August '08 Notes from Norm — Norm Clarke Column

Saturday 8-23-08

	Denver brings out stars then and now I'm trading the neon-lit streets of Las Vegas for a week to cover the celebrity scene and some political history at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There's enough star power gathering here, the site of the 1908 DNC, to solve America's energy problems. If the rumors pan out, Oscar winners George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Warren Beatty could be mingling with Madonna. The buzz has Bruce Springsteen giving a full concert before Barack Obama's speech Thursday at Invesco Field at Mile High. It may take another 100 years to find this kind of non-sports electricity crackling in Denver. During the 15 years I worked at the Rocky Mountain News as a sportswriter and man-about-town columnist, pro athletes were the celebrities in sports-crazy Denver. No one lit up Denver quite like John Elway, whether it was during another Broncos comeback at Mile High Stadium or at a crowded steakhouse. A century before Elway brought his rifle arm to Colorado, some epic figures called Denver home, or paid a visit, including some tough hombres who knew how to back their way out of a bar. The earliest recorded celebrity sightings? Could have been 1880s gunfighters Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson bumping into Buffalo Bill Cody along the brothel-lined streets of what is now lower downtown. Cody, who toured the globe with his Wild West show, was one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world. He died in Denver in 1917. Holliday, who helped the Earps prevail in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz., in 1881, worked at J.S. Brown Mercantile, 18th and Wynkoop, near Union Station in Denver. In 1987, a geologist named John Hickenlooper paid $1 a square foot for the red-brick mercantile building to open Denver's first brew pub, a move that helped develop a long-neglected, now-vibrant downtown district and boost his popularity. Five years ago, Hicken-looper was runaway winner in Denver's mayoral race. In 1882, a not-yet-30 Oscar Wilde, the eccentric Irish playwright, novelist and poet, was already a literary giant. He came through Colorado during an ambitious speaking engagement tour to promote the Gilbert & Sullivan musical "Patience." Invited to silver-rich Leadville to open a new vein, or lode, with a silver drill, Wilde wrote, "I brilliantly performed, amidst unanimous applause. "The silver drill was presented to me and the lode named 'The Oscar,'" he added. "I had hoped that in their simple grand way they would have offered me shares in 'The Oscar,' but in their artless untutored fashion they did not." Wilde also noted that during his visit to a Leadville saloon, he saw a sign that read: "Please don't shoot the pianist; he is doing his best." Molly Brown arrived in Colorado in the late 1880s, married a Leadville mines superintendent and later moved into a Denver mansion. By 1908, when Denver was hosting the Democratic National Convention, she was 41 and getting into politics. She was four years away from lasting fame as one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster. Another 1908 DNC attendee was Damon Runyon, who worked for the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post and ran the Denver Press Club before moving to New York City in 1910. Runyon became one of Gotham's best-known columnists, but generations of Broadway fans know him better for writing "Guys and Dolls." Democrats are hoping Obama-mania will add another name to Denver's pantheon of stars.

Sunday 8-24-08

Celebrities rally for Obama-rama

DENVER — Primed for its week in the world spotlight, Denver is ready to Barack and roll.

The doors to the Pepsi Center open at 3:30 p.m. Monday but the official party scene at the Democratic National Convention starts Monday night with the first of dozens of star-studded parties featuring a diverse lineup of entertainers who are turning out to push Barack Obama's presidential bid.

Up first is the Willie Nelson concert at 8 p.m. Monday at Invesco Field, home of the NFL Broncos and site of Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday.

At 10 p.m. Monday, Fall Out Boy, Jakob Dylan and others headline the Rock the Vote party at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Rock to Win party on Tuesday includes Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, Thelma Houston, Rufus Wainwright and Margaret Cho at the Fillmore Auditorium.

The Black Eyed Peas perform Wednesday night at the celebrity-laden Creative Coalition at the Fillmore Auditorium at the same time that Kanye West raps to revelers at the party hosted by the ONE Campaign and the Recording Industry Association of America.

The hottest ticket, reportedly, is to the Google/Vanity Fair bash at the EXDO Event Center. It's so hot that the organizers aren't releasing the names of the celebrity attendees, but George Clooney is rumored to be among them. Charlize Theron is expected, along with James Taylor, David Crosby and Graham Nash.

And what would a political get-together be without poker? Ben Affleck and Vegas poker pros Andy Bloch and Barry Greenstein are participating in Poker at the Ballpark, a charity event at Coors Field for paralyzed veterans.

