Sunday, December 21, 2025
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NY Like the Old Days: Leonardo and Tobey Show Up, Mary J. Blige Performs, Mayor Adams Gives Rousing Speech at Star Studded Angel Ball

It did seem like the “before times” on Monday night at Denise Rich‘s 25th annual Angel Ball.

So much was going on at Cipriani Wall Street besides glamorous people in formal attire raising millions for cancer research.

Denise, who’s made the Angel Ball an incredible tribute her late daughter Gabrielle, wrangled up quite a crowd.

Of all people, Leonardo DiCaprio — baseball cap tightly affixed to his head — showed up with Tobey Maguire to support their pal, restaurateur Richie Akiva, one of the honorees. I had a nice chat with them but began it like this: “We can’t talk about movies.” Yes, they both laughed.

Music mogul Clive Davis packed a table with friends including famed singer Michael Bolton and Heather Kerzner, Tik Tok star and legendary entrepreneur Nikki Haskell, :Madame Secretary” actor (and top event producer) Eric Bergen, Ralph Lauren Polo restaurant maven Nelly Moudime, real estate star Greg Schriefer, and more. Clive also welcomed Monte Lipman, head of Republic Records, and his wife, Angelique.

My own table, which was Clive adjacent, featured two Tony Award winners: Myles Frost of “MJ The Musical” with his mom, and “Memphis” star Montego Glover with her powerhouse Broadway publicist, Lisa Goldberg — plus designer Tommy Hilfiger and his beautiful wife, Dee.

Mayor Eric Adams arrived during dinner and turned the place upside down with everyone trying to meet him. He literally drew all the attention way from Leo and Tobey, and then gave one of his best speeches ever, about racism and his support of Israel.

Did I mention that Mary J. Blige gave a knockout performance on two songs? Jermaine Dupri performed after. Newcomer Chloe Jane sang first and could be the next Olivia Rodrigo she was so good. There were also presentations from Tamron Hall, Star Jones, and Beyonce’s mom, Tina Knowles.

And of course, there were plenty of NY socialites, philanthropists, and moguls including Peter Thomas Roth, Jean Shafiroff (in a heart stopping gown that was also a piece of art), and Lizzie Asher. Jeweler to the stars Lorraine Schwartz, one of the night’s sponsors. saw some of her incredible baubles auctioned off.

Oh yeah, so what about Leo and Tobey? Why were they there? “Richie is our friend and we came to support him,” Leo said before security people starting eyeing me like I was Ghostface from the next “Scream” movie. I said, “We can’t discuss movies, and you know this from Cannes, but ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is phenomenal.”

Tobey interjected; “But I can say it, can’t I?”

Leo laughed and we both said simultaneously: “No!”

The first Angel Ball was in 1998 and was an instant hit. But I believe it was the 2nd one, in 1999, when 1,500 celebrities showed up at the Sheraton Hotel on Seventh Avenue to find the computer seating program was down. No one had a table assignment. Geraldo Rivera went on stage and said, “Sit down wherever you are. Just sit. You’ll make new friends.”

Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation had a complicated start, but eventually settled in as a huge fundraiser for cancer research. They’re a huge developer of new drugs that helped an untold number of people. Most people would lost interest over time, but Denise has persisted and never given up. Bravo!

PS Was I there? Thanks to the partygoer who inadvertently took this picture.  I never felt more like Zelig:

“Outlander” Star Sam Heughan Removes Name from Letter Signed By UK Actors Supporting Palestine, Gaza with No Mention of Israeli Deaths

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Sam Heughan, star of “Outlander,” has removed his name from an ill advised letter from UK actors and artists supporting a cease fire in Gaza.

The letter signed by “Artists for Palestine” is the latest example of nitwits who know nothing about the Middle East thinking they’re smart for their own good.

Scottish actor Heughan wisely realized that he hadn’t read what he signed, and took his name off of it. But several actors who I thought were brighter than this are on there. They should reconsider.

The letter says nothing about supporting Israel, or denouncing the horrendous attacks of October 7th that started this way by Hamas. These omissions suggest antisemitism at the very least. Do the signatories not care about the hostages. the murders, the decapitations of babies?

