosser of New Year's Eve 2004 at the Palms, and that he has secured Korbel champagne as the title sponsor.

"It is a phenomenal way for Korbel to leverage brand identity via the Palms' substantial cache and market reach," Rodder, in full marketing mode, said.

Comic face off

The two hip hotels go head-to-head Saturday night with their big comedy shows.

"Beacher's Madhouse" returns to the Hard Rock Hotel, while "Hollywood Comedy Tour" has its second engagement at the Palms.

Cort McCown and Paul Hughes host the Palms show, with headliner Jeffrey Ross of "MTV Bash" and comedians Brody Stevens of Fox's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" and Sam Tripoli of Comedy Central's "Premium Blend."

Beacher has his usual assortment of midgets, topless dancers, audience karaoke, 7-foot-tall acrobats and an audience sprinkled with celebs.

Nicole Eggert, Ice T, Tia Carrera and Shannen Doherty are expected at Saturday's show.

VegasBits

News: "Dateline" host Stone Phillips was at the Skin Pool Lounge (Palms) Tuesday night. We're not sure if it was for business or pleasure ...

Oh, snap: The brilliant Mary Ellen Mark, one of the most honored, acclaimed and talented photojournalists of this -- or any other -- generation, was at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday photographing attendees of the Celebrity Impersonator Convention. She was on assignment for Esquire magazine ...

Eats: "NYPD Blue" star Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon and her Hollywood agent husband, Mike Nilon, had dinner Sunday at Crustacean (Aladdin) ...

Rap: The unabashedly provocative group D12, also known as the Dirty Dozen, has announced that its most infamous member, Eminem, will not be coming on their summer tour because of his busy solo schedule. However, rumors are flying of possible surprise appearances by the Grammy- and Oscar-winning rapper. D12 hits the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on July 3 ...

Happy: Vegas resident and legendary actor Tony Curtis turns 79 today ...

Countdown: One of the new faces at "The Vegas Show," director Bradford May ("J.A.G.," "Simon & Simon," "Hawaii Five-O"), and one of the returning faces, segment producer Ed Winfield, were plotting strategy at Simon Kitchen and Bar at the Hard Rock the other night. "The Vegas Show" returns June 14 on KVVU Channel 5 ...

Art school: Tony Bennett will be leading the cheers for commencement speaker and Caesars headliner Jerry Seinfeld at the June 25 commencement ceremony for the first graduating class of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York -- a high school Bennett helped establish in memory of his pal. Bennett will also sing at the commencement.

From Sun wires

In his life: Paul McCartney says he got no thrill from heroin, but found cocaine more to his liking for a time.

"I tried heroin just the once," McCartney said in an interview published Wednesday in London's Daily Mirror newspaper about his drug use in decades past.

"Even then, I didn't realize I'd taken it. I was just handed something, smoked it, then found out what it was.

"It didn't do anything for me, which was lucky because I wouldn't have fancied heading down that road," the former Beatle was quoted as saying. The full interview is published this week in Uncut magazine.

Despite enjoying cocaine for a time, he said he eventually turned against the drug.

"I did cocaine for about a year around the time of Sgt. Pepper," he said, referring to the 1967 album.

"Coke and maybe some grass to balance it out. I was never completely crazy with cocaine."