TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Elizabeth Snead and Jenny Peters

PASSPORT TO AIDS RESEARCH: It started 21 years ago as a little fashion show in the Men's Department at Macy's with the hope of making a little money to help fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Humble beginnings for the Macy's Passport Gala, now a huge yearly event held in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It's gotten so big that here in SoCal on Thursday night in a huge white tent at Santa Monica's Barker Hangar there was even an ultra-VIP room tucked inside the VIP room (the regular folks who donated $75 each partied out in the parking lot). Everyone seemed happy with the flowing Bacardi CoCo rum drinks served by shirtless hunks with the CoCo logo stenciled across their pecs, and the various delicacies served in the VIP room (donated by restaurants including Crustacean, Cafe del Rey and Maple Drive) disappeared at an astounding rate, especially the delectable seared ahi tuna from Chaya Venice.

David Hasselhoff, Daisy Fuentes and Pauly Shore slipped into the ultra- VIP room and then joined the massive audience crammed onto incredibly uncomfortable bleacher seats inside Barker Hangar, but since the night was for a good cause, few complained.

Elizabeth Taylor was expected, but fellow AIDS activist Sharon Stone stepped in for her and led a raucous live auction highlighted by the $20,000 winning bid for one night at a Laker's game in a VIP suite, won by 11-year-old Miles, the son of Eddie and Nicole Murphy, that is.

Lance Bass, Tippi Hedren, ``Girlfriends'' stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks and Jill Jones, and hunk-of-the-month Eduardo Verastegui also made the runway scene, along with countless models sporting Kenneth Cole, Roc University and, the audience's clear favorite, Vanity Fair Intimates. Gorgeous male and female models in their skivvies - what's not to like?

IN THE CAN: Tout le Monaco, including the late Princess Grace's son, Prince Albert, gathered at the Grimaldi Forum on Tuesday to celebrate two new monumental mosaics created by the acclaimed American artist Nall.

The permanent installation of Nall's enormous floral mosaics, titled ``Sunset Pensee'' and ``Sunrise Pensee,'' was unveiled by the privileged principality's future ruler to thunderous applause echoing through the marble Salle des Princes.

The prince and his party-goers marveled at the mosaics with Byzantine- style frames that took one year to design and make, weigh literally a ton and consist of 100,000 pieces of hand-cut colored and 24-karat gold L'Opio created in Opio, a tiny village near Cannes.

Soon Nall and Opio will be ready to go Hollywood. The L'Opio showroom just opened in L.A. at 864 S. Robertson Blvd., ready to embellish Hollywood's hautest beds, baths and beyonds. ``With L'Opio tiles, I found the dream material that allows me to express myself beyond pointillism and impressionism,'' says Nall, who has also painted the prince's portrait. ``My obsession is to capture light, and the light playing off their colored tiles gives my work a tri-dimensional existence.''

Also on display: Nall's recently finished commission for Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach's London estate, titled ``Rydinghurst Trilogy,'' a series of mosaics named for their home; three variations of pansy in decadent yellow, passionate red and spiritual mauve.

Michel Pastor, a Monaco mega-magnate, president of the Grimaldi Forum and pal of Prince Rainier, asked Nall to do a huge L'Opio mosaic after seeing one he did for Christian Dior for Color Addict on exhibit in Paris. Pastor is such a big fan of the Alabama artist that he has hired him to design mosaics for the three-story glass elevator shaft and swimming pool on his family estate in the nearby hills. If you're not a Hollywood star, a former Beatle or a Monaco magnate, you can still nab a Nall. The artist has created two porcelain china patterns (Tuscia's Roses and Mediterranean Gold) for R. Haviland and C. Parlon of Limoges, available in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. For more Nall news, check out www.nall.org.

NOW READ THIS: Hollywood gave up its shallow exterior on Tuesday night in Westwood, when literacy and intellectualism descended on the W Hotel at the launch party for the W's newest venture, ``W Shorts.''

The beatnik spirit was strong as black-clad celebs read excerpts from that slim volume of short stories and excerpts from longer works, after a sedate cocktail party suitably lubricated the crowd into respectful listening with the help of Bombay Sapphire gin and delectable hors d'oeuvres highlighted by tuna tartare on crunchy cucumber slices.

Jane Seymour, looking fantastic as usual in form-fitting black top and slacks, stepped in and launched the readings with a reminiscence of her own son's struggle with dyslexia and an inability to read. The International Dyslexia Association was one of the sponsors of the program along with Movieline's Hollywood Life magazine.

Then Lauren Graham (she got the wear-black memo, too) of ``The Gilmore Girls'' wowed the crowd. Next up was Aisha Tyler (black leather for her), then ``Threat Matrix'' star Melora Walters took on John Updike.

The stars had their own little striped cabanas where they perched on high chairs; as Aussie hunk and ``Nip/Tuck'' lead Julian McMahon (who read Steve Martin to loud guffaws, especially when he stumbled over the word ``gabardine'') commented, ``I feel like I'm in an Indian tepee!'' It seemed that way to us, too.

Other Hollywood types out for culture that evening included Sharon Lawrence and Walters' ``Threat Matrix'' co-star Shoshannah Stern. And everyone tottered home clutching their personal copies of ``W Shorts,'' proving that literacy is alive and well in Hollywood, despite strong rumors to the contrary.

CHILDREN OF A DRESSER MOM: ``The West Wing's'' Marlee Matlin had a little time to kill last week before her lunch with David E. Kelley at the Raleigh Studios (where ``Ally McBeal'' was shot) in Manhattan Beach. So the mommy-to-be made a stop to shop the Babystyle boutique in the Manhattan Village Shopping Center on Sepulveda where the Oscar-winning actress found eight maternity outfits, including one for her ``Hollywood Squares'' appearance on Nov. 10.

Matlin ogled the little girls' clothing racks, saying ``I would love to have another girl because the clothes are so cute. But one girl is enough for me.'' She's not kidding. The actress already has quite a few kids to dress: daughter Sarah, age 7, and her two sons, Brandon, 3, and Tyler, 1. On Matlin's Mommy Mode list of must-haves: a Hollywood Hoodie (velour zip-front hoodie and drawstring pants worn in the photo) an Under the Belly fit and flare blue jeans, two Contrast Henley shirts (one in pink, another in black) with white collar, placket and cuffs, and a long jacquard sweater coat. Can't make it to Manhattan Beach? Don't cry. Check out www.babystyle.com.

NO COMFORT AT RITE-AID: Paparazzi skulking around Crustacean, the famed French-Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills, went berserk last weekend when they spotted Tomb Raider Angelina Jolie pushing her young son in a stroller shopping for baby items at the Rite-Aid drugstore across the street. The flashbulb frenzy got so intensely intrusive that Jolie was unable to check out. The store cashiers tried to shoo the pesky photogs away from the frazzled mom and her terrified child. Frightened shoppers in line behind Jolie ran for safety, with one muttering ``My God, that must be how Princess Di felt.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) With Sharon Stone as auctioneer, Eddie Murphy's son, Miles, made the winning bid - $20,000 to watch a Laker's game from a VIP suite.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com

(2) NALL: Going to the wall for Ringo.

(3) MATLIN: Hey, baby, let's shop!