Also expected, some of them at private parties: Sheryl Crow, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dave Matthews, Sugarland, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett and Julia Stiles at a Creative Coalition brunch honoring their new film "Gospel Hill," Chris Tucker at A Season for Change reception, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and Glover at the 45th anniversary celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech; Daughtry, Everclear, and the Flobots at the Grammys Rock the Conventions; Susan Sarandon, Chevy Chase, Moby, John Kerry, and Arianna Huffington at the General Action party.

Others: Ashanti and Fran Drescher at the Every Woman Counts party; Annette Bening, Spike Lee, Alan Cumming, Rachel Leigh Cook, Quentin Tarantino at the Spotlight Initiative Award reception for the movie "14 Women" and Rosario Dawson, Kal Penn, Hill Harper, Kerry Washington, and Tatyana Ali at the Cause Celeb.

James Carville, Harry Shearer, John Larroquette, and Grammy winner Randy Newman at the New Orleans All-Star Jam-Balaya.

Carville, longtime Democratic strategist, and his wife, Mary Matalin, a Republican operative, recently spent time with Las Vegas hotel developer Steve Wynn on his new yacht on the Riviera. Wynn has been backing Republicans, while his wife, Elaine, is an Obama supporter. She is not expected to attend the DNC, however, I am told.

Also missing, Las Vegas boxing promoter Bob Arum, a longtime Hillary Clinton backer and former lawyer who once worked for Robert Kennedy in the U.S. attorney general's office. A dispirited Arum has made no secret of his disappointment over Clinton's not making the ticket.

The Scene And Heard

Bruce Springsteen will follow Obama with a solo acoustic performance on Thursday after Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field, Vegas Confidential learned Saturday. Bon Jovi, we're told, is in negotiations to perform the leadup to Obama's speech. ...

Obama backer Oprah Winfrey has reportedly rented a house for $50,000 for the week of the Democratic National Convention. It is located in a historic neighborhood near Cherry Creek, according to the Rocky Mountain News.


Monday 8-25-08

Party trains ready to roll in Denver DENVER -- All aboard for some of the coolest parties in town this week when the Democratic National Convention opens here today. With restaurant and nightclub party venues at a premium, two corporations with Las Vegas ties will have their guests wet their whistles on vintage railroad cars. Billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) built the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, has leased several vintage train cars from Anschutz's ski train to the Chicago-based Pritzker family, owners of the Hyatt hotel chain. With Penny Pritzker, national finance chairwoman of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, who knows who might show up. And her brother Jay is the national chairman for Citizens for Hillary. Their political favorites might explain all the security seen Sunday around the train cars, which are parked behind Union Station, where presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan arrived for the 1908 Democratic National Convention. The party train experience will be reminiscent of the whistle-stop campaigns of yesteryear. Anschutz, a Republican, also will have the train cars in Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention. Next to the Pritzker party-on-rails soiree is the Patron Tequila Express, leased by the Las Vegas-based Patron tequila. Other DNC venues include Invesco Field, Coors Field, Red Rocks amphitheater, the Denver Botanic Gardens, The Denver Art Museum, the Brown Palace hotel, and Ellie Caulkins Opera House, the site of the 1908 DNC when the building was known as the Denver Auditorium Theater. For more from Denver go to www.conventionconfidential.com. WIN-WYNN SITUATION Obama backer Elaine Wynn is coming from the Beijing Olympics with a priceless accessory -- the gold medal of Team USA's Jason Kidd. Elaine and her husband, Steve Wynn, who own the Wynn Las Vegas, were big supporters of the U.S. basketball team, which stayed at the Wynn during the pre-Olympic training this summer and last. The Dallas Mavericks guard became the 13th American male basketball player to earn two gold medals. "It's not a (gambling) marker or anything like that," Kidd told The Arizona Republic. "She's just a great friend and a really great person." The Scene And Heard A photographer from Washington, D.C., stopped a police officer on the 16th Street Mall on Sunday and asked where she could pick up some baby shampoo. "She was on her way to an anti-war protest march, and she heard baby shampoo worked to counteract tear gas," said Boulder policeman Rick French. Sightings Documentary filmmaker George Hickenlooper, shooting footage of his cousin, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, for a film project he's planning to pitch. "We could see him in the Senate," said the director, whose documentaries include "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" and "Mayor of the Sunset Strip." ... New York columnist Jimmy Breslin, having breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel. ... We hear that Richard Dreyfuss is on his way to Denver.

