They Really Get the Ball Rolling

If cold hands are evidence of a warm heart, there must have been a furnace of goodwill at Wednesday’s Fire & Ice Ball at Universal Studios.

“I’m dealing with the ice right now, and I’m moving into the fire, hopefully soon,” Howie Mandel said at the frosty gala.

‘Tis the season to be chilly, which can only mean one thing--it’s rush hour for uber Hollywood to tux up in the name of charity. And this year, the grandest ball of all, the ninth annual fund-raiser for breast cancer research produced by Suzan Mischer, had a particularly poignant subtext: It was spearheaded by two women who have bonded as survivors of recent high-profile tragedies--Lilly Tartikoff, who lost her husband, Brandon, to cancer, and Donatella Versace, whose brother, Gianni, was cut down by a murderer’s bullet.

Tartikoff is “really one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” emcee Jerry Seinfeld said of the early “Seinfeld” fan, who has raised nearly $20 million for the Revlon / UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program. Wednesday’s fete alone brought in $1.8 million.

And this year there was an extra something to celebrate--progress. Dr. Dennis Slamon, the program’s director and the late Brandon’s oncologist, reported that researchers have developed a potent new anti-cancer drug, herceptin, and that the donations had sped up the scientists’ efforts by six to 10 years. Slamon also applauded major donor / Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman, whose support kick-started the campaign.

“He has consistently supported the program in a major way, knowing that a research investment is high risk,” Slamon said. “Had this not worked, he would have had little or nothing to show for an enormous investment.”

Other behind-the-ball heavyweights included Kelly Chapman Meyer, Jane Semel, Carol Biondi and Burton Tansky.

They lured a guest list of glitterati that included Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Penny Marshall, Les Moonves, David Hyde Pierce, Mary Steenburgen, Fran Drescher, Lynn Redgrave, Cindy Crawford, Salma Hayek, Darryl Zanuck Jr., Kelsey Grammer, Roberto Benigni, Ron Silver, Sherry Lansing, Jennifer Tilly, Barbara Lazaroff, Jonathan Dolgen, Ron Meyer, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Frank Biondi, Rupert Everett and Buzz Aldrin.

They partied amid Hollywood’s favorite variety of ice--diamonds, which inspired Versace’s spring ’99 collection and the massive party-sphere designed by Ben Bourgeois. Actually, Naomi Campbell and other models, who strutted over 100,000 Swarkovski crystals encased in plexiglass, weren’t wearing much more than diamonds. Thanks, Harry Winston, for keeping them warm.

“Almost everything we own is on the runway,” said Winston spokeswoman Dawn Moore. “You’re going to be absolutely blinded.”

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Thanks Be to the Bard: Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein thinks you guys need a little cult-cha. Here’s his recipe: Take one radiant Gwyneth Paltrow, a juicy Joseph Fiennes, add a salty, accessible script by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, and you have the makings of everyman’s Shakespeare--”Shakespeare in Love,” a co-production with Universal that had its premiere Tuesday.

“When I was 14 years old, I saw ‘Hamlet,’ ” Weinstein said at the post-screening bash at the Academy of Motion Pictures. “Luckily I had a girlfriend so I could make out with her in the balcony. I said if we ever do something with Shakespeare, we’re going to make it for all the guys who are just going to watch the movie.”

Irene Lacher’s Out & About column runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on Page 2.