Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.
Classy, sophisticated or mature are perhaps not the first words that come to mind when the topic is Pamela Anderson.
Classy, sophisticated and mature most certainly are words that come to mind regarding Celine Dion.
Both women, however, with small gestures Wednesday night during and after the World Music Awards, showed their true mettle. In the press room at the Thomas & Mack Center, Dion was about to answer questions when Whitney Houston was shown making her entrance on a nearby TV. Wordlessly, Dion went over to the TV and turned it up as the troubled Houston, in her first live televised appearance in years, broke into her smash hit, "I Will Always Love You." Then Diva Las Vegas sat next to Josh Groban and Courtney Love and she and the stars and the assembled world media watched Houston perform.
"That was beautiful," Dion said to herself after the song ended and she resumed her place on the podium. If you watched the show, you'd have seen that Whitney was just that (See Spencer Patterson's story on page 1E).
Anderson, meanwhile, was the center of attention as she walked the red carpet at the Hard Rock Hotel for the big afterparty.
On the carpet, leading into the night club Body English, Anderson passed by Anna Nicole Smith, who was tarting it up for the cameras in a variety of outlandish poses. When some of the press asked Anderson to stop and pose with Smith, the former "Baywatch" star glanced at her fellow blonde and rolled her eyes.
Anderson instead stopped to sign an autograph for a fan, politely answered some silly question from a tabloid reporter, and went to the party. She behaved like an absolute grown-up.
Aside from Avril Lavigne dirty dancing on a platform with some female friends, most of the Body English guests were also well behaved.
The partyers included Heidi Klum, who spent minutes (yes, we were counting) in a lip lock with Seal; Hilary Duff; Kobe Bryant; "American Idol" meanie Simon Cowell; the hot new boy band Westlife; David Copperfield; Usher; Norah Jones; Patti LaBelle and boxer Vladimir Klitschko (who faces Mike Tyson conqueror Danny Williams next month at Caesars Palace).
Good show
Siegfried & Roy manager Bernie Yuman tells us that the illusionist duo were "thrilled" with how Maria Shriver's interview with them turned out. (See story about Wednesday night's broadcast of "Siegfried & Roy: The Miracle" on page 1E.)
The show was not an NBC News project; Yuman and NBC Television Studio exec Jason Raff produced the special.
"They were very happy with the result," Yuman said. "Thanks to their work with the tigers and other animals, they always knew that their legacy would be about conservation.
"Little did they know that part of their destiny would also include inspiring trauma victims."
Yuman also said that Horn has no plans to do any other interviews anytime soon.
"He'll do a meet-and-greet at his birthday celebration," Yuman said, referring to a private Oct. 3 event at The Mirage. "And at one point I think he'll grab a microphone and thank everyone for attending, but other than that, he is not going to do any formal interviews for the forseeable future."
New Cirque
The name of the new Cirque du Soleil show opening this fall at MGM Grand is "KA." The theme of the show is duality.
And seemingly in keeping with the "twins" spirit in Las Vegas these days (as exemplified by the pair of young women that won the Palms Girl search this week), the story of "KA" is described by Cirque boss Guy Laliberte as the "epic saga" of separated twins -- a boy and a girl -- "who embark on a perilous journey to fulfill their linked destinies."
Anyway, two scenes were previewed for media and some invited guests at a carefully staged two-hour media event Wednesday afternoon. (See Jerry Fink's story on page 1E.)
One scene featured a Ferris wheel-type contraption with a series of what appeared to be large hamster wheels hanging from it. Each wheel had a (human) acrobat in it, doing things like jumping rope.
Hard to tell what kind of a show it will be from the sneak peek, but it is probably safe to say that if you are already a fan of Cirque shows such as "O," "Mystere" and "Zumanity," you'll like this one, too.
And we note that the event, held a few hours before sunset and the beginning of Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) featured lobster wrapped in ham and several shrimp dishes among the lunch items set out for guests.
Now that ain't too kosher.
Boss day
NPR's "All Things Considered" will play what is believed to be the earliest known Bruce Springsteen recording today. The show airs locally on KNPR 88.9-AM at 3:30 p.m.
The reel-to-reel tape recording dates to 1967, six years before Springsteen's debut album, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J."
It was made when he was was an 18-year-old high school student performing with the Castiles. The gig was at the Left Foot, a teen rec center in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold, N.J.
He sings lead on several songs, including a cover of Donovan's "Catch the Wind."
VegasBits
Bar flies: Lots of familiar TV faces at the opening of I Bar at The Rio on Tuesday night, including KVBC's Jim Snyder, Kim Capozzo and Mitch Truswell, and KTNV Channel 13 anchor Ross Becker. Also enjoying the scene: Clint Holmes, Michael Carr, Breck Wall and Ronn Lucas. Lucas, by the way, was very tight-lipped when we asked about rumors that his sophisticated afternoon show was being courted by a competing hotel for a coveted evening slot ...
Speed: Racing star Michael Andretti had dinner at N9NE (Palms) on Tuesday night ...
Celebrate: Actor Pierce Brosnan was at Studio 54 and Tabu (MGM Grand) Tuesday night, celebrating his son Sean Brosnan's 21st birthday with a large group of friends ...
Congrats: We hear that our gossip predecessor at the Sun, Kate Bennett (formerly Kate Maddox), is pregnant. Today she is the news anchor on KTUD Channel 25, the local UPN station, and the entertainment reporter at KLAS Channel 8. Our sincere good wishes to her and hubby Cab Bennett ...
Rumor of the day: The Tribune Company, publishers of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, the Hartford Courant, and owners of WB television stations in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Boston and Dallas (among other properties), is having discussions with the Arkansas-based Stephens Media Group about acquiring some of their properties, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
From Sun wires
Kidman richest young woman: Nicole Kidman, 37, is Australia's richest young woman, according to BRW magazine's list of the country's top earners under age 40.
The Oscar-winning star of "The Hours" has an estimated worth of $108 million, said the magazine's "young rich" list, released Wednesday.
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