Bill Clinton and stars attend L.A. gala

Was there ever any doubt that William Jefferson Clinton would ”go Hollywood” after escaping the confines of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Sunday night found our former president at the Regent Beverly Wilshire ballroom sandwiched between Michelle Pfieffer and Elizabeth Taylor as he, President and Mrs. Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Bob Newhart, ‘N Sync, and the cast of ”Ally McBeal” were honored at the second annual A Family Celebration, benefiting a slew of lesser known charities. Whoopi Goldberg toasted the president, telling EW.com that she was happy to publicly thank her friend ”for the past eight years of social awareness.”

Clinton’s acceptance speech was appropriately gracious, but it was his saxophone jam session with B.B. King that got Calista Flockhart & Co. on their feet, swaying to the blues. Having apparently tired of Golden Globe date Robert Downey Jr., Flockhart’s now holding the hand of ”Ally” costar James LeGros, with whom she drove off around 11:30.

The evening’s other performers included ‘N Sync, Marc Anthony, Dwight Yoakam, and Ray Charles, whose rendition of ”Georgia” was a favorite with Brady mom Florence Henderson — a name synonymous with the event’s family theme. ”’Family’ and ‘children’ are two words that always grab me,” said Henderson. Also reeled in by the family message: new dad / ”X-Men” star James Marsden and new mom / ”Practice” star Camryn Manheim. But there was no word on the subject from Britney Spears, who attended with boyfriend Justin Timberlake.