Bravo to Heughan. Let him set an example.

Broadway: “Cabaret” Starring Eddie Redmayne as Emcee Will Get Two Opening Nights in a Row, Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles

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Producers are so about “Cabaret” returning to Broadway it’s getting not one but two opening nights.

Oscar and Tony winner Eddie Redmayne reprises his Olivier winning as the Emcee — the Joel Grey role. Gayle Rankin, who’s been working a long time but isn’t a ‘star’ yet — will be Sally Bowles, aka Liza Minnelli. Rankin appeared in the 2014 production in a supporting role.

We can add “Cabaret” to the list of musical revivals including the current hit, “Merrily We Roll Along” and the incoming “Tommy.”

“Cabaret” at the Kit Kat Club on Broadway (the August Wilson Theater) is directed by Olivier Award winner Rebecca Frecknall with club, scenic, and costume design by Evening Standard Award winner, Tony Award nominee, and Olivier Award nominee Tom Scutt, and choreography by Olivier Award nominee Julia Cheng.

Performances begin April 1st, with the two premieres on April 20th and 21st.

Legendary Producer Lou Adler Will Celebrate 90th Birthday with New Neil Young Acoustic Album

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Lou Adler and Neil Young are making sure rust sleeps and doesn’t impinge on them.

Coming very soon is a 48 minute non stop acoustic performance by Young of some of his favorite archival songs. Young says it’s an eclectic take, but some of the songs are well known, like “Mr. Soul,” “Comes a Time,” and “Birds.”

The album, performed without a band, is produced by the legend himself, Lou Adler, who turns 90 in December. This is the Lou Adler who gave us Monterey Pop, the Mamas and the Papas, and Carole King’s solo career starting with “Tapestry.” He also produced “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” A couple of years ago, Adler produced Merry Clayton’s great comeback album, “Beautiful Scars.”

What’s the connection between Adler and Young? They have great taste in women! They’re married to the sisters Hannah (or I guess Hannah and her sisters). Adler has been married for 31 years to Page Hannah, younger sister of Darryl, who married Neil in 2018.

I used to keep up with Neil Young’s releases, but once he started his Archives and started putting out bootlegs and lost concerts, etc, I was overwhelmed. But this one sounds very appealing. Here’s the link for pre-orders.

Diddy Proclaims “I’m Still Standing” in Insta Post After The Love Album Bombs on the Charts

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Sean Diddy Combs has a positive attitude.

Yet, Combs is still very wealthy and happy from his non-music ventures. He just posted to Instagram a video of himself singing “I’m Still Standing” while drinking Champagne as he wanders around his mansion.

Living well is the best revenge!

“SNL” Brings Mostly Spanish Episode with Bad Bunny as Host, Musical Guest, Adds Mick Jagger, Pedro Pascal, Lady Gaga

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We won’t until tomorrow how “Saturday Night Live” did in the ratings last night. It was either a huge success or a bust.

That’s because the show did something unusual: most of it was in Spanish. Except for the excellent cold opening mocking Jim Jordan’s failure to become Speaker of the House, the show was not spoken in English.

Host and musical guest Bad Bunny, who announced in his monologue that he’d rather speak Spanish, pushed “SNL” into a new territory. To boost attention, producer Lorne Michaels added actor Pedro Pascal from the start — he’s American and very popular. He also surprised the audience with Mick Jagger in two spots, and Lady Gaga — currently associated with Jagger because of her Rolling Stones song — to introduce Bad Bunny.

Pascal got away with appearing, even though he’s a member of SAG — because “SNL” is under a different contract. Maybe.

Will Bad Bunny bring Good Ratings? We’ll see. But it was a brave move, and something that “SNL” can afford to do after 48 years.

Taylor $wift Fills the Blank Spaces: Movie Hits $129.8 Million, 23 Singles on iTunes Chart, 15 Albums

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It’s Taylor Swift’s world we just live in it, Pt 203:

“The Eras Tour” movie is now up to $129.8 million. It’s the highest grossing independent movie since since since anyone can remember. Now it takes off three days again for the kids to do homework.

The movie has fueled record sales, although it seems impossible that Swift’s fans haven’t already listened to everything or bought it.