Tuesday 8-26-08

Son, friend revisit Russert memories

DENVER -- Luke Russert and Mike Barnicle took a sentimental journey on Monday.

Russert, son of NBC's "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, who died suddenly on June 13, and Barnicle, longtime Boston columnist and best friend of Tim Russert, took an early morning walk to Coors Field, retracing their steps from Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in 1998.

Barnicle said the walk around Denver included Blake Street, the route to Colorado Rockies ballpark, and to the Westin Hotel, where they stayed.

"It was as vivid as the day we were here," Barnicle said.

Tim Russert was the godfather of Barnicle's son, Timothy.

Luke Russert is working the Democratic National Convention with NBC.

THE FACE IS FAMILIAR

Scott Fickling has a face that never fails to get the Secret Service's attention.

The longtime Denver restaurateur is a Bill Clinton look-alike, as some startled Secret Service agents learned on several occasions.

With 40-some Democratic senators staying across the street this week in the J.W. Marriott hotel in Cherry Creek, Fickling already has had the Secret Service check out his steakhouse, Prime 121, several times in advance of the Democratic National Convention.

Fickling's face isn't the only one causing some double takes. His Prime 121 manager, Todd McMahon, could pass for John McCain.

Fickling was running the Palm restaurant at the Westin in Denver in 1996 the night after former Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas won the Republican presidential nomination.

When Dole showed up, "he walked me around to all the tables and said, 'Meet my opponent, Mr. Clinton,'" Fickling recalled.

But Fickling wasn't laughing during Dole's dinner, when the power went out.

When lights came on, "all the Secret Service guys were covering up Dole," Fickling said.

When Clinton recently showed up in Denver for a fundraiser, some of his protection detail sat in SUVs behind Fickling's restaurant. When Fickling delivered some tenderloin sliders to the SUVs, the surprised agents thought it was Clinton schlepping platters of food to them, Fickling said, with a laugh.

His favorite Secret Service story occurred during the 1997 Group of Eight summit, when leaders from the top industrialized nations met in Denver.

One of Fickling's best customers, a long-haired young man who resembled a cowboy, left the Palm for a two-block walk to the Embassy Suites, now the Ritz-Carlton, where he lived.

As he walked across the street in front of the hotel, his timing couldn't have been worse.

Around the corner came a caravan escorting Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Seemingly out of nowhere, Secret Service agents jumped the Palm patron and took him to the pavement.

After initially doubting his story, the Secret Service finally released him "because the only thing they could get him for was having lobster on his breath," Fickling said.

The Scene And Heard

We hear disgraced Democratic Sen. John Edwards had planned to be at a private event Wednesday at the Wynkoop Brewing Company, formerly owned by now-Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Sightings

George Stephanopolous, chief Washington correspondent for ABC and anchor of the network's "This Week With George Stephanopolous," having lunch at Dixon's on Monday. Asked for his highlight so far in Denver: "Working out in the gym today and meeting Tony Bennett."

Wednesday 8-27-08

Rocky Mountain oysters to go

A Fox News crew, after shooting some footage at the historic Buckhorn Exchange on Tuesday, took a to-go order of Rocky Mountain oysters back to the Pepsi Center.

They offered a sampling of the Western delicacy to attendees of the Democratic National Convention, including some adventurous politicians, and asked them to guess what they were eating.

Angela Norkus, manager of the 115-year-old Buckhorn, has seen "The Look" a lot over the years when the question comes up.

"We tell our servers to say, 'It's the south end of a north bound bull,' " she said. "Or we point."

The Buckhorn, founded by former Indian scout and sharpshooter Henry Zietz, serves about 2 tons of deep-fried bull testicles a year.

One of my favorite Rocky Mountain oyster stories: About a year before the Summit of the Eight was in Denver in 1997, an advance team from Britain made a trip to The Fort, the late Sam Arnold's wild game restaurant.

When Arnold, who often wore buckskin shirts, brought out a sample platter of the oysters, without explanation, a female member of the fact-finding team had a question.

"Are they vegetarian?"

MEN ON A MISSION

I've covered Olympics, Super Bowls, World Series and spent nine years in Las Vegas, most of it in the red carpet jungle, so this isn't my first rodeo.

But it's my first political convention, so maybe that's another way of saying you haven't earned your journalism stripes until you covered the chaos of the World Cup of politics.

