June 8 - At the Tony Awards ceremony, Billy Joel said that he greatly admires Broadway actors; “These guys are amazing, they play six nights a week, they’re doing 26 songs in succession. It’s tremendous. I can’t do that anymore.” Yes, Billy Joel is a real slug - he only managed to appear at the Tony’s, dash over to Times Square to play a couple of songs, and then zoom back to the award ceremony. It was worth it, since Movin’ Out, his joint venture with choreographer Twyla Tharp, picked up awards for choreography and orchestration. Later, in the press room, Joel joked, “What did I win for this time? Fisherman of the year?” Brian Dennehy, named best actor for his performance in Long Day’s Journey into Night, thinks it is great that so many Hollywood actors are working on Broadway. He said it’s terrific for the theater, and for the actors to get this work. Director John Waters, who spawned Hairspray, said that everybody wants to see the short, chubby girl sing and win. That would be Marissa Jaret Winokur, and she did! British comic Eddie Izzard doesn’t think an awards show is the way to go. He suggested instead a giant mud fight, with the last person standing receiving the prize.

The Sopranos' John Ventimiglia & Steve Schirripa at Belmont Racetrack

The baby----->

June 7 - 8 – In pouring rain, thousands of race fans turned out for the 135th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third of America’s Triple Crown horse races. This year, underdog Funny Cide surprised the racing world by taking the title at both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but failed to win at Belmont – actually not surprising, since the last horse to win all three races was Affirmed in 1978. The Hollywood set joined the horsey set, with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, Sigourney Weaver, Goldie Hawn, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, and The Sopranos’ John Ventimiglia, Steven Schirripo and Michael Imperioli all biting their nails until the heart-pounding finish.

At a New Festival post-screening party for the film Ghostlight, director Stephen Daldry and his wife Lucy Sexton brought their newborn child, but wouldn’t tell us the infant’s name or sex. The openly gay Daldry, Oscar-nominated for The Hours and Billy Elliot, surprised everyone, including his mother, by marrying a woman in 2001. You may recall that Daldry was widely quoted from an Advocate interview, saying, “Do I have sex with my wife? Yes. Is it a real marriage? Yes. Am I gay? Yes.” When we asked what brought Daldry to the party at the posh boutique Jeffrey, he told us that Ghostlight’s writer/producer and star, Richard Move, is his roommate. “You mean your roommate from college?” we asked. “No, now”, he replied, at which point his publicist cut him off. Back in the 1990’s, Sexton and Move were both involved with the legendary Jackie 60 cabaret at the now-defunct club Mother.

June 3-5 – Now that Adrien Brody has won a best-actor Oscar, his 2001 film Love the Hard Way, with Charlotte Ayanna (Training Day), Jon Seda and Pam Grier, will hit theaters. At the New York premiere, security guards tried to stop photographer Sylvia Plachy from snapping photos on the red carpet, until she explained who she is – Brody’s mother.

We knew this day was coming for the past year, and we met Martha Stewart at her indictment on June 4. To update our foreign readers, Martha Stewart is a household name in the U.S., a lifestyle media magnate with TV shows, magazines, books and products for the home sold in department stores. Stewart has been the focus of an insider stock-trading scandal related to the company Imclone. Ironically, the company’s cancer drug recently proved effective in Europe, the stock price has risen and the drug will be reevaluated for the U.S. market. As expected, Martha had no comment, but she'd better come up with the recipe for removing a stain from her reputation.

The Fresh Air Fund provides inner-city children with summer vacations in the country. At their star-studded spring gala, the organization recognized American heroes Mariah Carey, Sarah Jessica Parker and New York Knicks’ Allan Houston. Kristin Davis had just come from work, wearing her own Michael Kors dress, with her Sex and the City character Charlotte’s shoes and earrings. A TV reporter asked for her verdict on some eligible bachelors: “Adrien Brody is absolutely beyond talented, but he seems complicated. Many women like that, but he seems complicated to me. Chef Rocco DiSpirito tops the list – there’s nothing sexier than being cooked for.” Davis declined to tell us who she’s dating.

June 2 - The turnout for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Fashion Awards wasn’t as stellar as in years past, but plenty of Hollywood luminaries were there to cheer on the designers who help them to look so glamorous. Actress Claire Danes came with designer Zac Posen, then later kept kissing Narciso Rodriguez, prompting one guest to tell them to get a room. The event’s host, Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City, played no favorites, changing outfits four times during the evening. By the end, in a black, fringed dress, Parker asked us not to take any more photos, simply gesturing that she was exhausted and was wearing no jewelry. Actress Renee Zellweger's date was her good friend Andre Leon Talley of Vogue magazine, who won an award for excellence in fashion journalism. Other awardees were Narciso Rodriguez for women’s wear, Michael Kors for menswear and Marc Jacobs for accessories. Alexander McQueen won the international award. Nicole Kidman couldn’t be there to pick up her fashion icon award. It was a big day for Vogue magazine editor in chief Anna Wintour, who received a lifetime achievement award. Earlier that day PETA protestors, wearing bloody furs and fake leg traps, demonstrated outside her offices. They called Wintour a “modern-day Cruella DeVille”, saying her magazine promotes fur, and refuses to accept paid anti-fur advertisements. PETA also unveiled its new ad campaign, featuring an unflattering picture of Wintour, with the slogan “Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people.” Anna calmly took it in stride.

