Susan Benedetto and Tony Bennett. (Eugene Mim/Patrick McMullan)

Tony Bennett’s wasn’t the only gala dinner in Manhattan last Thursday, but that’s where Shindigger was, arriving at Cipriani 42nd Street for cocktail hour, just in time to catch a glimpse of Alec Baldwin. “Oh my God, he’s lost so much weight—I didn’t even recognize him!” we heard one guest whisper to another, eyeing the star who would kick off 30 Rock’s final season later that night. Mr. Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria Thomas, flaunted her Hebrew for the night’s honoree, entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman, before the couple headed off to the Norman Mailer Center benefit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Mr. Bennett, whose nonprofit Exploring the Arts operates in New York public schools, apparently lacked Ms. Thomas’s linguistic talent. Or so we learned when we asked the 86-year-old crooner, whose third Duets album pairs him with the likes of Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan, about his Spanish. “No habla Español,” answered his 46-year-old wife, co-host and translator, Susan Benedetto. We changed the subject to Mr. Bennett’s next album, a recently announced full-length collaboration with Lady Gaga. “I know that she’s one of the great singers of all time, but people don’t know that,” Mr. Bennett explained. “They just see another, you know, big new star coming up, but she is one hell of a singer. She can improvise as great as Ella Fitzgerald.”

We stopped at the bar to take in the student artwork, alongside photographs of Mr. Bennett (himself a talented painter) with young dancers and musicians. A disembodied voice urged us to our table, where pink paintbrushes matched the flower arrangement. 

We watched Sting, unannounced, dedicate “Fields of Gold” to Mr. Grubman and his wife, Corcoran broker Deborah. “Allen Grubman and I have had a long relationship, over three decades,” the man born Gordon Sumner recalled. “A very mutually fruitful relationship. I once had a meeting with him, though, and I said, ‘Allen, explain this to me. You seem to be taking 20 percent of my money.’ He said, ‘Sting, let me sit you down. Look at it this way.’ I said, ‘How?’ He said, ‘You’re taking 80 percent of my money.’”

Sting continued with “Every Breath You Take,” drawing out a last “I’ll be waaaaatching you” to cheers and a standing ovation from table 27, before the Police bassist—who recorded the “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” for Mr. Bennett’s first Duets album—split to the Children’s Health Fund benefit at Radio City.

With all these duets, we wondered why Mr. Bennett had left out the vocalist behind 1968’s It’s Time for Regis! We posed the question to Regis Philbin.

“’Cause I’m not that good, believe me!” replied the former talk show host.

We objected.

“Have you heard me sing? When did I sing? Come on, let’s hear it!”

Only a year ago, we reminded him, he and Mr. Bennett performed “The Best Is Yet to Come” on Live! With Regis and Kelly.

“You’re right. And that came out okay!

“I love you,” he announced, giving our right hand a squeeze.

Mistress of ceremonies Katie Couric had similar ideas. “Regis, I’m very sorry, Regis, but you didn’t make the cut. Has Tony talked to you about that?” Hey, that was our joke!

After the dessert plates were cleared, Barbara Walters introduced the Grubmans.

“I represent some of the greatest rock stars in the world,” said Mr. Grubman. “I’ve had two idols my entire life—singers: Tony, and of course Frank Sinatra,” who gave his name to the high school Mr. Bennett founded in his hometown of Astoria.

The evening’s host took the stage with his four-piece band. “Because of You” led into a triumphant “Maybe This Time” that brought the whole crowd to its feet. Earlier, we had asked Nancy Pelosi, who had flown overnight from Denver’s debate to a fund-raising lunch on the Upper East Side, what she wanted to hear Mr. Bennett sing. “Oh my gosh, I don’t know!” the House minority leader had answered. “San Francisco, inching toward the World Series, everyone wants him to sing ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco,’ but he’s not gonna sing that.” We hoped she was listening as Mr. Bennett launched into that tune—although we pity her beloved Giants, down two games to the Cincinatti Reds at press time.

Mr. Bennett introduced his next song: “George and Ira Gershwin wrote a song in 1934 that I consider the most contemporary song you could sing today.” His meaning became clear a few bars into “Who Cares,” as he dramatically covered his eyes when he got to the line “Let a million firms go under.” “There’s nothing like this right here,” the singer announced, and, hearing his unamplified voice fill the former Bowery Savings Bank with “Fly Me to the Moon,” we were inclined to agree.

jwolf@observer.com

Jon Hamm with a mustache. (YouTube)

— Mindy Kaling was spotted pleading with John Mayer to give his expert opinion on her love life at Koi in the Trump SoHo. We can only speculate that his answer involved calling her genitals racist.