So, there I was walking up 15th Street in lower downtown at high noon Tuesday, when I found myself in the middle of a mock military maneuver.

Men dressed in fatigues, pretending to be aiming weapons, acted out a patrol in a combat zone.

They pointed their imaginary rifles down alleys, up at rooftops and took prone positions during stop sign breaks.

I tried to talk to the young man bringing up the rear, but he was all business.

Later, we saw former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich engage in a conversation with the leader.

We were told they were Iraqi vets against the war.

DISSENTING VOICES

Fox News entertainment columnist Roger Friedman couldn't resist a cheap shot at the heavy security blanket in and around Denver for the DNC.

In a column Tuesday criticizing Denver for what he perceived as a lack of preparation and transportation disorganization, Friedman added, "The Denver police do seem to love their riot gear and machine guns, however. They're positioned in places like the 16th Street pedestrian mall, which is far from any action and hardly has any decent shopping. It's not that they're unfriendly -- they just seem to be poorly located."

Friedman is based in Los Angeles, site of the 2000 DNC and home of the five-minute commute.

The Scene And Heard

Chelsea Clinton and folksinging icon Judy Collins have a Colorado connection. When Collins stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom during the Clinton years in the White House, and paid $7,499 to the party, President Clinton told Collins he was a fan of her music and named Chelsea after Collins' 1969 hit "Chelsea Morning."

Sightings

Ben Affleck, dining at Elway's in Cherry Creek on Tuesday. "I think I lost my wife," said a DNC delegate from Tennessee, whose wife rushed off to see the actor. "But Ben can afford her." ... Republicans Mitt Romney and Karl Rove, making surprise appearances at Hillary Clinton's speech on Tuesday. Also there, a limping Kim Kardashian and boyfriend Reggie Bush, and Charles Barkley. Kucinich and wife Elizabeth, having lunch in the MySpace.com corner of the Curtis Hotel on Tuesday. Kucinich, 61, and the red-haired Brit, 30, celebrated their third anniversary Thursday. ... Actress Anne Hathaway, heading for an elevator at the Pepsi Center after hearing Michelle Obama's speech Monday.

Thursday 8-28-08

Classmates took different paths

DENVER -- What are the odds: two college classmates in a political science class 25 years ago, both ending up on presidential tickets in the same year?

"A million to one would be on the low end," said Wayne Allyn Root, a Las Vegas sports handicapper who happens to be one of the two classmates.

The other: Barack Obama.

Both are in Denver today.

When Obama accepts the Democratic presidential nomination, he will be in front of about 75,000 people at Invesco Field, with a global broadcast audience.

Root, the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket led by Bob Barr, will be at Grant-Humphries Mansion, next to the governor's mansion, speaking by way of a live Internet feed.

It's the first time in history that two college classmates are on opposing presidential tickets.

Root never met Obama and said he's not alone.

"Here's how out of the blue and out of nowhere Barack's success is," he said.

Five years ago, the Columbia University Class of '83 celebrated its 20th class reunion. The featured speaker was ... Root. Obama "was an obscure state legislator from Illinois," said Root.

Obama went from Columbia to the Law Review at Harvard, "so I guess he came of age" there, Root said. "He's certainly making a good impression now."

And, Root added, "he's got a better chance of winning than I do."

CELL HELL

If you've been getting a lot of static on your cell phone and PDA, get used to it.

It could get worse tonight when Obama accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.

"At the last inaugural (George W. Bush's in January 2005) all devices were jammed on the Capitol grounds," Ted Kratovil, a Washington, D.C., operative, said Wednesday.

"They were jammed for a good two to three hours, knocking out all cells and BlackBerrys. And Washington without BlackBerrys is a world crisis," Kratovil said.

QUIRKY QUESTIONS

Staffers at the information center for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau have heard it all.

We asked old friend Rich Grant, the bureau's longtime spokesman, to share some of the weirdest questions that visitors have asked. He canvassed his people on Wednesday and came back with this list:

"What is the ultraviolet index?"

"What is Colorado's state food?"

"Where is the glass elevator that goes underground?"

"How long does it take to put on sunscreen?"

Grant's favorite?

"What season is it right now?"

The Scene And Heard

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens is providing convention commentary for KUSA-TV, Channel 9. His son, Mark, is a member of UNLV's soccer team. "A rare athlete with a 3.6 grade point average," said the proud father. His daughter, Monica, 25, has been working as Vice President Dick Cheney's scheduler.

