BEVERLY HILLS—This week in Hollywoodland, we had a mixture of the old and the new. Classic and golden-age star Kirk Douglas finished his one man show, “Before I Forget,” which was attended by our resident Beverly Hills socialite Constance Towers and her handsome husband Ambassador John Gavin. Douglas has been an inspiring star and human being in Hollywood for over six decades, and is still going strong. After a massive stroke that would have ended the career of most mortals, Kirk continued on working and still does today. His one man show was at The Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City, near the former MGM Studio Lot. Towers spoke glowingly of Douglas’s performance and maintained, “He is so inspiring, I remain amazed by Kirk’s inner strength.” The star-studded appearance was well received by the guests and critics alike.

While Oprah Winfrey went on the offensive and pleaded on air to pop singer Rihanna to leave her boyfriend Chris Brown, who allegedly beat the singer last month in a rented car in the Larchmont section of Hollywood. Friends and family have used the press to reach out to the singer, to ask her to contact them and not to be taken in by Brown’s claims that he’ll never hit her again. Actress and advocate for women Robin Givens, as well as Denise Brown, the sister of slain ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, all took to the airwaves to plead to Rhianna to be more of a role model for young women in America and in the world and to never accept abuse as part of a relationship. To quote Oprah Winfrey, “If a man hits you once, he will hit and beat you again.” While Nickelodeon made the awful decision to keep Brown’s name in the running for best male music artist in the upcoming Kids' Choice Awards, actors are in shock and Hollywood is speaking out against this decision by the network.

Mariska Hargitay, daughter of famed '50s bombshell Jayne Mansfield, says that she will be returning to work on her series, “Law and Order: SVU” after a third stay in the hospital for treatment of a collapsed lung in January, which occurred during a sporting accident. The actress is resting at home with her husband and baby. Get well soon, Mariska.

Sarah Michelle Gellar has decided to return to the small screen. Six years since the actress starred as “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer,” Gellar has agreed to join the new comedy series “The Wonderful Maladys,” which will be written and produced by Charles Randolph. No further details were released.

In a surprising turn of events, actor Dennis Quaid has publicly applauded Cedars-Sinai Medical Center staff in Beverly Hills for addressing problems that almost cost his infant twins their lives. The actor's 12-day-old children were given near-lethal doses of a blood thinner when a tired nurse picked up the wrong bottles of Heparin in 2007. The Quaids have settled a lawsuit with the drug supplier of Heparin.

Word has it that singer/actress Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who is newly married and has a baby, will be a cast member in the new CW Network’s “Melrose Place” series. Friends report that she’s excited and feels this is the best way to balance marriage, motherhood and a desire for a career.

Sharon Stone turns 51. Happy Birthday, Sharon!