Today's "Gatecrasher" column in the Daily News includes a truly excellent story that also appears in the Village Voice. Turns out News gossip Ben Widdicombe and Voice scribe Michael Musto were sharing a table at Bowery Bar last Tuesday during the weekly gay party, Beige. With them was former Village People cowboy Randy Jones, who had a delightful tale to tell. From "Gatecrasher":

In 1977, [Jones] found himself sharing a table at Studio 54 with two people he recalls as being Paris' parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton. "There was one rock of cocaine left, and it rolled off the table," he said. "They just didn't even bother bringing it back up to a hard surface — they just crushed it into the carpet and snorted it off that."

Jones explained, "Whatever Paris Hilton is, she came by it honestly!" (Not the adverb we would necessarily use.) Now Rick Hilton denies this story ever happened, and it may be too good to be true. But it is a lovely little example of the gay media mafia at work. Widdicombe needs to fill a column every day, but he nonetheless waited an entire week to run this item so that he and Musto could run it at the same time. Thus, nobody was unduly scooped. See? Gay gossip columns will help you out! Unlike straight gossip columns, which threaten to rape you.

Violence is Golden [VV]
Hilton Story Doesn't Seem to Check Out [NYDN]