At one point Winfrey awkwardly reminisced with the group about how none of them were ever able to beat her ratings.

"One of the things that we are all proud of, our team, is that we've been on for 25 years, we've been the number one talk show for 25 years … but there were a few days when some of you actually beat us in the ratings and i hear you guys remember those days?" Winfrey asked. 

"I remember one of them," Rivera said. 

Raphael said she "never once" managed to top Oprah's ratings. 

"We just wanted to be you, have your money, live your life," joked Raphael.

Winfrey mostly just laughed and laughed.  

Tomorrow's episode of the "Oprah Winfrey Show" will feature appearances from Ricki Lake, Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Montel Williams. This much nineties nostalgia and daytime talk power has never before been assembled in the same place, at the same time. Sadly, Maury Povich will not be coming to give paternity tests to his fellow daytime hosts.

In November, Oprah announced that she would be leaving daytime after 25 years to focus on her cable television network. The Oprah Winfrey Network launches January 1, 2011.

-Motion to rename Election Day. Proposed replacement moniker: "Day of Reckoning When Jimmy McMillan's Rent Is Too Damn High Album Drops."

-Twitter made a wine. Some profits go to charity. That is a good thing. But still. Twitter made a wine.

-Oh, sigh. Carl Paladino, will you never learn? Everyone's favorite verbal vomiter just called Kirsten Gillibrand "Schumer's little girl." Come on, Carl. If you're going to demean her, at least highlight that she's a hot hot hottie.

-Apple paid for a Chicago subway station Xtreme makeover. Now, Newark needs help and all, but can Facebook do something about the fare hikes?

Admittedly most of those are either YA or romance titles, but still. What plots! Maybe adult trade publishing would do better if they put out more books with plots like these. Then there's that Montel Williams-related one that promises help with "all kinds of trauma" and "bad events." Could this be the end of self-help books forever? Why would anyone ever need to write another one?

Carey Campbell, the head of the Draft Michael Bloomberg effort in Virginia, agreed to come up for the January 24th taping of the show, which also featured John Edwards' daughter Cate, Janine Turner (“a politically savvy actress“) and Heather Smith, head of Rock the Vote.

But Campbell’s segment got cut because, as one person at the show told me, they simply ran out of time.

“We may have gotten axed,” Campbell said, but added, “It was a lot of fun to take the train though. You always know when you’re in segment seven, you’re in trouble.”

Talk-show host Montel Williams was one of them. Actually, he was three of them, purchasing three units in two buildings, at 200 and 220 Riverside Boulevard.

And while Mr. Williams got rid of a condo at No. 200 in 2003, he’s now also sold off the two penthouse units at No. 220.

Back in June 2005, Mr. Williams successfully unloaded one penthouse unit for $2.275 million, and he has just sold the second for $5.7 million, according to deed-transfer records.

While closing two real-estate deals is certainly reason to celebrate, Mr. Williams had plenty of trouble completing the second transaction.

In February 2005, he initially put the second penthouse unit on the market for $6 million, listed with broker Cuqui Hughes of the Trump Organization. Two months later, $100,000 was chopped off the asking price.

That price drop helped bring in the potential buyers, John and Vicki Andrinopoulos—Mr. Williams’ downstairs neighbors. In July 2005, the couple signed a contract to purchase the apartment for $5.65 million. By October, the deal should have been done—that is, until the two sides began disagreeing over a closing date.

So Mr. Williams filed a lawsuit, which alleged that the couple was required to pay him $282,500 up front, followed by monthly installments of $20,000 until closing. Claiming a breach of contract, Mr. Williams petitioned the court to award him the $342,500 total down payment, which was being held in escrow.

Just recently, the lawsuit was settled, according to a source familiar with the proceedings, and Mr. Williams’ neighbors managed to get out of the deal. Fortunately for Mr. Williams, he was able to find another buyer who was willing to pay a bit more than the Andrinopouloses. (However, even at that increased selling price, Mr. Williams brought in roughly $750,000 less than he paid for the 10-room spread in 2004.)