— Jon Hamm plays Aimee Mann's director in her new music video for Labrador:
http://youtu.be/XA1cX-wgMdM

— A bevy of musical greats made a show last night in memorial of Broadway composer Marvin Hamlisch. Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin and Itzhak Perlman performed for VIPs including Mike Nichols, Nancy Pelosi, Regis Philbin, Susan Lucci, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alan Cumming, Sheldon Harnick, Mary Rodgers and Paul Shaffer.

— Eva Longoria and Mark Sanchez were spotted holding hands while leaving a romantic dinner at Daniel. You know, if you care about that kind of thing.

— And in chair-related news, Clint Eastwood feels bad about making fun of the president, and calls himself a Libertarian. Also he has no respect for tables.
http://youtu.be/7mIC8Nw7LqI

Mike Strahan on 'Live! With Kelly' (ABC)

From the NFL to Fox sports to Live! With Kelly--Michael Strahan must have himself a really good publicist. Rumors abounded on TMZ yesterday that the New York Giants defensive end would finally fill the empty chair left vacant by the departure of Regis Philbin last November.

This morning, WABC, a syndicate of the network that produces the morning show, announced that the 6-foot-5 Fox Sports commentator would be offcially joining the 5-foot-3 human percolator on September 4.

Which leaves just one question: Out of all the 59 hosts that ABC has used as rotating guest hosts, why Mr. Strahan, a name that carries far less cachet than say, NY1's Pat Kiernan, Mario Lopez, Seth Meyers or Alec Baldwin?

According to one television insider, the choice of Mr. Strahan speaks more to his new television partner's status than it does to his own. "Kelly was able to host the show for so long because she had so much sway over the producers. While it's easier to book a celebrity guest host for one day than a permanent replacement, there is no doubt that many  pop-ins were bigger stars than Mr. Strahan."

So Ms. Ripa just likes watching the guy strip:
http://youtu.be/U2PF6HuUDjw

The thought being that now that Ms. Ripa is the bigger personality on the program, she doesn't want to be overshadowed by another Regis-like figure. Even though kids these days might think of  Mr. Philibin as that old guy who once hosted Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, in 2004 he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for most hours in front of a television camera (15,188 of them, to be exact).

And while Mr. Strahan might not be the most obvious choice--though he was adorable when he filled in during a June taping--Ms. Ripa should have no fear about becoming the sidekick to a bigger star. In related news, Mr. Strahan will be keeping his gig on Fox NFL Sunday, meaning that Fox doesn't view ABC's morning show as competitive with its own brand.

Agreeableness all around! Now, how often do you see that in television or sports? ABC and Ms. Ripa have yet to make an official comment on Mr. Strahan's new position, but don't be surprised to find Mr. Strahan sitting in Mr. Philbin's old chair in two weeks.

While Mr. Meyers is said to be able to continue doing "Weekend Update" on SNL if he gets the gig, Mr. Friedman speculates he'll have to step down as head writer given the demands of the Live schedule. Could this be a period of renewal at Saturday Night Live after the departures of Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and (we think...) Jason Sudeikis? Or another "Saturday Night Dead" epoch?

Also shut down last week was the short but memorable tenure of Cathie Black as schools chancellor. Ms. Black resigned after only 97 days in office, on the heels of a new report citing her dismal 17 percent approval rating (for context, 77 percent of people polled in Rockefeller Center by Us Weekly approved of Khloe Kardashian's choice to wear a body-hugging bandage dress designed to resemble piano keys). Mayor Bloomberg accepted "full responsibility" for the fact that Ms. Black, a magazine executive who had no experience in education and sent her own children to private school, had to be replaced with Dennis Walcott, a former kindergarten teacher and the current deputy mayor for education who is himself a product of the New York City public-school system. But, as Ms. Black herself might say, it was a Sophie's Choice.

Perhaps even more shocking than the Blackout that clogged news wires on Thursday was the announcement that Matt Lauer, everyone's favorite tall, glib drink of water, might be leaving The Today Show after 14 years to (maybe?) host a syndicated talk show with CBS defector and funky chicken aficionado Katie Couric. Meredith Vieira is rumored to be leaving, too, but now, unless she ups her game with a Glenn Beck cross-country travelogue, no one will care. And Regis Philbin, who, at 79, is older than both drive-in movie theaters and the electron microscope, supposedly has his eye on a solo show once he bids adieu to Live With Regis and Kelly later this year. (We hear he's in talks with Harpo, and none too soon--who better to revive Oprah's otiose OWN network than Reeg, the man who, much to Ryan Seacrest's dismay, holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera?) Of course, this all begs the question: Whom do we watch now while discreetly reducing the elliptical incline every morning? Pat Kiernan is sexy in a Greg Kinnear hand-puppet kind of a way, but he's not for everyone.

