Grabbing the Brass Ring
October 25, 2004 Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Ray Romano were just some of the famous faces present and accounted for at the biggest bash in Hollywood Saturday night: the Carousel of Hope. "Extra's" Dayna Devon was there as the superstars helped raise money for diabetes at the gala, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.
Even with all the stars in the house, all eyes were on the nights' honoree, Halle Berry. What most people don't know is that the Oscar-winning actress has diabetes. In fact, she hid it for a long time. "It was not wanting to have people feel sorry for me or think that somehow they had to treat me differently," Berry explained.
Oprah flew in to honor Halle for her tireless charity work, and she even presented Berry with an award, telling the audience, "She makes me proud to spell my name W-O-M-A-N. I am pleased to present the Brass Ring Award to my dear friend Halle Berry."
"We are so blessed as celebrities to have the power we have," Beyoncé said. "And there are special celebrities like Halle and Oprah who take advantage of that for a great cause."
"Desperate Housewives" Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan showed up for the event looking ravishing as always. "I'm wearing Elie Saab," Longoria told us.
"I thought it was going to be big," Nicolette said to Dayna of the event. "But this even exceeds what I thought.
And Dayna couldn't resist letting slip a little secret about her gorgeous co-host, Mark McGrath, revealing to Eva that, "He has a huge crush you. He does."
And guess what, Mark? There may be hope. "I hope I get to meet you one day," was Eva's message to Mark. "Dayna is going to set it up."
Meanwhile, Beyoncé and Faith Hill performed for the crowd and Jay Leno emceed the event. And at the silent auction, Ray Romano told Dayna his concerns about how much money his hand-painted plate would bring in. "This is the part where it could be a little embarrassing," he said. "I want to make sure my plate got more than Tom Arnolds'."
It seems everyone had fun at Saturday night's worthy cause.
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