Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 10:26 a.m.
Exciting weekend for Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman .
Hizzoner and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest were the hosts of the first Alfred Mann Foundation dinner in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.
The foundation's mission is to bring "innovative bionic solutions to many medical conditions," according to its Web site. The group also works to promote progressive medicine.
"It was just a great event and Ryan was a terrific co-host," Goodman told us after he returned home Sunday.
"The place was loaded with celebs and everyone kept 'oohing' and 'aahing' each other. But I didn't know who anybody was," Goodman said.
Tables (with 10 seats) at the event sold for $100,000.
Wolfgang Puck personally prepared the dinner, and Harry Belafonte and the USC Trojan Marching Band provided the entertainment.
Goodman and his wife, Carolyn, were ferried to and from the event in a private jet by Jim and Heather Murren. He is the MGM Mirage president and chief financial officer; she is a retired Merrill Lynch executive who is president of the Nevada Cancer Institute.
Life saver
Henderson Home News publisher Tim O'Callaghan jumped to the rescue when he saw a man in distress at the Mexican eatery Isla (Treasure Island) on Thursday night.
It was at a birthday dinner for his wife, Donna, when O'Callaghan said he "heard a commotion and saw a guy lying on the floor." So he and dining partner and Assembly candidate Kirk Kaplan rushed over to help.
"The man was on his side and had a blank stare on his face and he wasn't breathing," O'Callaghan told us afterward. "He had fallen and landed and busted his head open. It was pretty bloody."
They did what they could to aid the man until security, and then paramedics, arrived. The victim was later diagnosed with having had a seizure, and survived the incident.
Helping hands
Big fund-raiser Tuesday night for the talented Vegas entertainer Ted Davey, who plays Frankie Marone in "Ba-Da-Bing," which plays nightly at the "V" Theater in Desert Passage at the Aladdin.
Davey nearly died recently from a burst appendix, and while in surgery, doctors discovered that he also had colon cancer. Docs feel that they successfully removed it; however, Davey has no health insurance and huge medical bills.
So, "Ba-Da-Bing," in conjunction with "Bottoms Up!" producer Breck Wall, has put together the fund-raiser. The event takes place at the Bahama Breeze restaurant off Flamingo Road in the Howard Hughes Center starting at 8 p.m.
VegasBits
Power pair: Sens. John McCain and Harry Reid -- with their wives -- had a quiet dinner Friday night at Charlie Palmer Steak (Four Seasons). They also sat next to each other at the Oscar De La Hoya/Bernard Hopkins fight Saturday night...
Errand: An incognito Leonardo DiCaprio was sitting at the bar at FIX (Bellagio) late Saturday afternoon, where he met some friends and picked up his tickets for the fight ...
Early: Dozens of past and present NBA stars, such as Scottie Pippen and Charles Oakley, gathered at Caramel (Bellagio) for a pre-fight get-together ...
Power group: A breathtaking number of celebrities were ringside (or close) at Saturday night's fight: Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lasorda, Steve Schirripa, Mark Wahlberg, Jamie Foxx, Cuba Gooding Jr., Chris Tucker, Jeremy Piven, Sylvester Stallone, David Schwimmer, Michael J. Fox, Larry King, Billy Crystal and Big Boi of OutKast.
The jock contingent at the bout included LeBron James, Patrick Ewing, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Weber, Sacramento Kings owner Gavin Maloof, Kevin Garnett, Magic Johnson, Rick Fox and pugilists Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Evander Holyfield, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley.
Post: After the bout artist LeRoy Neiman presented each fighter with portraits ...
Celebrate: Back at FIX after the fight Luke Wilson had a festive birthday dinner with his actor brother Owen Wilson. Luke Wilson turns 33 Tuesday ...
Ball: Also after the fight former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch and pals partied at Body English (Hard Rock) ...
Eats: Recording star Brian McKnight had dinner the other night at AJ's Steakhouse (Hard Rock Hotel) ...
Support: Friday night scores of NBA stars went to OPM (Forum Shops at Caesars) to support retired player Dale Davis and his upcoming film, "Playa's Ball." The group included Gary Payton, Paul Pierce and Antwoine Walker ...
Group love: Outgoing mayoral chief of staff Stephanie Boixo and fiance Eric Goodman celebrated their recent engagement announcement with her sister Audrey Boixo and fiance Bryan Werlemann, who were in from California, at a dinner Friday at Simon Kitchen and Bar (Hard Rock). Proud mom Karin Boixo picked up the entire tab ...
Sun: Actress Jaime Pressly spent Sunday afternoon at Rehab, the Hard Rock Hotel's weekly pool party ...
Hot: British quartet Westlife, the new boy band on the scene, did an interview Friday for "Good Morning Television" (Europe's version of "Good Morning America") at the Hard Rock Hotel pool ...
Safe: Actor and conservationist Robert Redford (who was not at the fight) will join New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (who was) at a Thursday event in Red Rock Canyon as part of a Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund project to bring a higher profile to environmental issues in Nevada and other states. The public is invited, but because parking will be limited, shuttles will be available and will depart from the Best Buy parking lot at 10950 W. Charleston Blvd. Guests are asked to arrive by 11:30 a.m. and can call 318-4268 for more information.
From Sun wires
Oops, she did it again: Britney Spears has once again tied the knot, the second marriage in nine months for the multiplatinum artist.
Spears, 22, married her fiance, 26-year-old dancer Kevin Federline, in a secret weekend ceremony, her record label spokeswoman said.
"Entertainment Tonight" said Spears wore a white strapless dress for the wedding, held Saturday evening at a private home in the Studio City, Calif., area with 20 to 30 people attending.
In January, Spears married childhood friend Jason Alexander in a surprise wedding in Las Vegas. That marriage was annulled 55 hours later.
Miss Alabama wins: Miss Alabama Deidre Downs, an aspiring doctor who put off medical school to compete for the Miss America crown, won it Saturday night in Atlantic City.
Downs, 24, of Birmingham, Ala., outsmarted and outperformed 51 other women in a spiced-up version of the 83-year-old pageant that included a head-to-head showdown between the last two contestants.
Downs, who sang "I'm Afraid This Must Be Love" for her talent routine, bested Miss Louisiana Jennifer Dupont, who performed a jazz dance for hers.
Madonna addresses conference: Pop star Madonna called for world peace Sunday at a conference on Jewish mysticism, a highlight of her five-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Israel hopes the star -- the biggest pop celebrity to visit in years -- will revive tourism battered by four years of Mideast violence, and government officials were on hand at a Tel Aviv hotel to share the spotlight, the glory and the photographs.
archive