Nevertheless, Swift has 23 singles on the iTunes top 100, and 15 albums.

She’s also the homecoming queen, dating the captain of the football team.

One thing, though: the Rolling Stones have the number 1 album with “Hackney Diamonds.” Just sayin’…

Review: The Fugees Reunite for a Jubilant 25th Anniversary with Lauryn Hill as Opening Act

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If you’re in Washington DC tonight or Philadelphia this week, you’re in for a treat. The Fugees, with Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill are back. It’s their 25th anniversary tour.

On Thursday they played the second of two shows in the New York area, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Hill opens the show, then joins the Fugees for the main part of the show.

Hill plays the entirety of her one real studio album, the seminal “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which remains a template for female hip hop. The more you listen to her, and view the production, it becomes clear that Hill missed a big opportunity either releasing more records of her own or reuniting with Wyclef and Pras. What could have been! Still, cuts a strong figure on stage even if she can’t seem to make a start time.

The Fugees’ original album, “The Score,” started it all back in 1996, and that part of the show is worth waiting for. The group revived the Roberta Flack record, “Killing Me Softly,” back in 1996. Wyclef Jean later became one of our top songwriters with songs like “Ready or Not” and “The Mask.” This show just highlights those two albums, although Wyclef would do well to perform some of his other hits from later on like “911” or “Gone till November.” He has a long list of them, in fact. But that’s for another night.

Meanwhile, it’s refreshing to hear hip hop from its truly innovative days by the real masters. Their musicianship is non-pareil, and original. They still sound fresh as the day they started.

Review: “Immediate Family” The Musicians Who Made Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt’s Records Sing

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If you grew up in the 70s and read album notes, you knew the names of Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar, and Russ Kunkel. They played on every James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, and Linda Ronstadt album, among others. They were to the 70s what Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew had been to the 60s.

Denny Tedesco, who made the very complex and rewarding documentary about the Wrecking Crew, has done the same with these guys. They call themselves Immediate Family now, and previously were named The Section by James Taylor.

We do learn in this film that Peter Asher, who’s the center of all things in classic rock, was the first to list their names on albums, making them famous to those paying attention. Other musicians were indeed paying attention and many are interviewed here including Carole, James, Linda, Phil Collins, (now Rolling Stones) drummer Steve Jordan, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Don Henley, and so on.

There are also interviews with the main guys, as well as other players in their circle including Val Garay and Craig Doerge.

“Immediate Family” is a nice companion piece to Alison Ellwood’s two part “Laurel Canyon” doc that played on Netflix that focused more on Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills & Nash. This film is more about the mechanics of how hits like “Fire & Rain” and “I Feel the Earth Move” were made, and why this particular quartet became ubiquitous because of their exceptional talents.

One thing you don’t get much of it anything personal about the Immediate Family — like whether they have families. Only toward the end is their an anecdote from the very articulate Wachtel about his mother. There’s nothing gossipy here either. For example, drummer Kunkel was married to singer Nicolette Larson (“Lotta Love”), engaged once to Carly Simon (who is strangely omitted from the film), and his original sister-in-law was Cass Elliott.

The most startling personal note come from Leland Sklar, the legendary bassist with a ZZ Top beard, who’s revered by the music world. Despite his huge successes, Sklar admits to a terrible lack of confidence, and maybe a desire to hide behind the beard. (He hasn’t seen his face since 1965.) Sklar says he hates it when people praise him in person, which is too bad.

Magnolia is screening “Immediate Family” on December 12th in theaters, and then releasing to streaming on December 15th.

Gag Response: Donald Trump Calls NY Judge A “Lunatic” Day After $5K Fine and Warning He Could Go to Jail

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Donald Trump wants to be jailed for contempt.
That’s the only explanation for him posting a video with NY Judge Arthur Engoron in it.
Trump calls Engoron a “lunatic.”
Only yesterday, Engoron fined Trump $5,000 for breaking his previous gag order. He threatened that Trump could go to jail next.
What is the strategy here? Rouse the Base? Trump is close to having a suit that matches his face and hair color.

See the video below. And below that, Engoron’s order from yesterday.