Rosemary Clooney Gives Benefit a Christmas Lift

WHITE CHRISTMAS--Naturally that’s what Rosemary Clooney wound up singing at her Beverly Hills home Tuesday night. The packed-to-the-rafters kickoff was for the second annual “Singers Salute the Songwriters,” presented by the Betty Clooney Foundation for the Brain-Injured and set for April 6. This year’s concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion honors Stevie Wonder, Henry Mancini, Sammy Fain, Jimmy van Heusen and Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach. Last year’s smash inaugural event raised almost $200,000--but this year look for a much bigger take, since the advance sales (without advantage of the honorees being named) are already up to $68,000. The foundation in ’87 will open its day-care center for the brain-damaged.

HOLIDAY IDEAS--Kudos to Rogers and Cowan, the public relations company, which this year eschewed business gifts and instead made a contribution to the Scott Newman Foundation. . . . Cheers to society photographer Alan Berliner and his wife, Ruth, who continued their long-standing practice of making a contribution to Childrens Hospital as their holiday gesture. . . .

FIRST-EVER--Save the date, Feb. 11, when heavy-hitters get together to honor Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher attorney Frank Wheat. With proceeds from the dinner going to set up the Frank Wheat Fellowship in Public Interest Law (at the Center for Law in the Public Interest), lots of his buddies have signed on as honorary co-chairs. Like former Assistant Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Walter Gerken, Victor Palmieri, UC Regent Stanley Sheinbaum, Mickey and Paul Ziffren, former Education Secretary Shirley Hufstedler and her attorney husband, Seth, and Marion and Rocco Siciliano.

HAPPY 350th BIRTHDAY--Harvard University is celebrating its 3 1/2-century anniversary this year--with events like the recent dinner at the investment firm of Bear, Sterns, addressed by President Derek Bok. Harvard-Radcliffe alumni and friends here can get in on the celebration Jan. 18, when “Harvard Comes to L.A.,” in the form of a “festive day of dialogue with illustrious representations” of the Ivy League school’s faculty and administration. The daylong event will be held at the Faculty Center, UCLA.

STAY HOME, PLEASE--That’s what SPRINT (the Special Preventive Research, Intervention and New Technology for Children at UCLA) wants its supporters to do. “Dear Friends: We have set a goal to eradicate birth defects,” their holiday card reads, telling of SPRINT’s support for the Prenatal Diagnosis Program and the Intervention Program at UCLA. Friends of SPRINT are invited to “Stay Home this benefit season in honor of SPRINT” and thus 100% of contributions to SPRINT will go to programming needs. “Dress: Casual . . . Time: An evening of your choice . . . “ Let’s hope the RSVP’s flood in.

THE ELECTION-IS-OVER-BUT DEPARTMENT--Sen. Alan Cranston plans to make coming elections easier for Democrats in this state. He’s persuaded his campaign manager, Darry Sragow, to stay on to head up his political action committee--Committee for a Democratic Consensus--and plans to expend a lot of energy on fund-raising for Senatorial candidates and registering Democrats to vote. . . .