Bringing together big-screen royalty

Who better to honor the late, great Bette Davis than a couple of spunky screen stars? Leading ladies Lauren Bacall and Susan Sarandon were together last night at BU's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, which has mounted a major new exhibit, "A Retrospective of the Life and Work of Bette Davis." Bacall was presented with the Bette Davis Medal of Honor and Sarandon was given the Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award. (Presiding over the whole affair was celebrated film critic Rex Reed.) "These are intrepid women who have many common denominators," said Vita Paladino, director of the Gotlieb Center. "They don't sell out, they do great work, and they've done their social activism. . . . There's no phonies in this crowd." The 84-year-old Bacall, who brought along her dog, Sophie, said she idolized Davis as a young girl. "She was everything to me," Bacall said. Gathered backstage before the event, the VIP guests talked some politics. Sarandon, an Obama supporter, dismissed the suggestion that Hillary Clinton had been the victim of sexism during the primaries. "She wasn't kicked around," said Sarandon. "She's the machine. She's accepted more corporate money than any Republican candidate. I think she's divisive, I think she's entitled, and I don't like her." Afterward, in an informal Q&A session with several dozen BU students, Sarandon opined some more. Asked for her opinion of Sarah Palin, the big-screen siren paused briefly. "Ed Harris said she's going to be a giant footnote in the annals of moose hunting, and I hope that's true," she told the students. "This is a do-or-die election, and the only thing that gives me hope is you guys."

Clothes call

Jacque Francona and Kelli Pedroia led a posse of shoppers down Newbury and Charles streets last night, raising money for the Kids Clothes Club in Brookline, which buys new winter coats for needy kids. After dropping dollars at participating boutiques, the party moved to the Liberty Hotel for a charity auction, bolstered by Red Sox Foundation donations and artist Veronika Loginova, who pitched in with a portrait of Jonathan Papelbon. Faith Michaels, who started the Clothes Club with Elaine Shannon 16 years ago, said she was thrilled so many people turned out for this year's shop and party. Last year the charity gave out 6,500 coats to kids, and she hopes this year it will be more. "This is an essential, important thing for children," she said. "They need a new coat. They always get their cousin's ragged hand-me-down with the broken zipper."

Horsing around

The stars of "Appaloosa" were front and center at the film's LA premiere the other night. The western, based on the book by Cambridge novelist Robert B. Parker, is directed by Ed Harris and stars Harris, Renée Zellweger, and Viggo Mortensen. "Appaloosa" opens Oct. 3.

It turns out Sting is a big fan of public television. The rock star and former English teacher told WGBH yesterday that he grew up on the BBC and still loves public TV's educational mission and ability to provide "something for everyone." At Symphony Hall rehearsing for his big performance with the Boston Pops, Keith Lockhart, Chris Botti, John Mayer, Steven Tyler, Josh Groban, and Katherine McPhee, Sting recorded a few fund-raising spots for the station. (The performance was taped for a PBS special to be broadcast during the March pledge drive.) The stars, including Yo-Yo Ma, may record a few promo spots today too, if there's time, spokeswoman Lucy Sholley said. Ernie Boch and his Automatics also taped for 'GBH at the Fraser Performance Studio yesterday.

A few years ago, 81-year-old Peter Phelps was living in homeless shelters and fighting lung cancer. Having left Springfield for Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he hoped to join a clinical study and expected to stay in a hospital, the former teacher and artist instead found himself homeless; eventually, he was successfully treated at the cancer center. Then the widower was faced with rebuilding his life. "The first great shock was that I lived," he said laughing. His second surprise? Getting his own subsidized apartment in Roxbury, where he can paint every day. Hearth, an organization that aids homeless elderly, helped Phelps find a tidy little one-bedroom at Spencer House. And Phelps, who has painted "seriously" for 40 years, promptly created colorful acrylic and ink abstracts for all his neighbors. "Everybody wanted flowers," he said. "So, my God, I painted flowers." Phelps is donating 70 paintings to Hearth, which will be auctioned off and sold tomorrow and Sunday at the Anna Bissonnette House on Washington Street. Fresh off an exhibit at City Hall, Phelps said he's looking forward to selling his paintings for a good cause. "It's called 'time to give back,' " he said.

You have to hand it to Harvard senior Matthew Di Pasquale: He's a brave guy. Di Pasquale is the creator of a new publication called Diamond, and he poses nude in the first issue. (Conceived as a magazine you can pick up at the newstand, Diamond is available only online at the moment.) "I've always loved women," explains the 23-year-old computer science major, who is pictured in the buff standing beside the Charles River in broad daylight. "This transcends porn. This is sexy." The mag isn't sanctioned by the school, but Di Pasquale, who is from Westport, Conn., is holding out hope that it might be. Why did the publisher himself take it all off? "I asked a couple of guys to pose, but it was just a lot easier to do it myself," he told us yesterday. "I'm proud of the way I look." We're sure his parents are, too.

Big man Zdeno Chara was among several Bruins who took part in the team's annual charity golf tournament this week at the Pinehills in Plymouth. (Milan Lucic, Marc Savard, and Patrice Bergeron also made the scene.) In five years, the tourney's raised more than $350,000 for the Boston Bruins Foundation and the B's Alumni Association, which support children's charities.

J.R. Moehringer, author of the best-selling book "The Tender Bar," had a few words of wisdom for BC freshmen at last night's First Year Academic Convocation. (Every freshman had been asked to read Moehringer's memoir over the summer.) Planners of the annual event are apparently prescient because previous speakers include both Barack Obama and John McCain.

If you've got a 5- or 6-year-old girl who looks like Mel Gibson, don't despair. This could be her big break. Boston Casting is looking for a girl to play the actor's daughter in "Edge of Darkness," currently filming around Boston. An open casting call will be held from noon to 2 p.m. tomorrow at 129 Braintree St. in Boston. Girls don't need experience, but they should bring two photos.

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