But even as the very cornerstones of our society threaten to crumble to a dust finer than the high-grade narcotics dusting the banquettes of the Boom Boom Room, even as we get mad as hell and entertain notions of refusing to take it anymore (RIP, Sidney Lumet), maybe by signing a MoveOn.org petition, some things simply refuse to shut down. Thanks to his Wikileaking Ukrainian nurse, we learned that Muammar Qaddafi still listens to cassette tapes--quaint! The Boston Red Sox broke their 0-6 losing streak, beating the Yankees two games out of three in a series at Fenway this weekend. The Real Housewives of New York clambered out of their gilded short bus for yet another season of Bravo's pinot grigio-fueled ego trip. And good ol' Mitt Romney officially tossed his hat into the 2012 primary ring, forming a presidential exploratory committee entreating his followers to "Believe in America." Because if the fibers of our democracy can't remain strong enough for a busload of middle-schoolers to snicker at the phallic splendor of the Washington monument, what are we left with, really?

Just minutes ago on "Live With Regis and Kelly" you announced that after more than 40 years on television, you will be leaving the air after this year.

"This will be my last year on this show," you said to your audience this morning, as your perky co-host looked on in rare tearful form. "But there is a time, there is a time that everything needs to come to an end for certain people on camera, especially certain old people."

Regis Philbin is 79 years old.

From 1988 to 2000, Philbin greeting early risers across the country with "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." When Kathie Lee Gifford left the show in 2000, Kelly Ripa stepped into her shoes.

"I think I can only speak for America and all of us here when I say that it has been a pleasure and a privilege and a dream come true, and I wish I could do something to make you change your mind," Ripa told Philbin on air this morning.

If there's anyone who speaks for America, it's you, Kelly Ripa.

In one of the more memorable stages of his career Regis Philbin played ringmaster in the circus that was "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," a flashy game show that captured some sort of cultural zeitgeist en route to soaring ratings and international ubiquity.

So, we know you say you're leaving, Regis, but we have to ask: Is that your final answer?

Last week, New York couch potatos went wild for ABC's limited run of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire," which claimed 3 of the top 10 spots. 

Respect the Regis.

Here's the rest:

(1) WWOR-9....Yankees Baseball....782,000

(2) WCBS-2....60 Minutes....739,000

(3) WNBC-4....America's Got Talent (Wed)....634,000

(4) YES....Yankees Baseball....614,000

(5) WABC-7....Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (Thu)....579,000

(6) TNT....The Closer....573,000

(7) WNBC-4....America's Got Talent (Tu)....553,000

(8) WABC-7....Who Wants to Be A Millionaire (Wed)....545,000

(9) WXTV-41....Manana Es Para Siempre....543,000

(10) WABC-7....Who Wants to Be A Millionaire...(Tu)....507,000

Top 10 shows in New York, August 10 to August 16, according to Nielsen Data (total viewers, time shifting/DVR not included)

Monday: Mad Men
The comedy stylings of Jimmy Barrett. The sexy manipulation of Bobbie Barrett. Freddy Rumson’s retirement party. Joan’s shocking rape. Roger’s new wife. Betty’s marital infidelity. Peggy’s flirtation with Father Gill. Don’s sojourn to Los Angeles. If you have a spare 13 hours lying around today, we can’t think of a better way to spend it than by watching the gloriously perfect second season of Mad Men, which AMC is being kind enough to run in marathon form. At the very least, make sure to check out the season finale, “Meditations in an Emergency”—which airs at 7 p.m.—to remind yourself where things left off. With season three starting on Sunday night, you might need the refresher. [AMC, starting at 7 a.m.]

Tuesday: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Party like it's 1999? For the next two weeks, ABC is resurrecting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to celebrate its 10th anniversary (and to no doubt take advantage of the memory jogging provided by Slumdog Millionaire) with Regis Philbin back as jolly host. If Reeg isn’t enough to draw you in, “celebrities” like Lauren Conrad will compete each night for a chance to win $50,000 towards their favorite charity. Here’s hoping Speidi is LC’s Phone-a-Friend for a bright spot in what will surely be a tired attempt at a callback to the show’s admittedly great heyday. [ABC, 8 p.m.]

