David Geffen roasted by Tom Hanks at star-studded birthday bash

by Emily Smith
Page Six
February 26, 2018

Media magnate David Geffen celebrated his 75th birthday on Saturday in Los Angeles with a host of billionaires and big names - and was fondly roasted by Tom Hanks in front of the power crowd.

Music mogul Jimmy Iovine threw the bash for Brooklyn-born studio executive, record exec and philanthropist Geffen on the grounds of his LA home, with guests such as Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Jennifer Aniston, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.

Elton John performed "Circle of Life" at the Broadway-themed bash, which was also attended by Disney's Bob Iger, Netflix's Ted Sarandos, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenburg, Discovery Communications' David Zaslav, Dr. Dre, Irving Azoff, Les Moonves, Tom Freston, Brian Grazer and Bradley Cooper.

A source said, "Jonathan Groff from 'Hamilton' performed, as did Elton, and Tom Hanks emceed the event. Tom was cracking jokes about David's yacht [the $600 million, 454-foot Rising Sun], saying the boat is so big that you could land a jet on it, and asked how many people at the party had managed to snag an invite onboard."

Last summer, Barack and Michelle Obama joined Geffen for a cruise, along with Winfrey, Springsteen and Hanks.

Hanks also poked fun at Geffen's love of Broadway, saying that the mogul often talks about the latest production he's seen: "He'd say, 'It was s - - t. Take away the "S" and it's a hit.' " The Oscar winner also joked about the number of billionaires in the room, quipping, "There's a jam of jets at Van Nuys airport."

A newly single Aniston was there with Tobey Maguire's ex, Jen Meyer. Said a spy, "[Aniston] was in good spirits. She was hanging out with her girlfriends. They spent the night with Courteney Cox and Erin Foster." Also mingling were Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Apollo's Leon Black, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner, Dasha Zukhova and Stavros Niarchos.