World renown scientist and physicist Stephen Hawking, who has suffered from ALS for 50 years, lives a perilous existence. According to the people who’ve made “The Theory of Everything,” an extraordinary film with Oscar-buzzed performances, Hawking “basically dies every couple of years, comes back to life, and goes back to work.”

So says screenwriter Anthony McCarten, who adapted Hawking’s first wife’s book to make the movie. McCarten was part of a lunch panel at the Lotos Club today that featured stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. Award winning director Stephen Daldry acted as moderator, filling in for “Theory” director James Marsh, who’s off shooting a new film.

McCarten, Redmayne, and Jones all spent a lot of time with Hawking and with first wife Jane, who wrote the book. They are deeply well versed in Hawking and his life long illness at this point, and quite articulate about it. Hawking has lived well beyond the two years that was predicted when he was diagnosed in school with ALS. The group says that every two years Hawking winds up in hospital, hooked to machines and nearly dies. “Somehow he comes out of it,” McCarten explained. “And then he talks about going on a lecture tour and back to work.”

One subject raised during the post lunch Q&A: about Hawking’s private life. He fathered children and has had two marriages. “Everything works,” Redmayne assured the diners and went on to explain Hawking’s ALS. “When he met him,” Eddie said, “he was only interested in Felicity. He’s quite the ladies man.”

Redmayne, meanwhile, turns out to be less of a player. He’s getting married in December to, essentially, his high school sweetheart. He and Hannah Bagshawe. She came to the lunch with Redmayne’s terrific parents, from London, and I am happy to report she’s a keeper. After a week long honeymoon over Christmas, Hannah will be at Eddie’s side for a long Oscar campaign. Lucky, lucky guy!

During the lunch, I asked McCarten about Hawking’s public pronouncements that there is no God. “Is there a God?” I asked. Producer Eric Fellner, sitting beside me, didn’t miss a beat. “Peggy Siegal,” he said, naming our host.

PS A Daily News reporter came to lunch at the austere Lotos Club wearing very skimpy shorts and loafers. A huge kerfuffle ensued because the club, rightly, refused his entrance. An overcoat was procured. But really, are these kids raised in space? Mort Zuckerman, buy your reporters some pants, please!

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!

Whatever happened to Tom Cruise and Scientology? Certainly he’s given that up by now, right? Wrong. Cruise was snapped on Instagram yesterday wearing his special solid gold medallion to the annual Church prom in London. A tip of the hat to Tony Ortega of course, who posted on his site after another board found the pic on Instagram. Cruise is posing with a Venezuelan actress whose manager posted the photo. Ruddy Rodgriguez either believes Xenu is waiting for her, or thinks she might be snapped with the world’s most famous Hollywood star one day at a party in London. You guess.

Anyway, Cruise is wearing the same Freedom Medal of Valor award he got 10 years ago right before he met Katie Holmes. This means that nothing that’s happened since then– ridicule over the couch jumping, Katie Holmes, losing his marriage and Suri, etc– has ever sunk in. Not even the Miscavige Clinic for the Criminally Insane on “General Hospital.”