An A-List Party for a Matthau Memoir

The Scene: Wednesday night’s publication party for Carol Matthau, whose memoir, “Among the Porcupines,” was just published by Turtle Bay Books. Irving and Mary Lazar threw the party for client Matthau at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The Buzz: As detailed in her book, Matthau is one of those people who seems to know everyone. She’s been married to William Saroyan; been close friends with James Agee, Kenneth Tynan and Gloria Vanderbilt, and was the basis for the Holly Golightly character in Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The guest list for the party was, predictably, huge.

Who Was There: Carol Matthau, husband Walter and son Charlie; Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows; David Begelman; Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss; Jackie Bisset; George Burns; Gordon and Judi Davidson; Shirlee Fonda; David Geffen; Gene Kelly; Norman Lear; Roddy MacDowall; Suzanne Pleshette; Sydney Pollack; Joan Quinn; Jimmy Stewart, and Brandon Tartikoff. Joni Evans, head of Turtle Bay Books and Matthau’s editor, showed up to lend support, along with a contingent of Random House heavy hitters from New York.

What Else Was There: A large and rather unhappy looking porcupine sat on the patio in a small enclosure, making guests wonder whether the pants of their expensive suits were about to be raked by quills. “I’ve just met him and I’m terrified,” said Carol Matthau, looking nervously at the porcupine as if it might suddenly decide to perform some long-distance acupuncture.

Fashion Statement: Walter Matthau’s pink-and-blue-striped shirt, teamed with a yellow tie with black polka dots.

Chow: Hors d’oeuvres and white wine. As a concession to the East Coast visitors, there was also hard liquor--in Hollywood, of course, it’s considered suspicious to actually drink cocktails at a cocktail party. The porcupine ate carrots and apples.

Quoted: Matthau’s last book, a novel called “The Secret in the Daisy,” was published 30 years ago. Asked why it took so long to write a second book, she blinked and said, “Well it’s not like something you do at the end of the day, like collecting stamps.”

Triumphs: Watching Julia Phillips, the author of “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again,” schmoozing with film-industry types. Phillips’ book, with its scathing depiction of Hollywood folks, was considered to be professional suicide. She might not be eating lunch here, but Phillips has worked her way back up to cocktail parties, it seems. (Of course, it helps that she and Matthau share the same editor.)

Glitches: Too many people in too small a space. And the party took a little while to get going--the arrival of the majority of guests seemed to coincide with the conclusion of Mario Cuomo’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.