At the 8th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation event, entitled, An Enduring Vision, CNN correspondent, Anderson Cooper, played host. The event was attended by a swarm of Elton's highest profile buddies, including Sharon Stone, who was recognized for her longtime fundraising efforts in the fight to find a cure for AIDS. Never one to be accused of being a wallflower, Sharon strolled the red carpet looking like Carmen Sandiego in a black leather trench, hat and sheer skirt.

Soap star, Susan Lucci, showed off her petite frame in a bright purple dress. She told Entertainment Tonight, "It's a cause that's so worthwhile. So many of us in the entertainment industry know so many people who this will touch."

Courtney Love was dressed in a simple, black gown with a plunging neckline, looking suspiciously appropriate and put-together. Could things be looking up for the troubled rocker? God, let's hope so.

Gallery Info: Elton John, David Furnish, Daniel Craig, Courtney Love, Anderson Cooper, Sharon Stone, Gina Gershon, Susan Lucci, Kenneth Cole, Matthew Settle, Tony Bennett, Sandra Lee and Donna Karan at the 8th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation's "An Enduring Vision" in NYC.

Click any thumbnail launch the gallery and view all 40 photos:

Joining all the other celebrities currently vacationing in lovely Saint Tropez, Sir Elton John and his longtime partner, David Furnish, have been spending their vacation in Saint Tropez.

Alternating between spending their time at sea on board a luxury yacht, the couple also found themselves on land on a shopping trip.

But don't be confused by their pampered surroundings, Elton's cars were dealt fines by police when they were illegally parked in front of the Solaris shop. Tis a hard-knock life.

Gallery Info: Sir Elton John and David Furnish on holiday in Saint Tropez.

Click any thumbnail launch the gallery and view all 38 photos:

The 63rd annual Tony Awards opened with a bang! It was a star-studded musical number that starred Dolly Parton, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, the casts of West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey, Shrek, 9 to 5: The Musical, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages and Billy Elliot and finished off with a love-in: a rousing rendition of "Let the Sun Shine" from the new best-revival production of Hair.



There was one big glitch during the telecast, Rock of Love reality star Bret Michaels - who performed with his band Poison along with the cast of Broadway's Rock of Ages - ran into a piece of scenery when he missed his mark after performing Poison's hit "Nothin' But a Good Time." He was knocked to the ground. Oops.

Billy Elliot, composer Elton John's adaptation of director Stephen Daldry's 2000 film about a boy who lives to dance, sweeping the night as best musical and winning 10 Tonys in all - while French dramatist Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage was named best play. Other winning highlights from the award show were when Liza Minnelli beat Will Ferrell for Best Special Theatrical event, she referred to the funnyman as "her lovely man."

"I'm crazy about Will Ferrell," she told us in the press room. "He's so charming and so talented. I watch his films all the time. They've taken me all over the world."

Angela Lansbury, who won for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Blithe Spirit, felt "about two feet off the ground" upon winning her award, she told the press room just before joking that the fifth Tony statuette would finally fill a void on her shelf.

Click the continue reading link below for the full list of winners.

Check out all of our 2009 Tony Awards coverage here!

Gallery Info: Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Marcia Gay Harden, Alice Ripley, Kiril Kulish, Trent Kowallk, David Alvarez, Karen Olivo, Gregory Jbara, Geoffrey Rush, Angela Lansbury, Stephen Daltry, Roger Robinson, Matthew Warchus, Kristen Chenoweth, David Hyde Pierce, Anne Hathaway, Dolly Parton, Brett Michaels, Jane Fonda, Will Ferrell and Neil Patrick Harris at the 63rd annual Tony Awards.

Click any thumbnail launch the gallery and view all 64 photos:

Billy Elliot, the stage adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film, scored by Elton John, leads this year's Tony Awards with 15 nominations.

John will compete in the Best Original Score category, against fellow musical legend Dolly Parton for 9 to 5. Billy Elliot will vie with Next to Normal, Rock of Ages and fellow film adaptee Shrek the Musical for the Best Musical prize.

Who was snubbed this year? Katie Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe, Frank Langella, John Lithgow, Nathan Lane and Kristin Scott Thomas. That'll suck some star power out of this year's telecast.

Click the continue reading link below for a full list of the Tony nominations.

Gallery Info: Cynthia Nixon, Harry Smith and Lin-Manuel Miranda announcing the American Theatre Wing's 2009 Tony Award Nominations.

Click any thumbnail launch the gallery and view all 14 photos:

Diva extraordinaire Elton John and his partner David Furnish were on hand for the opening night of the Broadway musical version of Billy Elliot. Elton wrote the score for the show, based on the 2000 movie about a young boy in a rough British mining town who want to be a dancer. Elton would be the larger man in the tutu in the picture above. Elliot is the third successful musical John has written, after Aida and The Lion King.

