Party Crashers Make the Pages

via FoxNews.com

Was Sony the Secret VH-1/Vogue Fashion Sponsor?
It doesn't take Columbo to figure out that the VH-1/Vogue Fashion special was a Sony Entertainment spectacle.
The grueling two hour show featured David Bowie singing two songs from his Sony album Heathen, Steven Tyler of Sony's Aerosmith singing a duet with Pink and then picking up some ridiculous award; John Travolta plugging his upcoming Sony movie Basic and Sony artist Jennifer Lopez flapping around for photographers.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
There were probably subliminal ads too, but I couldn't catch all of them. The awards themselves weren't awards at all -- there were no nominees to speak of, just people jumping up on the stage to accept thunderous applause from the paid extras also on stage. Ralph Lauren? One of Vogue's biggest advertisers. Tom Ford of Gucci? Same. Congratulations to both on their advertorial status.
Later, the after-party at the Hudson Hotel was one of those nightmare situations of clipboard Nazi's and way too many people trying to get past the velvet ropes. One model who'd been in the show was nastily turned away by a hotel publicist, dismissed without blinking an eye.
Nevertheless, the city's most famous party crashers got in -- including a guy who looks like Big Bird whom everyone refers to as "Shaggy," a little bald man who claims to be a dentist, a matronly but cheerful blond woman who misses no event and a tall guy with headlamp eyes. No one knows their names, but we all know what they look like. So much for security and exclusivity.
I did run into a lot of mostly pleasant celebs who were so jam packed into the room they couldn't breathe. They included Natalie Portman, Caroline Rhea, Claire Danes with boyfriend Ben Lee and lots of pretty young things in search of companionship. One such person, a society girl I am told, managed to spend a lot of quality time with Hugh Grant. We'll have to see what the tabloids say if that relationship progresses, but it was called to my attention by several jealous young ladies in the smoky, overcrowded room.