The Scene: A book party at the...

The Scene: A book party at the Beverly Hills Hotel for “Hang-Ups: Paintings by Jonathan Winters.” The comedian, a longtime dabbler in acrylics, has joined the ranks of other celeb Da Vincis with his new Random House collection.

The Buzz: Lots of amateur art critics. “To me he’s half Magritte, half Grandma Moses,” one guest observed.

Who was there: Winters, his editor David Rosenthal, Stanley Kramer, Jack Gilardi, Richard Anderson, Julie Dees, Gordon Hunt, Olavee Martin, Alice Ghostley, Mrs. Morton (Dear Abby) Phillips and Brooke Adams, who arrived late carrying her baby in one of those yuppie papoose sacks.

Dress mode: Business suits and after work casual for most guests, though some sported the New York literary rumpled look. Winters wore a slate gray turtleneck with a hound’s tooth jacket. Fashion statements: Dear Abby’s battery-powered broach, blinking with voice-activated LEDs.

Entertainment: Checking out the displayed paintings, with titles such as “Thoughts of a Hollywood Actor While Drowning in His Pool,” “House Full of Old Gumballs,” and “Hung Up on Strange Fruit”--multicolored coat hangars suspended over multicolored apples.

Money Matters: Winters’ acrylics sell for $3,000 to $5,000 each. His book costs $24.95. Plus tax.

Overheard: “We’re having a great year!” editor Rosenthal exclaimed. “We got class and we’re making a lot of money!”

Chow: Sesame chicken strips, pizza bites, quichettes, and egg rolls. Plus lots of champagne. Triumphs: Drawing a good crowd, despite the Chicago Bears-Los Angeles Rams game on Monday Night Football.

Glitches: A confused concierge, who, when asked for the site of the Winters party, sniffed “Perhaps you were looking for the Beverly Hilton Hotel. “

Law of Physics: When a large party is held in two rooms, why do all the guests invariably squeeze into the smaller of the two?