At home with Hefner

Kevin Burns left Boston a long time ago, but the time he spent here - as a film student at BU, as a teaching assistant, as a projectionist, as the manager of the Cleveland Circle Cinema - was key to his success in showbiz. "I was a film geek," says Burns, "and Boston was a perfect place to be then." Nowadays, Burns spends a lot of time at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. Burns is a buddy of Hugh Hefner's and the brains behind "The Girls Next Door," the irreverent reality show that returns for a fifth season Sunday on E! "The mansion is like 'Alice in Wonderland,' says Burns, who befriended Hef while producing a bio of the Playboy founder for A&E. Burns doesn't watch reality TV, calling it obnoxious. "It's a lot of people yelling at each other," he says. Burns conceived of "The Girls Next Door" as an unscripted sitcom in which the bunnies - Bridget Marquardt, Holly Madison, and Kendra Wilkinson - would be Hef's funny foils. "We didn't expect those girls to be the Holy Trinity. It just sort of evolved," Burns said. "If people think they're dumb blondes, they're dumb like foxes." (They're also, it turns out, not exclusive with the Playboy poobah: Wilkinson is seeing Philadelphia Eagles player Hank Baskett and Madison has been getting cozy lately with Criss Angel.) So how much longer will we be watching Hef wander around the mansion in his bathrobe? "He's 82, but as long he can make it up those stairs, he'll do it," Burns told us. "I think he'd love to do the show until they close the lid."

Michael Schlow was one of the famous foodies who put their feet up at the Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival after party, held at Shrine Saturday. Joining Alta Strada's Schlow were Food Network stars Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Ingrid Hoffman, "Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto, and Shrine's chefs Edwyn Ferarri and Kevin Long. . . . Saks Fifth Avenue celebrated its 30th anniversary with a party benefiting the MSPCC, and the crowd included Channel 7 anchor Frances Rivera and a Cher look-alike.

Playing the field

Speaking of Playboy, its enchanting emissaries were peddling the men's mag at the annual extravaganza called CollegeFest, which took place Saturday at the Hynes. Taking part were Playmate Kelly Carrington, Cyber Girl of the Year Jo Garcia, and Miss Playboy Mobile Amber J.

Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin was the guest of honor at Saturday's Zootopia! 2008, a black-tie get-together at the InterContinental that celebrated Zoo New England's conservation work. . . . Jim Belushi surprised folks at the Beehive the other night, jumping on stage for an impromptu jam with jazzmen David Gilmore, Matt Garrison, and Rudy Royston. Belushi played harmonica on four songs.

The obsession with all things Jackie O continues. Believe it or not, William Kuhn is writing about the books the former first lady acquired and edited as an editor at Doubleday. Here's the pitch: "[Onassis] told her own story - her journey as a wife, a mother, aesthete, armchair intellectual, and unwilling celebrity - through the medium of other people's books." Sounds good, but is it true? One of the writers Onassis worked with was Michael Jackson, whose 1988 autobiography, "Moonwalk," she edited. Suffice to say, it was not a pleasant experience. We're told Wacko Jacko threatened to shelve the book unless Jackie wrote the forward. Miffed, Onassis complied.

MTV VJ Susie Castillo had a different idea of success when she was younger. "When I was 7 years old I wanted to be a garbage-truck driver," said the Methuen native and former Miss USA, laughing. Why? Because she thought the trash compacter was cool. That didn't work out, but she's made a name for herself nonetheless. Castillo has a contract with Neutrogena, a clothing line in the works, and a role on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," which she'll begin shooting next month. Saturday, Castillo was in Boston to promote her latest project, a book called "Confidence Is Queen: The Four Keys to Ultimate Beauty Through Positive Thinking." She chatted with fans Saturday at a book signing at the Borders in her hometown. "I've been trying to be a good role model for the kids back home," she said.

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