Heart of the matter

Renowned cardiologist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Bernard Lown was the center of attention at a party at the Seaport Hotel. Lown, the developer of the defibrillator and founder of the Lown Cardiovascular Center in Brookline, has created a $12 million endowment - the Lown Scholars Program - to support cardiovascular talent in developing countries around the world. The distinguished guest list for Saturday's shindig included Alan Dershowitz, Mike and Kitty Dukakis, David Mugar, "Life in the Balance" author Dr. Thomas Graboys, Lexis/Nexis co-founder Jerome Rubin, and ABC's Dr. Timothy Johnson.

Accompanied by men toting automatic weapons, Matt Damon and musician Wyclef Jean toured the flood-ravaged Haitian city of Gonaives yesterday. Tropical storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike have submerged the city, destroying homes and infrastructure. "It's inhumane," said Jean, who was born in Haiti. "I wish there was a word in the dictionary. No human should be living like this." There are an estimated 800,000 Haitians in need of aid after four tropical storms and hurricanes since mid-August. Damon and Jean hope people will contribute to the United Nations' efforts to help the country. They went to a school shelter to drop off cooking oil and bags of beans from the World Food Program.

Damon's boyhood buddy Ben Affleck, meanwhile, has returned to work. Wearing a beard and a wig, Ben was photographed on the set of "Extract," director Mike Judge's new comedy co-starring Jason Bateman and Mila Kunis.

"Hills" star Lauren "Lo" Bosworth graciously greeted fans during her brief appearance at Ed Kane's Back Bay club Estate Saturday. We're told Lauren Conrad's BFF bolted before last call because she had to catch a 6 a.m. flight out of Logan yesterday. That may explain why Lo was drinking water instead of gulping Grey Goose as she did the previous evening at Shrine at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. . . . Meanwhile, D. Woods of the girl group Danity Kane was rocking the mike at Felt, where she performed the band's hit "Damaged." The Springfield-born singer, whose real name is Wanita Woodgette, drew a large crowd, including Redouane "Red" Tadjer, a cast member on VH1's "I Want to Work for Diddy."

Riding high
It helps to have friends in high places. Just ask Brockton-bred actor Adam Nelson, who's been buddies with Ed Harris since they worked together on James Cameron's 1989 deep-sea thriller "The Abyss." A few years back, when Harris began casting "Appaloosa," the film based on Robert B. Parker's best-selling western of the same name, he reserved a plum role for Nelson. "We had dinner and Ed said to me, 'Listen, I've got a part for you,' " says Nelson, doing a dead-on impression of his filmmaker friend. "Ed's just a wonderful, down-to-earth guy." "Appaloosa," directed by Harris, and co-starring Harris, Viggo Mortensen, and Renee Zellweger, opened the Boston Film Festival Friday night. Afterward, Nelson joined co-screenwriter Robert Knott and a few dozen others for a drink at Umbria. (The talented Tatyana Ali, a Harvard grad whose new film "Hotel California" screened at the fest Saturday, was also at the opening-night party, sitting with her sister Anastasia.) Knott, clad in a shirt Glen Campbell could love, called "Appaloosa" a labor of love. As gratifying as it is to get good reviews, Knott said he's not in the business for accolades. "It's about doing something you love," he said.

Considering the Pats' QB situation, Doug Flutie (above) might want to consider making a comeback. The Heisman Trophy winner is still in decent shape as he showed yesterday at the 9th annual Doug Flutie Jr. 5K Road Race in Natick. (The run benefits the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, which Flutie and wife Laurie founded after their son was diagnosed with autism.) Even if Flutie doesn't make a comeback, a certain breakfast cereal bearing his name is. Flutie has announced plans to release a 10th anniversary edition of Flutie Flakes, which sold 3 million boxes after it was introduced in 1998. The cereal will hit shelves in October or November, with proceeds going to the foundation.

Congrats to Gloucester actress Heidi Dallin, who was named outstanding lead actress at the recent Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. Dallin won for her role in "Hillary and Monica," in which she plays former first lady Hillary Clinton. The Midtown International Theatre Festival featured more than 60 plays from around the world.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.