Stars Give Helping Hands

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/03/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Cruella De Vil working for a good cause? The answer is yes, and she joins the ranks of Clint Eastwood, Jewel, Christina Ricci, Helen Hunt, Woody Allen, George Clooney, Lisa Kudrow, Frankie Muniz and Monica Lewinsky in the process. Starting today, AOL and InStyle magazine (a sister publication of PEOPLE) are holding an online auction of more than 50 celebrity interpretations of "Helping Hands" -- literally. Conan O'Brien has drawn (with colored pencils) a freckled hand "self-portrait" whose sale, like those of the other works of star art, will aid the various philanthropic causes of the celebrities, including AmFar and UNICEF. Clint Eastwood, hoping to benefit the Carmel (Calif.) Youth Center, did a black charcoal outline of his big hand, then signed his palm in green. Glenn Close, as Cruella, shows off her dragon lady hand, compete with red nails. Her rendering will aid the environmental Riverkeeper Fund. The Helping Hands holiday shopping catalogue may be accessed on AOL at Shop@AOL (keyword: shopping) or via the Net at [e-mail].