Now, the unnamed buyer—who snatched up the second penthouse unit without a broker, according to a source—has plenty of work ahead of them: Mr. Williams’ 4,300-square-foot apartment is being delivered as raw space. (“Bring your imagination and an architect!” stated the listing.) Other amenities in the Costas Kondylis–designed tower include a 24-hour doorman, health club, pool and conference room.

Real-estate travails aside, Mr. Williams continues to battle against multiple sclerosis while still hosting his Emmy Award–winning talk show (now in its 15th season) and penning motivational books.

Mr. Williams couldn’t be reached for comment by press time. A lawyer for Mr. Williams declined to comment. Ms. Hughes declined to comment.

“I NEED TO PARE DOWN MY LIFE in a manageable way,” said singer and activist Harry Belafonte, regarding his desire to move out of the West End Avenue apartment that he’s called home for 46 years. “My wife and I decided that now would be a good time to sell.”

Last August, Mr. Belafonte first put the 21-room co-op on the market for $15 million, listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman. Two million dollars was shaved off the asking price before the end of 2005. But no affluent buyer snatched it up at that price.

“My children are grown up and gone,” he continued. “It’s an enormous overhead. I have stepped away from my active career involvement. I have no more interest in performing. I am getting more and more involved in social activism.”

So now, Mr. Belafonte has cut the price yet again—down to $11.75 million—and also swapped brokerage firms, now listing the apartment with Sherry Matays and Julianne Bond, of the Corcoran Group.

Mr. Belafonte’s full-floor spread measures over 7,200 square feet, the result of combining two units several decades ago.

“I made a small breakthrough, bringing the A and the B side into one sweep,” said Mr. Belafonte, of his combined apartment. “Not only did we entertain a lot, but it gave us the opportunity to have one side of the apartment for the family. The other side was for guests and parties.”

In addition to a grand entertaining space, there are six bedrooms and six baths, as well as a maid’s room (and bath). Other notable features include four wood-burning fireplaces, herringbone floors and the original details.

In the early 1960’s, Mr. Belafonte—along with two other residents—devised a plan to overcome the prejudices of the building’s landlord, who refused to allow black tenants to buy apartments. Under a corporate name, the three men purchased the entire building and spearheaded a co-op conversion. Numerous stage and screen stars of the era lived at this fashionable address, including Lena Horne.

In addition to the entertainment world icons, the home was also visited by countless political heavyweights of the last century.

“Eventually, when life began to evolve, it became a perfect place for many of my colleagues,” he said. “Dr. [Martin Luther] King wrote many of his speeches here. Many meetings were held here to strategize things that went on in the [civil rights] movement.”

And when he was running for President, then-Senator John F. Kennedy visited the West End Avenue apartment. “He wanted me to endorse him, to campaign for him, and come work for him,” said Mr. Belafonte. “We had a lot to talk about. He was still, to us, an enigma.”

Mr. Belafonte continues to champion many political causes, while speaking his mind throughout world (and even meeting with controversial figures like Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez).

But despite traveling extensively, the calypso star says he will not leave Manhattan altogether.

“I’d like to have a smaller place in the city—in the Upper West Side,” said Mr. Belafonte. “I don’t think the West Side has changed as dramatically as other parts of the city.”

Ms. Matays and Ms. Bond didn’t return calls for comment.

YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF 35-YEAR-OLD Doug Lebda, but Wall Street has. And now that he’s moved here to New York—and to a $10.9 million Central Park West penthouse—you probably will.

In December, Mr. Lebda became president and chief operating officer of Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp—a media conglomerate that includes Expedia, Ticketmaster, the Home Shopping Network and Match.com. The company also owns LendingTree, the online mortgage business of the ubiquitous television ads that Mr. Lebda founded in the mid-1990’s after dropping out of business school, then sold to Mr. Diller for a reported $734 million in 2003.

Mr. Lebda’s new digs befit his young-mogul status. Once asking $12.975 million, the duplex apartment’s price was reduced to $10 million in January 2006, listed with the Corcoran Group.

That market-friendly drop certainly did the trick; multiple bids were placed, and Mr. Lebda emerged from the pack with a signed a contract in early February.

Perhaps the seller was eager to unload the 4,790-square-foot spread, considering that he had run into serious trouble with the law. He is advertising executive Norman Chanes, who pled guilty in 2004 to charges stemming from a telephone and Internet pornography scam run by the Gambino crime family.

