With Deborah Schoeneman
Junior Vasquez has gotten Madonna’s blessing to remix her next single, “Hollywood,” but the divas haven’t kissed and made up. The only reason Madonna gave the okay to Vasquez—to whom she hasn’t spoken in seven years, ever since he released a song that included Madonna whining into his answering machine—was that Donatella Versace needed it. The designer wanted “Hollywood” included in the runway music that Vasquez is producing for her spring 2004 men’s show in Milan this month. Madonna’s rep, Liz Rosenberg, didn’t mince words when asked about the possibility of reconciliation. “Madonna did it as a personal favor,” she said. “I can assure you that Madonna will never work with Junior again.”
Conan O’Brien: And Baby Makes Three
A Happy Father’s Day in advance to Conan O’Brien. The late-night talker and his wife, ad executive Liza Powell, are expecting their first child in October. O’Brien’s rep confirmed the news but said the couple would not be issuing any statements about their private lives. In other words, don’t expect the 40-year-old O’Brien to be cracking too many daddy jokes. He and Powell have avoided the spotlight ever since they began dating in 2000 after meeting when Powell appeared on O’Brien’s show in a skit about advertising. They married in January 2002 in Powell’s native Seattle.
Rosario Dawson Nails It
Trading Spaces may want to sign Rosario Dawson for a celebrity episode. The actress recently told us she’s taking the summer off from acting to renovate her new one-bedroom apartment in the East Village. “I spent today hacksawing, painting, and putting in shelves,” the 25th Hour star told us. And not only can she hammer nails like a construction worker, she apparently drinks like one, too. “I was at Home Depot the other day, and there was a place next to it called Eddie’s Beer or something like that. I bought six cases. My refrigerator is coming in two days, so I want to be prepared.”
Planet Rock
Maybe Moby really is made of stars. The Grammy nominee and tea-shop owner’s latest project is a new multimedia show at the American Museum of Natural History’s reborn Hayden Planetarium. Before the Rose Center’s $210 million upgrade, the planetarium featured a weekly Pink Floyd laser light show popular with the acid-washed set. Moby will be the music coordinator for the new show, mixing his own work with Radiohead, Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, and the Flaming Lips, to name a few of the bands. “Personally I think that it has nothing in common with the old laser light shows,” Moby says. “This will be transcendent.” Artists including his friend Jonathan Cramer are collaborating on the visuals. It should debut in October.
Ignorance Is Bliss
Looks like author Bliss Broyard (My Father, Dancing) will need to do some serious research for her upcoming book on her African-American heritage. She was inspired to write it after her dad—the late, legendary New York Times book critic Anatole Broyard—revealed on his deathbed that he was part black. We’re told that at the June 5 party for Gretchen Rubin’s Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill, Broyard went up to Vernon Jordan and mistook him for David Dinkins, a close friend of her late uncle, civil rights leader Franklin Williams. Ever the smooth politico, Jordan played along, sending his regards to Broyard’s aunt. Meanwhile, the real David Dinkins was mingling with a crowd that included Bill Clinton, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Gifford Miller, and Mort Zuckerman. Broyard explained that she was misled by someone who pointed Jordan out as Dinkins: “In my book, I’m trying to look at questions of race that are more than skin deep. I hope the test of racial awareness goes beyond trying to spot the celebrity African-American of the moment out of the crowd.”
VILLAGE PEOPLE: Hugh Jackman has such faith in his fall Broadway debut as the gay Aussie entertainer Peter Allen in the musical The Boy From Oz that he’s laid down roots for at least a year. He and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, snagged a three-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot condo in the West Village. Jackman’s broker, Jim Rosenthal of Douglas Elliman, wouldn’t talk numbers, but our sources guess $14,500 a month.
What: Viva Glam Casino, a night of gambling alongside some of the world’ssexiest supermodels (Maggie Rizer is the host, afterall). Handpainted modelsfeaturing the works of Andre Balazs, Cecily Brown, Colin Cowie, Diane VonFurstenberg, Heatherette, Missy Elliot, and Pink, among many others.Proceeds benefit the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA).When and Where: Wednesday, June 25, at the Regent Wall Street (55 Wall St.). VIPreception starts at 7pm.Info: www.diffa.org or call (212) 727-3100