June 1 – New York radio station Z100 took over Giants Stadium for its annual Zootopia concert event. The talent lineup is literally too long to include here, but a few you may have heard of: Aerosmith, TLC, Ja Rule, Third Eye Blind, Ashanti, Jewel and Ginuwine. Mariah Carey was so excited to be there, she apparently ran out of the house in her underwear! American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, runner-up Clay Aiken and last season’s victor Kelly Clarkson thrilled the crowd. Britney Spears and Lisa Marie Presley were guest hosts for the event.

May 28 – Fur designer to the stars Dennis Basso celebrated 20 years in business with his annual fashion show at Cipriani. This year’s showstopper was Diana Ross on the runway. Why doesn’t Basso show his line at the same time as other designers? Is it an ego thing? “We don’t do furs during Fashion Week”, explained 7th on Sixth executive director Fern Mallis. Way more relaxed than the grind of Fashion Week, guests stuck around for cocktails and a buffet dinner. Sex and the City costume mistress Patricia Field hasn’t used Basso furs on the show - she only uses a bit of fur when they film outdoors in cold weather, but mostly it’s about the pretty dresses. Talk show host Star Jones, The Sopranos’ Lorraine Bracco, Janice Combs and lots of socialites ogled the fine pelts while PETA demonstrators held court outside.

May 22-23 – Rosie had powerful friends, as evidenced by the first annual NEMO benefit for lymphoma research. House of Field designer David Dalrymple explained, after showing his Fall 2003 collection: “Rosie was the hostess over at Beige, Eric Conrad’s [fashion-world-heavy] Tuesday night party at Bowery Bar. And she was like a living fashion icon, such a genius and such an inspiration always. So it just seemed perfectly fitting, and I know she would have loved it. “ After Rosie succumbed to lymphoma, Dalrymple said, “When we all felt so helpless, this was a way to kick in, raise some money.” Patricia Field added, “I loved Rosie, she was a gem.” The bash at Roxy featured performances by the bands Luna and very of-the-moment Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Famous for their highly theatrical performances, Yeahs drummer Brian Chase took the night off, so vocalist Karen*O and guitarist Nick Zinner did a low-key set. All that plus food from Nobu.

Newsflash! We caught Anna Wintour wearing a cheap synthetic gown! At the Fashion Institute of Technology's graduation ceremony, the ever-chic Vogue editor in chief told the 2,600 graduates that the fashion business has become a global force, and that they are heading into a very different industry than the one she entered 30-odd years ago. “I didn’t go to fashion school, I didn’t even go to college. When I was your age, fashion magazines were widely regarded by mothers as finishing schools for girls of a certain background. Interest in fashion was limited to a very small section of society", she said in her commencement address. 1963 FIT graduate Calvin Klein received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. His advice to budding designers: "Be inspired, and be fearless."

May 21-22 - After a self-imposed two-year hiatus from la vida loca, Ricky Martin is back with a new Spanish-language album, Almas del Silencio (Souls of Silence). According to a New York Times article, he’s nixed the tight leather costumes, but for his performance on the Today Show (photo at left), he hadn’t exactly gone the sackcloth route. Jim Carrey, also appearing on the morning news program to promote his new film Bruce Almighty, mixed with the Rockefeller Center tourists during Martin’s concert. Later that day, Martin posed for photos and signed anything thrust at him by delirious fans at the Virgin Megastore on Times Square.

Available online: Britney Spears’ sweaty clothing! No, this isn’t e-mail spam.
The pop diva held a press conference to announce that she’s donated some of her favorite costumes for a charity auction. We can’t understand why everyone is dissing Britney’s new shorter, browner hairdo. Critics need to get their priorities in order: a Britney makeover should begin with singing lessons. Hopefully, a new wardrobe is on the way - the “Britney Bids for Kids” auction is online at gottahaveit.com until June 5.

We dipped our toes into higher cultural waters at Cooper Union, where Meryl Streep joined the literary set for “Real Poems for Unreal Times”, a poetry reading cosponsored by the Poetry Society of America and Miramax Books.

Finally, MTV’s Eric Nies and Queer as Folk’s Robert Gant helped the folks at Out magazine celebrate their first-ever Hot issue, at the nightclub Lotus.