Beyoncé Shows Her Mettle

10/14/2004 at 06:00 AM EDT

Despite injuring her right hamstring while rehearsing with Destiny's Child last month, Beyoncé will still take the stage at the Oct. 23 Carousel of Hope event at the Beverly Hilton. Though the leg injury is limiting her dancing, she will sing three songs. Josh Groban and Faith Hill also will perform at the annual event, which benefits the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. Jay Leno is set to host; Halle Berry will be honored.

Keeping Busy After Sex
Sex and the City star Kristin Davis was looking forward to some time off after the series wrapped, but she's just going to have to wait. Aside from a development deal with HBO and endorsements with Maybelline and a British supermarket chain, the actress will guest-star on an episode of Will & Grace, airing next month. "There is no time. It is the strangest thing," Davis told us at the National Foundation for Jewish Culture's Fourth Annual Jewish Image Awards in Beverly Hills. She was honored for her portrayal of Judaism on television (for Charlotte's conversion on Sex and the City). "I got all ready and geared up that I was going to have time off, and I tried to make plans in my head for what I was going to do, and it didn't really happen. I mean, I had a moment off. I'm happy, and I'm lucky, but it's a little unexpected."

Also honored at the event was host Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) and The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, who gave us the 411 on what to expect when the FOX series returns Nov. 4. "I don't think it's going to be the year anyone's expecting," he said. "No fistfights, no black-tie affairs, but a whole lot of drama anyway. A lot of couples you think are going to get back together aren't, and it's going to be a roller coaster again."

Specifically, "We have four new characters. We have Nicholas Gonzalez, who plays DJ, who's the smoldering yard guy who works at Caleb's mansion, and, you know, Marisa's been bored all summer, so something may have happened. Olivia Wilde plays Alex, who runs the Bait Shop, which is the new club on the pier that the kids hang out at. She's sort of the bad girl. Shannon Lucio plays Lindsay, who's the smart, middle-class girl who might win Ryan's heart a little bit, make him smile this year. And Michael Cassidy plays Zach, who's sort of the WASP version of Seth. They don't get along so well at first, but they share a love of comic books." Tune in ?

Paying Their Respects
Adam Sandler, Larry David, Chris Rock and Tim Allen were among the many stars at Rodney Dangerfield's funeral in Los Angeles, where guests toasted the late comic with his favorite drink, vodka and cranberry juice. Some celebs' memories of the comedian:
• Bob Saget: "One Thanksgiving he came to dinner. A little later my daughter said, 'Dad, Rodney is smoking pot in the den!' I said, 'Open the sliding glass door and don't tell Grandma."
• Jay Leno: "When I was just starting out in clubs, I spent two weeks living in Rodney's storage room in the club. Rodney would come back and say, 'Hey, give the kid in the closet some food.'"
• Roseanne Barr: "We were both staying at the Pritikin Weight Loss Center, back in 1988. We would sneak out together at night to eat clams and drink and smoke, and then head over to the Comedy Store."
• Jim Carrey: "Rodney and I were polar opposites; but he supported and encouraged me when very few understood what I was doing or why I was doing it. And I'll never forget how kind he was to my father. I remember watching him on the Ed Sullivan Show as a child and laughing, not because I got the jokes, but because my father was in hysterics. His talent was truly timeless."

• By MARISA LAUDADIO and VICKI SHEFF-CAHAN