Denise Rich’s annual Angel Ball for cancer research harkened back to its early days last night when stars were aplenty. Now called Gabrielle’s Angel Ball for Rich’s deceased daughter, the charity was a raucous fun affair at downtown Cipriani with a surprise performance by a very pregnant Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx as emcee and later, also surprise performer with Ludacris, and Nile Rodgers accepting an award and playing his Chic hits.
Not only that: it was like an US Magazine fever dream, with Paris and Nikki Hilton, Kris Jenner, and Bethenny Frankel. You can’t believe they’re real, and they were in the same room. Crazy! Plus Sofia Vergara and Michelle Rodriguez gave Downtown Cipriani some Hollywood glitz.
But then again, so was the amazing Natalie Cole, who told me she’s off to Asia on a big tour before recording a new album. She looked splendid. Clive Davis commanded a big table, and was thrilled to see Alicia and Jamie– two of his artists– wow the crowd. Today Clive releases Aretha Franklin’s new album, already number 10 on amazon.com. Clive’s new discovery, Avery Wilson, also won over the room.
Nice to see everyone in black tie, dancing like maniacs to hip hop chants. But it’s for a good cause. Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation has been extremely successful raising money for cancer researh that’s resulted in actual new drugs.
PS Alicia Keys’ famous producer husband, Swizz Beatz, had a very good session at Harvard’s summer business session. He tells me he’s been asked back to speak to the group next semester. Alicia and Swizz are expecting a second child very soon. What is it? “A boy or a girl,” Swizz says. What a relief!