Sightings

At U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's luncheon Wednesday at Tamayo in Larimer Square: Chevy Chase, longtime Clintonite Paul Begala, Playboy Enterprises CEO Christy Hefner, Hollywood producer Steve Bing, Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Jenna Morton of N9NE Group. In Reid's suite Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center: Jamie Foxx, director Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw. ... Novelist John Grisham, at the convention all week with his wife, Renee, a superdelegate from Virginia. Grisham, who was in the Mississippi House from 1983 to 1990, has sold about 250 million of his legal drama thrillers. They are Hillary Clinton backers. ... Jennifer Lopez, Ashley Judd and Fran Drescher at the Denver Art Museum on Wednesday for a charity event. ... Double take: MSNBC talk-show host and maverick Republican Joe Scarborough, being pulled down the sidewalk near the Fox News headquarters by a barefooted handler. ... Mo Rocca of NBC's "The Tonight Show," testing the oxygen bar Wednesday at the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau's tent near the Pepsi Center. More than 20 media outlets, including camera crews from Russia and the Czech Republic, have stopped by to film segments about the Mile High altitude. "One of them said, 'The U.S. is so hospitable they even give you free oxygen,' " Grant said.

Friday 8-29-08

It's Gustav over Obama for Carville

DENVER -- James Carville, architect of many Democratic victories, wasn't in Denver on Thursday for Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the finale of the Democratic National Convention.

Carville rushed out of the Palm restaurant Wednesday night, high-fiving fellow Democrats and strangers while barely breaking stride.

His hasty departure was personal, not political.

He was heading home to New Orleans to remove his two daughters, Matty and Emma, as Tropical Storm Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast.

Carville, who was in Denver as a CNN analyst, ran Bill Clinton's comeback-kid win in 1992 over incumbent President George H.W. Bush.

Carville was seen throughout downtown Denver this week on daily jogs.

PRIME TERRITORY

MSNBC scored exposure points with its Union Station location, where thousands of commuters converged for light rail and shuttle buses.

The outdoor set drew thousands during the broadcasts.

The other networks settled on sites outside the Pepsi Center, which had proximity advantages for pulling in guests, but John Q. Public never got close to any of the on-air personalities because of the security ring that kept regular folks blocks away.

The Scene And Heard

Among the happiest-to-be-alive for the convention was host committee co-chair Steve Farber, who led Denver's effort to land the convention. Four years ago, Farber needed a kidney to stay alive. He received one from his son, Gregg. Steve Farber and his law partner, Norm Brownstein, merged with Las Vegas power attorney Frank Schreck over a year ago to form Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. ...

Joe Ellis, chief operating officer of the Denver Broncos, no doubt had two good reasons why he wasn't particularly keen on having Obama's acceptance speech take place at Invesco Field at Mile High. No. 1: concern over the condition of the playing field after a paneled surface was placed over the grass. No. 2: Ellis' cousin is President George W. Bush. ...

One of the security strategies used by the Denver police was a page out of military manuals: When undermanned, create the illusion that you have more manpower. That explains why pickup trucks with a dozen armed-to-the-teeth cops hanging on the sides kept having a presence on the busy 16th Street Mall, the main thoroughfare to the Pepsi Center. Denver's police force was smaller than those at previous bigger-city DNC sites.

Sightings

Susan Eisenhower, grand-daughter of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, among the early speakers at Invesco Field. Her grand-mother, Mamie, grew up in Denver, and her grandfather made Denver his western White House. President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in Denver in September 1955 after playing 27 holes of golf at Cherry Hills Golf Club. ... Harold Ickes, the chief arm-twister and delegate hunter for Hillary Clinton, on a 16th Street shuttle bus Wednesday near Union Station, looking drawn and haggard from a long, losing campaign. He had just left the Pepsi Center, after Bill Clinton's speech. Ickes didn't stay around for Obama's appearance or Joe Biden's speech. ... At the Palm restaurant (Westin Hotel) on Wednesday night: 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry and wife Teresa; and at a patio table, Washington insider Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report and a political analyst for the National Journal and CNN. ... At Ruth's Chris Steak House: Fox talk-show host Sean Hannity, and at another table, comedian Chevy Chase, ordering a $900 bottle of Margaux wine. On Thursday, Hannity's talk-show co-host, Alan Colmes, was seen having lunch at Dixon's.

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