Sideshow: Singing for more than supper

It's amazing how money can bring people together. Outspoken gay rights activist and pop star Sir

Elton John

performed at conservative bloviator

Rush Limbaugh

's wedding Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla. Limbaugh has been known to make a snarky remark or two about gays. A triumph of political compromise? Sort of. People mag says Sir Elton, who has a civil union with

David Furnish

, agreed to be a wedding minstrel for Rush for cold hard cash -

$1 mil

, to be exact. Rush, 59, has nothing against civil unions. Limbaugh, who has been down the aisle three times before, wed

Kathryn Rogers

, a 33-year-old gal he met six years ago at a charity golf tournament.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Mariah Carey, who showed us what a pure, artistic heart she has in the rags-to-riches pic Glitter, got a bag o' cash singing for the suits at the Wal-Mart shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. The event also featured corporate courtesans Jamie Foxx, Josh Groban, American Idol's Lee DeWyze, and Enrique Iglesias.

Charlie Sheen

agreed Monday to a plea deal in his domestic-violence case that will land him in jail for 30 days, said

Yale Galanter

, attorney for Sheen's wife

Brooke

. Sheen, who was arrested after allegedly assaulting Brooke on Christmas Day at a vacation spot in Aspen, Colo., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. In exchange, prosecutors will drop felony charges against the actor, Galanter said.

Sheen also will participate in a work-release program: He'll teach acting classes - for free - at an Aspen theater. The Two and a Half Men star also must serve three months' probation. His lawyer has yet to comment.

Oprah

Winfrey

and reality-TV guru

Mark Burnett

are producing a new talent show for Oprah's TV network. Set to premiere in January,

Our Own Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star

will search high and low for TV's next great talk-show host. To be considered, upload an audition vid on Oprah's website,

» READ MORE: www.oprah.com

.

Legendary pop and rock producer

Phil Spector

, 70, who is behind bars for a minimum of 19 years for the murder of actress

Lana Clarkson

, has produced a new album, 30 years after he left the industry. The artist? Spector's 29-year-old wife,

Rachelle Spector

. USA Today says Rachelle's debut disc,

Out of My Chelle

, will be available for digital download Tuesday and come out on CD July 20.

"This is a breakthrough year for both of us," says Rachelle, 29. "It's not just the album. This is about turning the negative into a positive and getting back to the roots of music and what music is all about."

That's how Danish journalists, including the Copenhagen Post, are describing

Whitney Houston

's concert Thursday in the Danish capital. Apparently, Whitney's performance so upset her fans that several hundred audience members walked out on her. Whitney has been slammed for her reportedly weak vocals in virtually every one of her recent European dates. Angry fans booed her for singing off-key in Birmingham, England.

The beloved American diva is back on tour after canceling a slew of shows in April when she was hospitalized with nose and throat problems.

Traffic

and

Hotel Rwanda

star

Don Cheadle

was named a U.N. goodwill ambassador on Saturday at a confab in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The actor vowed to do knightly battle with global warming and promote conservation. . . . Popsters

the Pixies

have canceled their scheduled concert in Tel Aviv to protest Israel's actions in the Gaza flotilla affair. . . . We're so awfully cross with

Alanis Morissette

. People says the 36-year-old iconic "Ironic" singer married hip-hopster

Souleye

(

Mario Treadway

), 30, in a supersecret, supersonic do on May 22 and didn't bother telling us. . . . That knighted cinematic rogue, Sir

Michael Caine

, 77, is working on a sequel to his '93 memoir,

What's It All About?

Due in November,

The Elephant to Hollywood

will recount the

Alfie

star's movements for the last two decades. . . .

Rihanna

has dyed her hair crazy red. . . .

Sandra Bullock

and

Scarlett Johansson

, who are both women, kissed at the MTV Movie Awards. Yawn . . . Musical theater dance 'n' singing dynamo

Matthew Morrison

, who plays coach Will Schuester on

Glee

, is taking a sabbatical from the show this summer to record his debut album. "I'm writing all the music for it. It's me and a big orchestra behind me," MM says. The music, he says, is a "dance heavy" cross between

Michael Buble

and

Justin Timberlake

. (Buble+Justin? Oh, what heavenly nectar!)

Heidi Montag

and

Spencer Pratt

have made it even easier for us to hate them. The couple, who staged a fake wedding in '08 as a publicity stunt, recently announced they are splitting up.

But evidence is mounting that it's all just another cheap stunt.

Heidi recently moved out of the matrimonial home amid much hype, explaining that she needs to "get away from the lies." But, according to the Huffington Post, Pratt has been seen visiting her at her new pad.

And Hills costar Audrina Patridge tells People that Speidi is "inseparable and in love."

Visionary Mexican director

Guillermo del Toro

(

Pan's Labyrinth

) explains on the One Ring Forum why he quit the

J.R.R. Tolkien

-est of all film adaptations,

The Hobbit

.

"My commitment to the project demanded enormous sacrifices both in personal and professional terms," says del Toro, who relocated his family to New Zealand, where the film is to be shot. But, says del Toro, his sacrifices got him nothing but interminable delays and scheduling problems so bad, it has made him want to run far, far away.

"Trust me on this," he writes, "leaving NZ and the Hobbit crew is extremely painful."

Action star

Jet Li

, renowned for his mad kung fu skills, says his new flick,

Ocean Heaven

, which opened Monday in Hong Kong, is nothing like his previous action hits. It's a sensitive message drama about autism, said the star, who has dropped 18 pounds because of a thyroid condition.

"This movie is about sincerity," Li, 47, said, according to USAToday.com. "It shows that in this day and age that filmmakers are willing to do something for society."

In a shrewd p.r. move, Li hawked the film by taking a group of autistic adults to visit the dolphins at Hong Kong's Ocean Park.

"I hope everyone can examine what is the most important relationship in life - the relationship between parent and child," said the Once Upon a Time in China star.