Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty, a onetime bit player on the sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" who went on to star in such films as "Bonnie and Clyde," "Heaven Can Wait" and "Shampoo," and to win an Academy Award for directing "Reds," Thursday was named recipient of the American Film Institute's 36th life achievement award.

\o7This column explores the juncture between celebrity and politics. \f7 Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji arrived in town this week to an intimate gathering that included just about every politically active leading man around. Warren Beatty, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal attended the reception at producer Mike Medavoy's Beverly Hills estate Wednesday night to meet Ganji, a human rights activist who was imprisoned in Iran for six years.

No one makes a speech like Warren Beatty. He was in prime form Thursday night when he accepted the 36th annual American Film Institute Life Achievement Award at the Kodak Theatre where he managed to be simultaneously focused and scattered, funny and touching. "I can't think of anybody I don't like in this room," he said, adding that he knew the cholesterol levels of several of the people in the star-studded crowd. "God knows I do love making good movies. There is really nothing like it."

Warren Beatty: The American Film Institute's Life Achievement tribute to actor-director Warren Beatty, listed as airing Wednesday on the USA cable channel on the Sunday Calendar section's TV This Week page, has been postponed to July 8.

Warren Beatty: The American Film Institute's Life Achievement tribute to actor-director Warren Beatty, listed as airing last Wednesday on USA cable on the TV This Week page, has been postponed to July 8.

"I see nothing wrong with Maria [Shriver] becoming a Republican. I'd say many of my best friends are Republicans," says Warren Beatty, Oscar-winning actor-director and liberal citizen-activist. Over the phone, his legendary voice purrs. He knows exactly what he's saying, and although his tone is wry, he's not really joking. Though Gov.

The next election for governor of California is a long way off, but if you thought we had fun last time, just imagine the possibilities. Arnold "Big Boy" Schwarzenegger runs for reelection, and his opponent is either Rob Reiner or Warren Beatty. It'll be an all-Hollywood political slamfest, and it could be all the merrier if Gary Coleman decides to give it another try. Not that any of those actors, including Schwarzenegger, have said they'll run in 2006.

A federal judge has ruled that actor Warren Beatty, who starred in and directed the 1990 movie "Dick Tracy," can proceed with a lawsuit he filed in May against a unit of Tribune Co. over rights to the comic book detective. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson denied Tribune Media Services Inc.'

HERE'S something I'll bet you didn't know about Warren Beatty: When he was a cute-as-a-puppy teenager, he was baptized, via the full-immersion method, in a see-through font, in front of an enthusiastically devout congregation. Given his subsequent career as a movie star, enigmatic public figure and, yes, legendary womanizer, this image creates a disconnect: How does this shivering sliver evolve into the alleged playboy of the Western world?