"I'm looking up at the street and I'm seeing the sign for The Lion King, and I'm standing here and I'm thinking, `I had never thought in a million years I'd ever be standing in Broadway and talking about something I'd written for the stage," the normally grumpy John said.

"It's a triumph over adversity. It's something beautiful coming out of something tragic," John says about the show, which has had already had successful runs in London and Sydney, Australia.

It's also about the triumph of a 61-year-old man being able to appear in public in front of hundreds of people in a tutu and still get out of bed in the morning.

Click on any image in the gallery for 26 more photos from the opening night of Billy Elliot.

I have a feeling the phrase "hurry up you big old queen" is going through the gentleman's head who's wearing the brown polo. At least Elton John looks like he's enjoying his little trip to the celebrity vacation hot spot, Saint Tropez, with his husband David Furnish.

Click any photo to view all the photos of Elton John in the gallery!

Of course, we're all glad that the writers' strike appears to be over, so that our awards shows can go back to being scripted, but it was the moments that couldn't have been predicted that usually make the show memorable. Or at least that's what everyone who actually bothers to watch usually tells me. I just read live-blogs anymore.

This year, one of my favorite quotes I read of came from best actress winner, Marion Cotillard, for her portrayal of Edith Piaf on "La Vie En Rose." After getting a big hug from Forest Whitaker, the French actress declared, "This is crazy, this is totally crazy. Ooh la la la la! It's totally surreal."

The only thing more surreal that I can think of is how amazing Faye Dunaway looks in this picture. I feel like her face lifts and whatnot have sort of relaxed and settled into place so that she looks human again again. Well-played, Ms. Dunaway.

Jeremy Piven and Chace Crawford are looking way too casual for my taste, but I'm not one for that whole "scruffy-in-a-tuxedo" look. I just feel like it looks way too much like a hungover best man.

Photos: Getty Images

36 more photos from Elton John's Oscar party featuring Kate Beckinsale, Tim Allen, Portia di Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres, JC Chasez, Jeremy Piven, Sean Combs, Sofia Vergara, Minnie Driver, Russell Simmons, Natalie Maines, Jeffrey Donovan, Erik McCormack, Patricia Clarkson, Chris O'Donnell, Jason Lewis, Patty Hearst, Chris Noth and John Waters are after the jump.

Sean Penn, recently split from his wife, Robin Wright, showed up at Elton John's Oscar viewing party with model Petra Nemcova on his arm, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. To me, a date with a model would mean that all bets are off--no hope for reconciliation, because the last thing I'd ever want to do is have to be compared to a woman who is professionally beautiful. I don't even get paid to do that part-time.

It was Elton's 16th Annual AIDS Foundation soiree and he and husband, David Furnish hosted the event, with Sharon Stone helping out on stage with the auction. Sharon, never one to disappoint, was unfortunately relatively sober this year, but still managed to slip in a joke about her famously exposed noonie. During the auction for various celebrity items, Elton John joked, "I'll take my trousers off," to encourage higher bids and Sharon added, "I would, but you've all already seen that before." You know she's going to be ninety years old and still making that joke to her grandkids. Love it.

You know that everyone's on their best behavior when both Tara Reid and Courtney Love show up looking like they haven't been sniffing glue, with all nipples and bruises concealed. We'll just see how long that lasts.

Photos: Getty Images

36 more photos from Elton John's Oscar party featuring Mary J. Blige, Marion Cotillard, Tara Reid, Sean Penn, Petra Nemkova, Sharon Stone, Heidi Klum, Seal, Josh Grobin, Faye Dunaway, Antonio Sabato Jr., Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Courtney Love, Christian Slater and Tamara Mellon are after the jump.

Photos: Flynet Onilne

Lisa and J. chime in after the jump.

The two philanthrophic giants, Elton John and tennis legend, Billie Jean King, partnered together to host the Adavanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits at Villanova University in Philadelphia. Tennis superstars from today and the past, showed up to compete with the goal of raising funds for Elton's AIDS Foundation, as well as the city's local charity, ActionAIDS. $400,000 was raised when fans showed up to watch sports celebrities like Andy Roddick, Anna Kournikova, Lindsay Davenport and Patrick McEnroe play against each other in the name of charity, who were just as happy to be there to help the hosts of the event.

"Whenever I've played a tough match or have a good result, the first person who I get a text message from is Billie Jean," Roddick said. "She's been so good to me throughout my career."

I think the best faces being made in these pictures or those of the fans. For example, this woman is LOSING HER MIND that Andy Roddick is standing so close to her. Thank God she brought her camera, otherwise, her girlfriends at work would never believe she was within throwing distance of him! YAY! Also, the guy in the pic of Anna Kournikova looks like he is professing his undying love for her, adding that, "All my friends are on the whole Maria Sharapova bandwagon, but I'm like, DUDE, I'm all about Anna." That picture of Elton and Billie Jean is pretty adorable, since it just proves my belief that eventually, all old people start to look and dress alike. It's been scientifically proven.

(WENN)