Legal troubles aside, there were also the awfully vocal activists (think bullhorns) pacing the sidewalk of this ritzy neighborhood. For a couple years, animal-rights protesters regularly targeted building resident Andrew Baker, the chief executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that tests on animals, according to The New York Times.

In late 1998, the Related Companies spearheaded a substantial upgrade of the 38-unit building and quickly attracted some wealthy buyers. Oil scion Nelson Rockefeller Jr.—son of the late Vice President Nelson Rockefeller—picked up a ninth-floor apartment in 2001.

Also, the late director Stanley Kubrick once lived in the building, and he reportedly built an exact replica of his pad to serve as the set for the lavish residence of the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman characters in Eyes Wide Shut.

So what does Mr. Lebda get for all those millions?

Well, the five-bedroom, four-bath duplex features multiple exposures and wrap terraces offering superb park and city views. The upper level includes a living room, library, powder room, windowed eat-in kitchen and master-bedroom suite. The media room and gym are located one floor below and reached by way of a “floating staircase.” Vastly renovated, the apartment also features honed limestone floors and custom-built cabinetry.

And not only does Mr. Lebda now have a posh Manhattan residence to call home, but he’ll soon have a swank (architecturally significant) office in the coming years. IAC’s future company headquarters—designed by Frank Gehry—is currently taking shape in West Chelsea, overlooking the Hudson River.

Whether Mr. Lebda utilized LendingTree for his personal-mortgage needs is unknown; the executive declined to comment.

Jon Stewart didn’t show, but on Monday night his co-authors in America (The Book): A Guide to Democracy Inaction turned up at the Algonquin Hotel to pick up this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor and the check for five grand that came with it.

The duo, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum, stressed the book’s collaborative effort. “Everyone was chipping in,” Mr. Karlin gushed. “I don’t know how Andy does it,” referring to fellow Thurber nominee Andy Borowitz.

“Oh, fuck you,” Mr. Borowitz shouted from the audience. “I’ll just take the check.”

This was Mr. Borowitz’s second loss at the Thurber Awards; in 2001, “David Sedaris won the Thurber, and he didn’t even have to show up to kick my ass,” said Mr. Borowitz. Losing to “Me Talk Pretty Some Day was like losing to The Da Vinci Code,” he said.

“Well, the real reason Jon Stewart isn’t here is, he’s out with David Sedaris,” said Mr. Karlin. Mr. Stewart had sent along his thanks, however: “Me thank you. Me so glad win Thurber,” Mr. Stewart had scrawled, appending a doodle of a kitten.

While The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik, a judge of the contest, made comedy sound hard with a little speech on humor as the opposite of rhetoric, Mr. Borowitz made it sound easy. All he does is write “a daily fake news story—sort of like Judith Miller,” he said. Mr. Javerbaum required fuel: With “Doritos and Mountain Dew,” he said, he could get through anything. He’d better stock up: There’ll be a sequel to America (The Book), though the details are “top-secret,” he said.

Let’s hope that the sequel doesn’t go head to head with Mr. Borowitz’s next opus in a few years. “I don’t like magnanimity,” said Mr. Borowitz. “I felt like Don Cheadle when Jamie Foxx won.”

As if to further his humiliation, a woman came up hoping for his autograph. She held out her copy of America (The Book).

“I don’t have anything else for you to write on,” she apologized. So he wrote on its front page: “What a piece of shit, Andy Borowitz.”

—Erin Coe

The Perfume Heir

Erwin Creed claims he’s not a party boy, but some je ne sais quoi in those big dreamy brown eyes of his seems to suggest otherwise.

On Monday morning at the Asiate restaurant in Columbus Circle, Mr. Creed was well scrubbed and suited up in a blue jacket and tie. His brown hair was slightly tousled, his lashes curled up, his smile dazzling. Not only does the seventh-generation, 25-year-old Creed perfume heir speak English with a heavy Parisian accent, he’s just plain hot.

At first, Mr. Creed tried to branch out from the family biz by studying fashion and working with candles in Geneva, but he eventually relented and studied under a perfumer for six months. He has since agreed to take on the family business when his father steps down.

