Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Happy Birthday | William Jefferson Clinton—the man, the myth, the legend—celebrates his 63rd birthday today. The former First Lady of the United States, Tipper Gore, is turning 61. Actress Kyra Sedgwick is 44. New York City councilmember Melinda Katz is turning 44, too. Friends star Matthew Perry is 40. Former presidential candidate Fred Thompson is 67. GOP political operative Mary Matalin is 56. Literary agent Lynn Nesbit is turning 71. Actor Peter Gallagher turns 54. Entourage's Kevin Dillon turns 44. Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla is 57. Rapper Fat Joe is turning 39. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 43. And one of the greatest actors of his generation, John Stamos, will be blowing out 46 candles on his cake today.

Kyra & Kevin: Lessons Learned | Kyra Sedgwick and her husband Kevin Bacon lost some money to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, as you probably heard, but they weren't completely wiped out. "The fact of the matter is that we did not lose everything," Sedgwick says in an interview with the AP. "I think the interesting thing about it was that I always thought, 'We're so boring. We should be in the tabloids more. C'mon honey, let's have a scandal.' ... And I think when you say 'no comment,' that's, of course, where they're going to go, because it's fun, and it grabs headlines and people will be more interested." Not sure "fun" is the right word, but it certainly was a sexier angle to the story than focusing on another elderly Jewish couple in Boca. [AP]

• Madonna's backup dancers haven't been making friends at the Bryant Park Hotel. Reports a staffer: "They are presumptuous and cheap. Nearly every one of them have stiffed their bellman and servers, and what's worse is they have tons of stuff." [P6]
• The situations continues to deteriorate for Lindsay Lohan: She's rumored to be pawning jewelry to pay the bills. [Star via Popcrunch]
• Britney intends to "drop by Buckingham Palace" and say hi to the Queen when she's in London, which is awfully generous of her, isn't it? [Mirror]
• The circumstances surrounding David Carradine's death are still a little murky. Suicide? Sex-related accidental death? The investigation is still underway. [People, Us, TMZ]

Ezra Merkin, the financier who steered $1.8 billion into Bernie Madoff's pockets, officially stepped down today as the chairman of GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors. The move was widely expected given the reputation-shattering events of the past few weeks, a staggeringly swift fall for a  resident of New York's richest apartment building and the president of one of the city's most prominent synagogues. But when there's blood in the water, the sharks turn up for dinner, which is why Merkin's art adviser, Ben Heller, says his phone is ringing off the hook. More

Good News, Bad News | Two more victims of Bernie Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme: Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, reports New York's Daily Intel, news that Bacon's publicist confirmed today. But there's good news for one other Madoff victim: Crain's reports that Yeshiva University, which previously indicated it had lost $110 million as part of the scam, now says it "only" lost $14.5 million, an error the school attributes to "fictitious numbers provided to it by Ezra Merkin."

Happy Birthday | Bill Clinton is 62 years old today. We're sure he'll find a very special way to celebrate. Others who will be blowing out candles today: Kyra Sedgwick, who is turning 43, author Frank McCourt, who is 78, and the Bronx's very own Fat Joe, who is celebrating his 38th. Former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is 66 today. City Council member Melinda Katz is turning 43. Literary agent Lynn Nesbit is 70. John Stamos is 45. And Matthew Perry—remember him?—is 39.