A heartfelt evening

Dana Carvey and Rod Stewart were the headliners, but just about everybody got into the act at “An Evening With Larry King and Friends.”

Aspiring nightclub performer Shawn King opened the benefit for the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, singing an affectionate tribute to her husband of five years. “I’m married to one of the most famous faces in the world,” gushed the statuesque blond, sliding into a silky version of “That Face.” And there was the bespectacled King, silver hair slicked back, inspiring the crowd at the Regent Beverly Wilshire with talk of how his quintuple bypass surgery in 1987 motivated him to create a nonprofit foundation for heart patients “who lack the means for life-saving medical procedures.”

Even gala honorees -- philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman and producer Robert Evans -- put on a show, aiming witty remarks at an audience dotted with such celebs as Sidney Poitier and Matthew McConaughey, co-star with Kate Hudson of Evans’ new flick “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

“You really made a hit in Utah when you married Shawn,” Huntsman, a Mormon, said after Larry King handed him the foundation’s Heart Award. “In the Mormon tradition, you’ve had six wives!” (“And you’re not coming back!” King retorted.) Cracked Evans, 72, winner of the Spirit of Life Award: “I’m the only head of a studio who is ending his career as an animated cartoon.” (This in reference to his yet-to-be-named cartoon series that will air on Comedy Central later this year.) And while members of the audience were happily getting their $1,000-per-ticket’s worth -- watching the antics as they dined on lobster salad and Mediterranean chicken -- no one seemed to be enjoying himself more than show producer George Schlatter. “So many charity events are celebrity-driven,” he said. “But this one is just plain warm.”

Amping the laugh meter, Carvey got the crowd roaring with his impressions of a malaprop-prone President George W. Bush. “We need to protect our freedom here at home and on a broad,” he said, smirking and knitting his eyebrows. “With liberty and jumpsuits for all.”

Capping the Jan. 24 evening, which raised nearly $1 million, Stewart thrilled the crowd with his raspy -- and romantic -- renditions of easy-listening classics.