Now he travels with his father to India and Bulgaria to find fresh jasmine and roses. He wakes up in the morning and writes down new ideas for fragrances. Sometimes he even puts on women’s fragrances just to walk around in them and feel their smell. While in New York, he smelled Bond No. 9’s Chinatown.

“I just finished eating, and it made me feel nauseous,” he said.

What kind of fragrances does the Prince of Perfume prefer?

“Chanel in general and Jean-Claude,” he said.

What about Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds?

“Sometimes when I smell it, I get a flash that I’ve smelt it before.”

Lalique?

“It’s quite O.K. It’s more about the bottle than the perfume.”

Jo Malone?

“O.K.”

Elizabeth Arden?

“Not a big fan.”

Chantecaille?

“Better.”

Calvin Klein CK1?

“It’s good for everything.”

Celebrity perfumes, like J. Lo’s Glow?

“It’s one of the best of the worst,” he laughed. “J. Lo makes only young women’s perfume, and it’s always very sweet. We say ‘gourmand.’ Celebrities don’t make the perfume themselves; they go to a factory to make a copy. They want to push their advertising.”

During his short stay in New York, Mr. Creed has stopped by Le Père Pinard, Pastis and the nightclub Cain. He admitted that while in Paris, he doesn’t make the scene and spends much of his time with his girlfriend. Le sigh.

The Transom would like nothing better than for Mr. Creed to duck through a social oubliette’s trapdoor to the Euro-Manhattan demi-world corridor of playboys and mini-heirs; he’s got a face and a bank account just made for Page Six. Yet the wildest he gets is boxing twice a week; he’s even given up skiing and motocross, and presumably will never ever take up professional nightclubbing.

“I broke everything,” he said. “I broke my legs two times. I broke my knuckles”—twice, in fact. “That’s why I’m not skiing, because I was a bit more crazy. I don’t want to take the risk,” he concluded.

—E.C.

McGreeving Down the Road

Jim McGreevey, on hand to present the Humanitarian of the Year award to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, put on a good show with his conservative suit, serious words and populist inflection at Out magazine’s “Out 100” awards hoo-hah on Friday. It just wasn’t his venue. After one full pause and a few impatient facial expressions, the ex-governor-most-likely-to politely asked the crowd to settle down “if you could, please.”

Mr. McGreevey, frankly, didn’t have everyone’s rapt attention. But we won’t have to wait long to hear from him again. Not long back, the Columbia J-school’s job-opportunities Web site listed an opportunity for a “book project assistant/researcher” to assist the author David France “for a book project with Gov. Jim McGreevey.” (Mr. France, of course, is well known for Bag of Toys, which cataloged the excesses of art dealer, tax evader and S&M torturer Andrew Crispo. Obviously, he likes the bad boys.) The new Regan Books tome, the listing said, was to be turned in by mid-December, so you can expect Mr. McG to have his hotly awaited say on airport bookshelves everywhere in the near future.

Back at the gala, politics just didn’t mix, as the glib and glossy party took place in a boatload of free Absolut Vodka. As quickly as the great hall at Capitale began to fill to overflow for the evening’s festivities, so began the drunkening.

Honoree Melissa Etheridge gave the only speech that hit just the right and thoughtful note. “What, is there like free booze here or something?” she asked. “You’re all drunk, aren’t you?” The gays cheered.

By the time the awards ceremony got under way, “It got a little lost,” said Joe Armenia, 34, whose “guy,” photographer John Arsenault, made this year’s 100 list. “It’s kinda hard to try to do something serious in the middle of an open bar.”

So how has this year been for the gays? “This is the beginning of a lot of different things,” said Hans Friedrichs, stylish, 36 and in theater. “The election—except for Bloomberg—was very positive for our agenda. But it’s ridiculous to think all is well—it’s still total acceptance, we still need more visibility.” So apparently it’s 1992. Come on, guys, even a governor’s gay! Of course, he resigned ….

Mandy Graves, 28, does music P.R. for Antony and the Johnsons. “I don’t know—the whole thing, it’s going backwards. It’s not doing what it needs to be doing.” She looked less than enthused, all wrapped in her thick winter jacket.

