The Democratic National Convention was manna from heaven for gossip columnists like the Rocky Mountain News' Penny Parker. Instead of having to give the bold-face-print treatment to low-profile radio personalities, local TV types or socialites about whom few in the general public know or care, they spent a week practically tripping over many of the most famous people in these United States: entertainers, politicians, media stars. No wonder Parker is having such a hard time letting go. In an offering published on September 16, just shy of three weeks since the convention wrapped, Parker included three more paragraphs about people who were here but are now long gone.
Here's the item:
RITZY: The Ritz-Carlton in Denver played hostess with the mostest for several celebs during the Democratic National Convention. Despite reports that said Oprah Winfrey rented a South Gaylord pad for $50,000 for the week, I have it on solid authority that she stayed Aug. 27 - the night before Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech - at the Ritz with gal pal Gayle King.According to my spy, Winfrey had the Ritz-Carlton suite with King in a connecting room.
Also renting the Ritz: NBC Today show anchor Matt Lauer, who was overheard telling his server that "his steak at Elway's was the best he's had in recent memory"; Charlize Theron sipping white wine at lunch with hottie boyfriend Stuart Townsend; and Eva Longoria, who was "just as pretty without makeup" when she was spotted in Elway's for breakfast.
I feel Parker's pain. It's a lot more fun to type "Eva Longoria" than it is "Loews GM Ellen Seymore" or "the Style Matters gals Judie Schwartz and Evelinda Urman," all of whom also appear in her September 16 piece. But it's time to admit that Denver's no longer the center of the universe. You've got to accept it and move on. It's okay. Oprah will understand. -- Michael Roberts
