A Python at the S.F. Zoo

On the eve of a two-month, multi-city journey, the mind of John Cleese whirs with varied and sundry preoccupations. Among them is the plight of the lemurs. Yes, really. On Sunday, he christened the San Francisco Zoo’s new exhibit of the animals.

His clipped British accent, familiar as a voice of incisive, dry wit, turns tender as he speaks of the “half monkey, half cat” species threatened by deforestation in Madagascar. “They’re just the cutest little critters on God’s earth, extraordinarily good-natured,” Cleese said by phone from his home in Santa Barbara. “But not very bright.”

Cleese fell in love with the creatures as a boy growing up in Bristol, England. He lived near a zoo and would visit regularly to feed them. In his 1997 film “Fierce Creatures,” a ring-tailed lemur was cast in a starring role. Around the same time, Cleese raised enough money to release five black and white ruffed lemurs that had been bred in captivity into the rain forests of Madagascar in the hopes that they would reproduce and multiply. In 1998, he and a documentary crew trekked to the island off Africa to check on their progress. “One of them had a girlfriend,” Cleese recalled. “And there were signs of fraternizing.”

These days, however, Cleese’s adventures are relatively domestic. From San Francisco, he was off to collect awards in Canada (from the Banff Television Festival) and in Washington, D.C. (from the Smithsonian). “I’m getting so old now that people are giving me awards before I die,” quipped the 62-year-old. Later this month, he’s on to London to unveil a plaque at Sigmund Freud’s house and shoot scenes for the next “Harry Potter” film as Nick the Nearly Headless Ghost. “And the rest,” he says, “is all trivia.”

Summer Wear

for QVC Benefit

Guests arrived early in their summer gear--linen shirts, straw hats and sunglasses all around--and quickly clustered into groups on the manicured lawns of a Malibu estate. Although the gray skies didn’t burn off until noon, soap stars and socialites strolled between tents on the greenery, pausing to pick up lemonade and long-stemmed strawberries while the Pacific Ocean winked behind them.

At QVC’s “Cure by the Shore” benefit on Saturday to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Adam Sandler was one of the last to arrive. Hours after the party started, Sandler cruised in wearing torn gray sweatpants, a T-shirt and unlaced Nikes. After looking at the swarms of flowered skirts and polo shirts on the other guests, he bent over to posh himself up by tying his shoes. While posing for pictures, Tom Sherak, chief executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, grumbled good-naturedly about Sandler’s late appearance. “You told me 1 o’clock,” Sandler said. “Yeah,” replied Sherak. “Did you think I meant 1 a.m.?”

“I’m on Hawaiian time,” Sandler said before sheepishly admitting to a friend, “I didn’t set my alarm--I thought I’d be able to wake up on my own.”

Later, “Young and the Restless” star Don Diamont, the QVC host, pulled Cuba Gooding Jr. aside to welcome him. The two men were on live television when Diamont went into Jiminy Glick mode, throwing an arm around Gooding and saying how much he’d loved him in “Men in Black.” “Uh, that wasn’t me,” Gooding said. The host waited a beat before joking that he’d really blown that one.

The event’s bottom line was no joke at all: The benefit raised more than $1 million.

The South

in Westwood

Limos and fans lined the block as the sun set over the movie premiere capital of the world--Westwood. It was Monday night and the lull between Laker playoff games drew scores of college students and autograph hounds hungry to connect with Ashley Judd, Sandra Bullock and Ellen Burstyn. The Delta blues echoed off nearby storefronts, an attempt by event planners to bring some Deep South authenticity to the premiere of “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” a film about Southern women set in Louisiana. But the stereo system wasn’t powerful enough to drown out the strains of Los Angeles, which included two hovering news helicopters.

On the red carpet, a woman with a video camera asked producer Bonnie Bruckheimer if she believed in a higher power. “We need to be kinder to each other,” the producer said. Director Callie Khouri told a reporter she was keeping her fingers crossed to direct a “Harry Potter” film. Meanwhile, Judd chastised a journalist for asking vague questions. “Be like her,” she said, pointing to another reporter. “Ask me about my earrings.” Bullock offered the evening’s most astute summation of the scene. “Premieres, to me, are like non-reality.”

Sighting

Tenacious D’s Jack Black at the El Rey Theatre taking in the Monday night performance of the White Stripes, a duo led by Jack White.

Times staff writer Kwala Mandel contributed to this column. City of Angles runs Tuesday through Friday. E-mail: angles@latimes.com.