Producer David Gest always does things in a big way; but he really outdid himself at the Dionne Warwick 45th Anniversary Spectacular. And spectacular it was, when such artists as Olivia Newton- John, Della Reese, Smokey Robinson and Gloria Estefan sang their hearts out to support Dionne. Did you know that she has sold more than 100 million records during her career, and that she was the first female artist to win the Best Female Pop and Best Female R& B Performance Awards at the Grammies?

with Dionne Warwick{@IMG:HPfmHL3M27LsyEXZ4cKT0qw0NUzSEt|Movie Picture@}Angela Bassett at Dionne Warwick's

45th Anniversary SpectacularComposer Burt Bacharach, who wrote most of Dionne’s songs, including “The Look of Love” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” accompanied her when she warbled a medley of their greatest hits. Bachrach recently released an album “At This Time” which is quite a departure from his usual “Love, Sweet Love” arrangements. At age 77, Burt is outraged at the state of the world, and he has composed a selection of powerful songs with titles like: “Who Are these People” and “Where Did it Go”. As the silver haired composer stated, “I have never rocked the boat before, but can’t wait any longer. This is the most passionate album I have ever made,”

Gorgeous Angela Bassett wearing a fitted ivory ball gown, acted as mistress of ceremonies. Did you know that she and hubby Courtney B. Vance just became proud parents of twins? How did she keep that fab figure • better ask the surrogate mother who bore them for her!

Another ageless beauty, Lesley Uggams belted out “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”, and the always outstanding Gladys Knight’s rendition of “A House Is Not A Home” had the audience applauding madly. Richard Carpenter had Warwick in tears when he performed “Close to You” with her, and said, “Dionne possesses all of the qualities that Karen had in her unbelievable voice.”

and Olivia Newton-JohnBut the piece d’resistance was at the finale of the 2 hour plus show, when Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Dionne closed with “That’s What Friends Are For”. He even played his harmonica to accompany the legendary singers.

So what’s next for David Gest? How about a book entitled, “The Gest List • from A to Z”. The award winning producer has worked with such superstars as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Elizabeth Taylor, and just ended a troubled marriage with Liza Minnelli. Epitome Publishing states the book is due for release in 2007. Should be a blockbuster.

And if you want to catch the aforementioned tribute to Dionne, not to worry. The entire show was taped for television. Will advise you when you can catch this TV Special on the Hollywood Beat.