TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Jenny Peters

KEVIN'S CROWD: The bevy of beauties that made the late-night scene at Kevin Spacey's ultra-exclusive dinner and after-party at Social Hollywood Thursday night should have checked out the night's earlier party at Georg Jensen's new boutique on Rodeo Drive. The pretty gals -- Mischa Barton, Emmy Rossum, Mena Suvari, Alicia Silverstone, Nikki Reed, Alyssa Milano and the always-gorgeous Shirley MacLaine -- surely would have found a diamond piece to their liking at the Jensen launch of both the shop and their exclusive Cascade Limited Edition Collection.

Who wouldn't want to slip into a breathtaking white-gold and diamond necklace with 18.8 carats of bling, done in a sleek cascade of varying-size jewels? Lisa Rinna was certainly interested in that one, but we didn't see her hubby, Harry Hamlin, getting out the checkbook; then again, she's probably sure that the Georg Jensen staff will be happy to lend it to her for one of her numerous red-carpet jaunts. Dylan McDermott and wife Shiva Rose checked out the beautiful goods, too.

Back at Social Hollywood, the Budweiser Select-sponsored party was all about Triggerstreet.com, Spacey's pet online project designed as a forum to help creative types share ideas. ``I've been really blessed in my career,'' Spacey said, ``and Triggerstreet gives me a way to give aspiring writers and filmmakers the same opportunity for success.''

There weren't many people at the party that need that kind of help, however.

Bryan Singer, Spacey's director on the upcoming ``Superman Returns,'' was there in one nook of the overcrowded upstairs private party rooms, while Robin Williams and Billy Crystal joked in another. The place was packed with Hollywood's truly successful, including Oscar winners and nominees like Andy Garcia, Cuba Gooding Jr., Virginia Madsen, Jeff Goldblum and an all-grown-up Haley Joel Osment, along with popular actors Giovanni Ribisi, Wilmer Valderrama and Brian Austin Green.

So will any of the Hollywood elite on hand log on to Triggerstreet.com? Seems more likely that such a deep-pocketed crowd will be shopping at Georg Jensen on Rodeo Drive instead.

STAR CAUSE: Elizabeth Glaser would be proud. The Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which she founded before she succumbed to HIV herself, is alive and well, still the leading advocate worldwide for aiding children suffering from the disease. That was obvious from the huge, happy turnout at last Sunday's annual A Time for Heroes celebrity carnival that the charity stages every summer.

Laughing kids took their turns trying to dunk ``Survivor'' host Jeff Probst in the ``Finding Nemo'' dunk tank, while packs of others trailed L.A. Lakers hot shot Kobe Bryant all around the huge carnival set up on the grounds of the Wadsworth Theatre in Westwood, giggling and stammering hellos when it came their turn to meet their hero.

Girls headed into the Disney-sponsored Bibbiti Bobbidi Boutique to create their own personalized pink crowns with the help of ``Desperate Housewives'' star Marcia Cross, while boys crowded the ``Cars'' remote-control track and the Nintendo DS Lite Lounge, where Christian Slater showed off the latest video games.

Henry Winkler finished his turn at the storytelling both, then reminded us of what the day of revelry is really about, saying, ``From the tragedy of losing Elizabeth and her daughter, Ariel, out of those ashes has come this incredible organization and this event, bringing the focus to this terrible epidemic, that is still happening, here and all over the world. We need that focus even more than ever, and this is just one small way that we can all help keep shining the spotlight on this terrible disease.''

Every lucky attendee got to nibble on exemplary food from booths manned by L'Orangerie, Beacon, Joe's and tons of other high-end restaurants, and meeting a favorite star was simple, since so many turned up to support the cause.

There was Jerry Rice twirling a grinning mom; Jesse McCartney serenading a rapt gaggle of preteen girls; and Camryn Manheim watching her son skid down a huge rippling slide. Also hanging out with their own excited kids were Thandie Newton, Melissa Joan Hart, Jeffrey Tambor, Holly Robinson Peete, Joely Fisher and David Boreanaz. Rachel Bilson even brought her little sister along for the sun-drenched party. And we spotted Seth Green, Ellen Pompeo, Carla Gugino, Kelly Hu, Tony Hawk, Jorge Garcia and Sarah Silverman, too -- so many stars, it was impossible to count.

LIZA BOWLS 'EM OVER: She definitely doesn't qualify as ``young,'' but so what? All eyes were on honoree Liza Minnelli at the 14th annual American Society of Young Musicians Spring Benefit Concert and Awards on Tuesday night at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.

And why not? She looks good, and arrived early clutching the arm of longtime pal Sam Harris; they sat front and center throughout the extended program that featured fresh new musical talents of every genre.

We wondered if the performers for the evening, including singers Kelly Sweet, Lori Mueller and showstopper Teresa, actually know who Liza is, and are pretty positive that rapper Mr. Goodbar and heavy-metal band Chronic would be hard-pressed to name any of Minnelli's extensive musical oeuvre.

No matter, Minnelli was still ready and willing to give advice to all the young musicians that packed the HOB, breathlessly revealing that ``the only thing I know about is not giving up.'' The diminutive star followed up with advice that she probably should have taken when it came to some of her ex-husbands:

``Don't get a lot of `yes' people around you. You can have one, but that's it. Find people that will tell you the truth about everything.''

Truth is, there were some distinctly talented youngsters in the audience and up at the dais, including Brandy, Michael Copon, Tessa Ludwick, Efren Ramirez and Ashley Tisdale, whose ``High School Musical'' role is making her as famous with the under-16 set as ``The Wizard of Oz'' did for Liza's mom, Judy, so very long ago.

Most importantly, the night's festivities, including a silent auction heavy with musical instruments and mixing boards, helped raise needed monies to fund scholarships and other key programs to aid talented young musicians (especially those without famous mothers) to go after their destinies.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1) SPACEY: Pushing his Web space

(2) OSMENT: All grown up

(3) WILLIAMS and CRYSTAL: Joining the Spacey cadets

Marsaili McGrath/Getty Images

(4) HART and SON: Supporting the cause

(5) BILSON and SIS: Checking out preteen scen

David Livingston/Getty Images

(6) MINNELLI: Hanging with the young'uns