Lunch at Michael's: All Hail George Hamilton!

It seems only fitting that on the first truly sweltering day of the summer, today's celebrity sighting du jour was none other than George ("They're toasted!") Hamilton. Looking slightly less well done than we've seen him on Dancing with the Stars and those clever Ritz crackers commercials, the ageless entertainer caused quite a stir among today's lunchtime set when he sauntered in with Allen Grubman. Looking dapper in blue pinstripes, Hamilton chatted with lots of folks including actor Ron Livington and Barbara Walters. Lunchtime chronicler Diane Clehane caught up with Barbara on her way out to ask what she thought of Larry King's decision to interview Paris Hilton. "I think it's fine," she said. "He should do it. I'm glad it's not me." Opting to stay mum on what her first question would have been if she had done her sitdown with the heirhead as she'd originally planned she demurred, "I'm not thinking about it at all." On a (slightly) less controversial note Ms. Walters offered this reply when we inquired about when we can expect to find out who will fill Rosie O'Donnell's spot on The View: "We have to decide by the end of the month because we're off in August, so soon." We can't wait. Here's the rundown on the rest of the crowd: 1. GCI's Marc Rosen and a table full of guests. 2. CBS spinmeister Gil Schwartz. 3. Joe Armstrong, fresh off his latest visit to Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Ashford, Connecticut for children with cancer. Said the mayor of his stint as a 'camp counselor': "It was so wonderful to see all these kids battling these terrible diseases having the time of their lives. It makes you realize how insignificant your problems are." (Hear that, Paris?) Joe introduced us to his good friend, Harper Collins' Jonathan Burnham, whose latest bestseller The Regan Diaries is selling like mad. Jonathan told lunchtime chronicler Diane Clehane that he'd love to sign up Princes William and Harry to a book deal. Considering the through the roof ratings Matt Lauer scored with his sitdown for Dateline with Diana's sons, we'd say it's a fabulous idea. The verdict is in on the hotter than hot heir and the spare: They've clearly got the same star quality that their mother was blessed and cursed with. 4. Barbara Walters and Sony's general counsel attorney Nicole Seligman. 5. Arnold Scaasi and Parker Ladd dining with an elegant-looking gal. 6. Terry Allen Kramer with her granddaughter and Margo McNabb, NBC's Felicia Taylor (who looked fresh all in white). 7. Our pal Early Show producer Steve Cohen with a lady guest who was celebrating her birthday. Cheers! 8. Ron Livingston, who graciously endured endless interruptions to take compliments from fans, with PR guru Bobby Zarem. 9. Teri Santisi. 10. Barry Frey, who was nice enough to introduce us to his friend Virgin public relations maven Lori Levin who does special projects for Richard Branson. 11. The early shift: Joanne & Steve Tisch. The late show: George Hamilton and attorney Allen Grubman. 12. Today's Marc Victor and guests. 14. Nina Link and Stanley Schuman. 15. Michael J. Wolfe. 16. CFDA's Fern Mallis (who promised us a credential to next year's CFDA Awards!), Somers Farkas and a squadron of blondes all in white. 17. Bob Gutkowski, former head of MSG. 18. Peter Brown looking dapper in khaki who said he was heading off to East Hampton for the holiday weekend. 19. We couldn't see ... 20. Micky Atea. 21. Nancy Murray. 22. Jason Rapp. 23. Beauty Fashion's George Leeds and Robin Burns. 24. Nick E. Rubinstein. 25. Tom Goodman. 26. Hearst honcho Michael Clinton. 27. Larry Kirshenbaum. 28. The lush summer greenery blocked our view ... 29. Ditto. 30. Missy Godfrey. We're on vacation next week celebrating July 4. Look for the next Lunch column in two weeks. Happy Fourth! Please send comments and corrections to DianeClehane AT mediabistro Dot com and lunch at mediabistro DOT com.

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Lunch at Michael's: All Hail George Hamilton!

Diane Clehane

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Diane Clehane