Hollywood’s Romance With Bill Clinton Heats Up : Politics: Upcoming fund-raisers indicate industry bigwigs are backing the Democrats. Optimism is replacing post-primary malaise.

It may not have been love at first sight, but most movers and shakers in Hollywood are now firmly committed to Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton and are planning to demonstrate their affection through a series of glittering fund-raisers.

About 150 people are expected to pony up $5,000 each to attend a private dinner Thursday at the Beverly Hills home of MCA Chairman Lew Wasserman, with Clinton as the guest of honor. Included on the guest list are media mogul David Geffen, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and Columbia Pictures Chairman Mark Canton.

John F. Cooke, president of the Disney Channel, is putting together a dinner at the end of the month for Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee, and on Sept. 16 the Hollywood Women’s Political Caucus (HWPC) will sponsor a $1,000-a-ticket event at the home of independent producer Ted Field that will feature a rare performance by Barbra Streisand.

In only a few short weeks, post-primary malaise about the presidential campaign has been replaced by a kind of optimism that Democrats rarely permit themselves.

“Boy, has it changed quickly,” said Margery Tabankin, HWPC executive director. “People think that this time, we really have a chance to win.”

Said Clinton fund-raiser Bob Burkett, vice president of Field’s production company, Interscope: “Not only has the entertainment community become engaged in this election, but the excitement and enthusiasm is the highest I’ve ever experienced in any campaign.”

As one measure of the altered mood in Hollywood, producer and political activist Norman Lear, who last month described himself as someone who “couldn’t be a more disaffected Democrat,” will attend the Wasserman dinner along with his wife, Lyn.

“I love Chasen’s garlic toast and Lew always uses Chasen’s,” Lear quipped, without elaborating further.

“I think he’s getting caught up in the same thing everybody’s getting caught up in . . . the sense that maybe there is an opportunity for change,” said Arthur J. Kropp, president of People for the American Way, the advocacy organization founded by Lear. Kropp said Lear, a longtime friend of Clinton, has also offered creative help to the campaign.

Hollywood’s new-found infatuation with the Democratic ticket is attributed to a number of factors: the withdrawal of maverick Ross Perot from the presidential race; Clinton’s choice of a vice presidential candidate who wins high marks from the entertainment industry for his record on the environment, a pet cause; his and Gore’s performance at the Democratic convention; the much-acclaimed bus tours and--not least--the pair’s huge lead in the polls.

“The single biggest factor is revulsion against George Bush and Dan Quayle,” said Danny Goldberg, vice president of Atlantic Records and chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Goldberg said he is involved in planning a fund-raising concert for the Democratic ticket, but no details are available yet.

One holdout is publicist Pat Kingsley, a Perot supporter who had caused some earlier trepidation in the Clinton camp on account of her star-studded client list, which includes Jodie Foster, Cher, Candice Bergen and Sally Field. Kingsley said she intends to vote for Clinton but will “use my energies to support people in House and Senate races. . . . I’m not a giant (Clinton) fan.” Kingsley said she does not know why Clinton makes her uneasy. “I can’t put my finger on it.”

For most Democrats in Hollywood, however, the choice is much easier. “Hollywood’s all about perception. The perception is ‘get on the bandwagon,’ ” said independent producer Howard Rosenman.

Super-agent Michael Ovitz and former Fox Inc. Chairman Barry Diller will be out of town, but for many other powerful people in Hollywood, Wasserman’s home will be the place to be Thursday night. Neither the MCA chairman nor his associates will discuss the event, the proceeds of which will go to the Democratic National Committee. The dinner is expected to be served alfresco, and no entertainment is planned. Wasserman, as is his custom, is said to be handling many of the details himself.

Also taking place outdoors, the Hollywood Women’s Political Caucus event will be simultaneously beamed to fund-raisers at various locations around the country, an organizer said. Clinton will be on hand to see such performers as Whoopi Goldberg and Mike Nichols and Elaine May, who will revive their comedy act for only the second time in two decades. Geena Davis will open the program, and Warren Beatty and Annette Bening will also participate, Tabankin said.

She said about 1,000 people are expected to attend. About half the proceeds will go to the Clinton-Gore campaign, with the rest divided among the Democratic Party, HWPC and the U.S. Senate campaigns of Californians Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.