Sexy vegetarians

New York – Prince has been voted the “world’s sexiest vegetarian” in PETA’s annual online poll.

A strict vegan, Prince, 47, wrote in the liner notes of his latest album, “3121,” about the ills behind wool production. He closed the disc with a quote from Mohandas Gandhi: “2 my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.”

Prince shares the honor with Kristen Bell, the 25-year-old star of “Veronica Mars,” which is being carried over from UPN to the new CW network this fall.

Bell, in a statement, said of her vegetarianism: “I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with – dogs and cats, for example – from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my brussels sprouts!”

Runners-up in the poll, which PETA said Monday received over 40,000 votes, include Natalie Portman, Nicollette Sheridan and Joaquin Phoenix.

Handing out Tonys

New York – Julia Roberts didn’t receive a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in “Three Days of Rain,” but she will be on stage at the 60th annual Tony Awards when they are presented June 11 at Radio City Music Hall.

Roberts will be among the presenters during the three-hour show, which will be televised by CBS (7 p.m. EDT). Also announced Monday as presenting awards for the best of the 2005-06 Broadway season: Ralph Fiennes, Eric McCormack, Cynthia Nixon, Martin Short, Alfre Woodard and Anna Paquin.

No host has been announced yet.

Richards returns home

London – Keith Richards has returned to the United States after being treated for a head injury in New Zealand, his publicist said.

“He is feeling great, happy to be home and looking forward to getting back on the road with the Rolling Stones next month,” according to a statement Monday from LD Communications in London.

The 62-year-old guitarist, who lives in Weston, Conn., was injured April 27 in Fiji. News reports have variously claimed that he fell out of a palm tree or from a jet ski.

Richards later had surgery in Auckland to relieve pressure in his head.

A revised tour schedule will soon be announced, according to a statement on the Stones’ Web site.

Humanitarian hero

Houston – Bob Geldof has been honored with a humanitarian award by the Holocaust Museum Houston for his work organizing 1985’s Live Aid concert.

Geldof received the 2006 Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award at the museum’s annual dinner Sunday night. He told the audience that he was humbled by the award.

“I can honestly say I feel fraudulent standing here” among survivors of the Holocaust, the 51-year-old Irish rocker said. “Their greatest triumph was that they defeated history. Their unique triumph is the grace with which they lived their lives.”

Geldof was inspired to organize the concert after watching a nightly news broadcast on the Ethiopian famine.

“The next day I thought, ‘This requires more than simply putting a pound in the charity box,”‘ he said.

He composed “Do They Know It’s Christmas” and recorded it with his friends in the rock ‘n’ roll business. That recording led to Live Aid fundraising concerts in London and Philadelphia, which featured 60 top acts and a worldwide TV audience.

Geldof organized last year’s Live 8 concerts.

Question authority

Canton, N.Y. – Viggo Mortensen didn’t wear a cap and gown to his own graduation from St. Lawrence University 26 years ago as a protest against alleged unfair labor practices by their manufacturers.

But the 47-year-old actor, who starred in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and 2005’s “A History of Violence,” wore the cap and gown Sunday as he encouraged graduates to stand up for their own beliefs.

“I’m certainly not asking anyone to run out and burn down city hall, or to necessarily engage in any overt protest,” Mortensen told the 567 graduates at St. Lawrence’s 150th commencement. “I simply advocate your continuing to explore being involved citizens. Don’t ever be afraid to ask the question, ‘Why?”‘

Mortensen received an honorary doctor of arts degree.