But sometimes politics and parties do mix: After half an hour waiting for a jacket at the coat check, The Transom was ready to vote against just about anything.

—Brad Tytel

Professor Montel

For Monday night’s Angel Ball at the Marriott Marquis, Denise Rich’s fourth biennial cancer fund-raiser, the red carpet was clogged; Patti LaBelle and Natalie Cole were expected to perform.

But who wants to talk about cancer on the red carpet?

“WHAT IS THE MOST EMBARRASSING SONG ON YOUR iPOD?” a People magazine reporter asked every single guest.

“The theme from Jaws, by John Williams,” said Kelly Ripa with a laugh.

“Show tunes,” said a radiant Jamie-Lynn Sigler, looking resplendent in a gold empire-waist gown. “When I’m out with my friends, I have to skip those.”

“HOW DO YOU PLAN TO KEEP OFF THOSE HOLIDAY POUNDS?” asked Star magazine. Repeatedly.

“Pffft! Are you kidding?” said Natalie Cole, who could eat all she wants and still be gorgeous, as far as The Transom is concerned. “Don’t eat,” she offered with a shrug.

No wonder Star Jones blew wordlessly past reporters after mugging for photographers.

A few celebs, including Nelly and TLC’s Chilli, appeared willing to actually touch upon the evening’s original purpose.

“I lost someone very dear to me,” Nelly said, shoving his diamond-studded hands into his pockets and speaking of his late sister. He continues to be inspired by “her fight. And her smile.”

“I know we are gonna cure cancer someday,” said Chilli optimistically. “I think there’s a cure for the common cold.”

Such gravity didn’t last long. “BESIDES WORLD PEACE, OF COURSE, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?”

“Just to be home and enjoy everybody,” Nelly said, rather endearingly.

“I don’t know,” said Chilli.

Montel Williams showed stamina in making one of the slowest crawls ever witnessed through the press gauntlet, posing for every photographer and stopping to speak with every broadcast and print reporter. He even took the time to educate a Kingsborough Community College student on working the red carpet.

“Oh, no!” Mr. Williams admonished cheerfully after the eager cub opened his mouth and came out with, “Hi, I’m a journalism student!”

“You gotta come out BIG!” said Mr. Williams. “Come with something that digs DEEP. Go for the exclusive!”

Mr. Williams walked away and looked over his shoulder.

“O.K., now I’m gonna come back, and we’re gonna start this again!”

Go, Montel! If only every interview could have been a do-over ….

—Nicole Pesce

It's
taken that long for Ms. Abramson and husband Henry Griggs to settle in—to a
$1.65 million condo in pricey Tribeca.

First,
there was a house in Arlington, Va., that didn't sell until a year after her promotion. If it took a while it was worth the wait: The place, which they bought in 1985 for $140,000, sold at just over a $500,000 profit, according to county records.

Not
long afterward, in mid-February of this year, Ms. Abramson and Mr. Griggs signed a contract on the spacious Tribeca condo, but the deal didn't close till early June, according to city records.

The
1,650-square-foot loft is located in the Spice Building, a renovated warehouse in a fashionable downtown neighborhood. The five-story prewar building is adjacent to the Tribeca Film Center and a short stroll to the Hudson River and Washington Market Park, posh eatery Nobu and the ever-progressive P.S. 234.
The
Spice Building's custom-built roof deck has been in the works for some time, and should offer tenants excellent river views this summer.

The
couple's new pad features high ceilings, hardwood floors and exposed brick walls. Also, there are north and south exposures available through Marvin tilt-in windows.

One
of the unique features in this apartment is a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, complete with French doors that lead to what the listing describes as “The Great Room,” a 500-square-foot soundproofed area that was once an artist's studio.

Each
of the two full marble and tiled bathrooms comes equipped with a decked Jacuzzi. Other amenities include pedestal sinks, a washer/dryer and even a bidet!

Broker
Sharon Held of the Corcoran Group represented Ms. Abramson. Jay and Irena Brownstein, also of the Corcoran Group, represented the sellers.

Ms.
Abramson could not be reached by press time.

Court
TV anchor Lisa Bloom spent two years searching for the ideal apartment, and finally found it. She recently purchased an Upper West Side condo for $1.55 million, according to deed-transfer records.

