Working again with Cowie, Winfrey put nine months into creating the event, which began with a Friday luncheon for just the legends and young 'uns at her 42-acre estate in Montecito, Calif., moved to the Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara for the Saturday-night ball and then returned home for a gospel brunch on Sunday. It consumed seemingly every waking moment as she consulted nonstop with best friend Gayle King. "We would go exercising," Winfrey recalls, "and Gayle would have a cell phone, a Blackberry and the guest list."

Which was strictly A-list for the main event, the Legends Ball: Usher, Tom Cruise with new girlfriend Katie Holmes, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston, Barbra Streisand and Barbara Walters. If some details sound excessive – 200 waiters for 362 guests, special music composed just for the dessert course – the joy as the women met and mingled justified the whole thing. "I hadn't seen Diahann Carroll in a long time, and I got her number," said legend Diana Ross. "I want to trade numbers tonight, that's what I want to do!"
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