Wednesday: TV’s 50 Funniest Phrases
NBC’s summer of white noise continues with a rebroadcast of one of the more inane list shows we’ve seen. But like your screensaver, this is still oddly transfixing. The trip down memory lane features everything from I Love Lucy (“Lucy, you’ve got some splainin’ to do,” which will no doubt bring a smile to Senator Tom Coburn’s face) to Seinfeld. Jerry and the gang have three entries here, including the No. 1 choice, “Yada, yada, yada.” While it’s hard to quibble with a list of such pedestrian pursuits, does anyone else think “Hello, Newman,” which clocks in at No. 50, is a more appropriate and legendary choice? [NBC, 8 p.m.]

Thursday: Summer of Sam
Spike Lee’ rambling, messy, frustrating and, ultimately, crappy movie is a must-watch, if only because of the period of time it attempts to capture. That would be New York in the summer of 1977, where, over the course of a few months, the city experienced a blackout, a mayoral race, near bankruptcy, the Yankees triumphant return to glory and a serial killer known as the Son of Sam. In the future, some filmmaker will create the ultimate film about that summer in New York. Until then, we’ll have to settle for Summer of Sam, which, despite many flaws, is light years better than ESPN’s miniseries The Bronx Is Burning. Fun fact: Christopher Moltisanti himself, Michael Imperioli, co-wrote the script. [Encore Drama, 9:30 p.m.]

Friday: Eagle Eye
If you watch Eagle Eye—D. J. Caruso’s millennial generation take on North By Northwest—make sure to click off it before a dreadful post-ending ending that ruins what was a pretty ballsy turn of events. Before that final two minutes of garbage, however, Eagle Eye is perfectly acceptable and completely ridiculous. Almost none of it makes sense, but thanks to Michelle Monaghan and a manic-as-usual Shia LaBeouf, the film hums along hitting all the benchmarks it’s supposed to hit. Forget G.I. Joe; this is likely to be the best late-summer action movie you see this August. [HBO2, 6 p.m.]

In which Regis Philbin is said to be mean to coat-check attendants and people who look at him. [P6]

Jennifer Connelly and her kids walk to Central Park to get dirty drinking water because that is how many mothers in Africa do things. Of course she does. [Radar]

If Barbara Corcoran were to lie down and be the carpet under Joan Rivers' feet, what color carpet would she be? That's what Ms. Rivers wanted to know as the two engaged in an altercation over refusing to share a dressing room on the Today show yesterday. [P6]

Eliot Spitzer allegedly told friends that his wife, Silda, knew all along about his liaisons with hookers, but looked the other way. [P6]

Despite telling Vanity Fair recently that New York is so over, Madonna is buying a third apartment in her Central Park West building after settling her longtime dispute with the building's co-op board. [NY Daily News]

Ashley Simpson is engaged to Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz. Second round of MTV's Newlyweds: The Second Daughter will begin filming shortly. Kidding! For now anyway. [NY Daily News]

Tina Brown, Joan Didion, Sean Penn and Charlie Rose gathered at Carnegie Hall for a farewell to Norman Mailer yesterday. [NY Social Diary]

Before hopping over to do a fund-raiser for Hillary last night, Elton John performed at the annual Pink Party for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Tuesday night attended by Liz Hurley and Gwyneth Paltrow. [NY Daily News]

Joan Rivers says she’s become bored of talking about celebrities’ designer duds on the red carpet. But Regis Philbin, 76, is just preparing to reinhabit the you-look-fantastic red carpet roost he ruled back in the 1970s. It turns out the morning chat-show host has just been tapped to cover the textile beat during ABC’s Academy Awards preshow on February 24.

“Regis is the perfect guy to serve as host…He knows everyone and everyone loves Regis! I’m thrilled that he has greed to be the ringmaster for this year’s extravaganza,” said Dennis Doty, a producer of the Academy Awards. This means that Mr. Philbin will have free reign of the carpet for the entire half-hour preceding the show’s start-time. This means that American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest, who offers garment gab for E! on Oscar night, will have to stand back and observe as Mr. Philbin takes to the stars. This news comes just days after the cheery TV personality let a future scheduling agreement slip on Live with Regis and Kelly. Apparently, beginning in the fall of 2008, he will co-host the caffeine-fueled chat-fest only three days a week.