Celebrities helped raise more than $80K for Mekhi Phifer’s youth charity, The Vine Group, by participating in the 7th Annual World Poker Tour Invitational last weekend. Stars throwing down dollars included Jon Hamm, Brad Garrett, Don Cheadle, Shanna Moaklar, Nicky Hilton, Rikki Lake, Shannon Elizabeth, and Benji Madden.

One of the shirt/suit/tie ensembles worn by Sean Penn in his Academy Award-winning portrayal of real-life hero Harvey Milk has been auctioned off for $12,500. The money is to benefit benefit both Variety – The Children’s Charity of Southern California and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, in New York City. The gentleman that won the auction, activist Tom Gregory, had also previously successfully won two of the shirts famously shown in Brokeback Mountain. I detect a theme here…[Read more...]

Finally, Tony Bennett is auctioning off a one-hour painting lesson for two at his private studio in NYC. How cool would that be? Current bids are just north of $10K with less than 24 hours to go. Estimated value is $25K — for that cash, let’s hope he sings a few too! [Read more...]

Photo credit: PR Photos

Last night in San Francisco, an A-list crowd gathered to honor the late actor and help bring in the green during an annual benefit for Newman’s charity camp, The Painted Turtle, for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Over 2,500 people showed up, including Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Billy Crystal, Sean Penn, Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, Bruce Willis, Danny DeVito, Bonnie Raitt and Rita Wilson.

In a pre-recorded message just prior to his death on September 26th, Newman talked to the crowd about his camps. “What I was trying to do was acknowledge luck,” Newman said in the clip, which was narrated by Jack Nicholson. “If you acknowledge it, you have to do something about it—something for the less fortunate.”

via USAToday

Shot in various theatres, the film will feature “dramatic readings and live musical performances from the likes of Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen, David Strathairn, Marisa Tomei Jasmine Guy, John Legend, Q’Orianka Kilcher, Michael Ealy and Kerry Washington.” Most recently, Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn performed as part of a show at a concert in California. edder performed the classic folk song Here’s to the state of Mississippi by Phil Ochs, changing lyrics to take aim at US president George Bush.

And speaking of Penn, here’s what he had to say about President Bush while at Cannes: “When somebody operates without a brain and without a heart they kill hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world. It is a shame that we have to bastardize the word ‘politics’.”

But it isn’t just New Orleans that’s reaping the benefits of what Penn dubs “the Dirty Hands Caravan.” The group also plans to stop in Tucson, Ariz. to help the Humane Borders group build water stations on and near the Mexico-Arizona border. They also plan to make good-will pit stops in Las Cruces, Austin, Houston and Morgan before finally arriving in New Orleans.

Penn is famous for his outspoken stance on many issues, including global warming awareness, AIDS research and the anti-Iraq war movement, and said that he wants the young people “to find out whatever they care about.”  You might have already guessed, but Penn is footing the bill for the entire trip including insurance, marketing and all other costs that might accrue — which is estimated to total $150,000. WOW!!!

For me, the very best part of writing for Ecorazzi is being able to report stories like these. With all the crap out there about the frivilous lifestyles of the rich and famous it’s so refreshing to hear about these kind of generous deeds. Rock on Sean Pean…rock on!!

thanks:mydesert.com

Robe Lowe was one of the celebrities in attendance Friday — amidst 300 corporate executives from Wal-Mart, GE, Dow Chemical and others — to hear CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger deliver a message on climate change and the U.S. governments inept approach to dealing with it. Said Arnold, “The federal government is asleep at the wheel and they don’t get it. Those that don’t believe in the (global warming) threat, they still think the earth is flat. Unless you put a serious cap on emissions, we’ll never get there. It signals we’re serious about it. That’s when companies go and make changes.” While we agree with Arnold on the above, we also think he should put a cap in his own emissions if people are going to seriously follow his lead. [via Enviromedia]

Yesterday, a peace vigil was headed by actor/activist Sean Penn and “Peace Mom” Cindy Sheehan in San Francisco. The event was organized to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War (which actually happens this Wednesday) and remember those American and Iraqis killed in the conflict. Penn has long been a critic of the the war and the Bush administration. For more information on upcoming protests, please visit the official site.

Prince Harry is upset that a charity he started in memory of his mother, the late Princess Diana, has been distributing only a fraction of the funds it receives to those in need. The organization, called Sentebale, was created to help orphans in southern Africa impacted by the AIDS virus. To date, only only £84,000 of the £1.15 million raised has gone to the kids. Those involved cite start-up costs, but high payments — including £100,000 to an unidentified individual — has the Prince crying foul. [via Telegraph]

The game over where the Pitt-Jolies are planning on settling down has once again focused on France. Apparently, the couple have now put a $20 million offer in on an 850-year-old home built by monks. Previously, Angelina had fallen in love with the property, but withdrew an offer after Pitt was denied permission to turn the lavish 5-acre gardens into a racetrack for his motorcycles. Now, such obstacles have been removed, and they are moving forward with purchasing the place. A garden for a racetrack? Hmmm…[via Sunday Mirror]

Photo: Actor Rob Lowe and CEO Kevin Tuerff of Green Canary Sustainability Consulting

Ding, Ding, Ding! Round one! The roar of the crowd, the smell of the freshly sharpened number two pencils, the hum of the voting machines; that’s right friends, it’s election time. George W. Bush has served his sentence, and a series of new guys (and gals…or gal) are all lining up for a shot to take over the oval. Everyone has their opinion about who might be the best person for the job, and that of course includes our famous brothers and sisters.

This weekend, Sean Penn released an official statement giving his full support to Dennis Kucinich, saying, “He has been the dominant voice of integrity on issues of trade, labor, education, environment, health, civil liberties, and the one endlessly determined voice of peace.” Penn, never particularly shy to share his political ideas, continued on to speak fondly of Kucinich for his “moral courage”, and devotion to the constitution.

Penn also shared his thoughts about Hillary Clinton, “Don’t underestimate the damage her poisonous ambition can do to this country. We can’t wait for the benefit of hindsight to service the benefit of Mrs. Clinton’s career. ”

Wowsers! And it’s only December kids! Buy your tickets now for another 11 months of celebrities putting on those partisan boxing gloves all in the name of peace. Amen.

To whole speech is available here.  

In the wake of Hayden Panettiere helping shed fresh attention on Japan’s dolphin slaughter, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is casting off to confront a Japanese Whaling Fleet. The organization, which has the backing of celebrities such as Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, and Pierce Brosnan is leaving Melbourne, Australia later this week to monitor and antagonize the Japanese. From the article,

“SSCS is repeating actions from last year. Paul Watson, captain of the SSCS ship last year, threatened to ram Japanese whalers with a giant “can opener” attached to his ship’s bow. This threat was not followed through, but society members tossed foul smelling chemicals onto the whalers’ ship decks and fixing steel plates onto the blood drain of the fleet’s factory ship.

Vasic said the organization would stop at almost nothing to help save the whales from the Japanese fleet. Vasic said: ‘Everything is on the table as long as it’s non-violent. I would rule nothing out.” He added: When we show up, the fleet tends to go on the run because of our reputation. When we’re pursuing them at high speed, they can’t hunt.’”

Japan continues to hunt whales under the guise of using such actions to study their habits. In reality, the meat generally ends up on dinner tables and is a lucrative trade for the country. Environmental group Greenpeace will also send a ship to monitor the fleet. We wish them luck in their efforts.

via environmental graffiti