The
cable television star already lives in Manhattan (where her show is filmed), but was looking to upgrade, eventually settling on a prewar, full-service building.

While
Ms. Bloom will live there permanently with her family, she needs to keep one bedroom free at all times for the other person whose name is on the deed.
Ms. Bloom's
mother—high-powered L.A.-based attorney Gloria Allred—will use the apartment as a place to crash when visiting New York for a big case, to see the grand kids, or to discuss pressing legal matters on her daughter's daytime show, Trial Heat, of which she is a regular guest.

“My
mother is in New York a lot for business,” said Ms. Bloom. “It's nice for her to have a homey place to stay.”

Besides
saving room for mom, Ms. Bloom's primary concern when searching for a new apartment was proximity to her favorite part of city, Central Park.

“You
can't go to Central Park and be unhappy,” she said.

An
avid runner, Ms. Bloom mentioned that while living in Brooklyn several years ago, she would forgo the lush, outer-borough parks and take the subway to run through Central Park.

However,
if arguing cases before the California Supreme Court, or hosting a television show wasn't enough, Ms. Bloom is currently preparing herself for yet another formidable challenge—running in the New York City Marathon.

Although
quite content with her real-estate purchase, Ms. Bloom purposely avoided Manhattan's co-op system, which she condemns with a ferocity better reserved for closing arguments.

“It
was important for me to have a condo, not a co-op, because I find the co-op board process to be offensive,” said Ms. Bloom. “I really think that it is offensive that people can get together and vote on who their neighbors can be, and exclude them based on race, religion, sex, children—things that would be intolerable in other contexts that are somehow acceptable in the New York co-op world.”

But
that leaves one obvious requirement for potential neighbors that Ms. Bloom is fine with.

“I'm
happy to have as my neighbor anyone that can afford to live there.”

Talk
show host Montel Williams recently sold his Upper West Side penthouse for
$2.275 million, according to deed-transfer records. In 2000, Mr. Williams bought into Donald Trump's luxury condo development on Riverside Boulevard alongside other celebrities such as Bryant Gumbel and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

The
Costas Kondylis–designed building offers numerous amenities, including a 24-hour doorman and white-glove concierge, health club and pool, conference room and children's playroom.

Mr.
Williams could not be reached by press time.

Recent
Transactions in the Real Estate Market

Upper
East Side

160 East 83rd Street

Five-bedroom,
three-bathroom townhouse.

Asking: $5.7 million.
Selling: $5.0 million.

Time on the market: 40
weeks.

PORTRAIT
OF A LEMON The former home of a renowned portraitist—whose powerful subjects included President Richard Nixon, Mayor John Lindsay and the Shah of Iran—recently sold for $700,000 below asking! The artist passed away in October 2003, and his estate first put the 4,000-square-foot townhouse on the market six months later for $7.95 million. However, after several months of languishing, the asking price was reduced greatly to a more buyer-friendly
$5.7
million. Currently configured as two duplex units, the new buyers plan extensive renovations that will combine them into one massive house (with future construction expected to double the size). Built in the 1880's, the four-story townhouse includes hardwood floors, high ceilings, three fireplaces, a dining room, family room, library and roof deck. However, the biggest selling point for the new buyers was the 56-foot-long private garden. “It is one of the larger private gardens in the city,” said broker Michael Sands of Manhattan Apartments Inc., who represented the buyer.

Matthew Schuerman looks at the increasingly sorry-looking future of the Freedom Tower and finds the Governor, who has pledged to move his offices into the building when it opens, may not be its best pitch-man. As the always erudite Myers Mermel tells him: "Financial services companies never want to be located in the same building as the government. It's not seen as a compatible mix with corporate activity." Indeed!

And Michael Calderone finds New York Times managing editrix Jill Abramson settling comfortably into a $1.6 million Spice Building loft, and the considerably less upper-crusty Montel Williams recently sold his Upper West Side penthouse for $2.275 million. The lucky buyer into the the Costas Kondylis-designed Trump venture gets to check the mail alongside Bryant Gumbel and that little bundle of sex, Dr. Ruth Westheimer.