The Waldorf's Grand Ballroom was transformed into a Magical Circus Spectacular for this year's Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala, themed "Beauty Under the Big Top," inspired by the 1964 Hayworth classic, Circus World. Guests were encouraged to dress in "circus chic" and were entertained by amazing feats performed by Neil Goldberg's Cirque.

Among the glitterati: Joan Rivers, Rita Cosby, Peter Boyle, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang, Claudia Cohen, Bobby Kennedy Jr., Joan Collins and Percy Gibson, Anne Hearst, Margo Catsimatidis, Lois and Buzz Aldrin, Francine LeFrak, Cornelia and Marty Bregman, Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, Donna Dixon Aykroyd, Jonathan and Somers Farkas, Susan and John Hess, and Les Moonves. The Sheet spied Regis Philbin with his wife, Joy, dancing cheek to cheek-like a young couple in love, when a man suddenly cut in… not to dance with Joy, but to give Regis the score for the Yankees!

Gala Chair Nancy Corzine addressed the seated guests and described her mother, Rita Johnson (who lost her battle with Alzheimer's less than two years ago), as her "constant cheerleader and best friend," the one who motivated her to help find a cure for this devastating illness.

Barbara Walters presented the Alzheimer's Association Lifetime Achievement Award to Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, who in 1984 founded the Rita Hayworth Gala (held annually in New York and Chicago) in honor of her late mother, who suffered from the disease for years.

Walters also honored broadcast journalist and First Lady of California Maria Shriver with the Alzheimer's Awareness Award. Shriver (sans hubby, Gov. Schwarzenegger) paid tribute to her friend, (Princess) "Yaz," for the brave way in which she coped with her mother's illness, and how she captured Hayworth's "brilliance" so that it forever reflects a light on the Association's cause. Shriver then read an excerpt from her fourth book, What's Happening to Grandpa? (Little Brown & Co., 2004), based on her own experiences since her father, Sargeant, was diagnosed with the disease several years ago. "I had struggled to find just the right words to explain Alzheimer's to my own kids, until my father put it into context for me," she told the audience, as mom Eunice proudly looked on. "I included his explanation in the book, revealing it in the story of a little girl sharing a special time with her grandpa."

Shriver then praised the courage of her father and mother, as they continue the journey they set out on together a half-century ago, and for those who will walk down the same path in the future.

Talk about "Beauty Under the Big Top"….