Hollywood Stars' Power Shines for Gubernatorial Candidates

By AMY WALLACE

May 29, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Gov. Pete Wilson has Moses (Charlton Heston) on his side. And if that’s not enough, Dirty Harry and the Terminator (Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger) are ready to flex their muscles to keep the Republican incumbent in office.

State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, the Democratic front-runner, has tough allies, too: gangster Bugsy Siegel (Warren Beatty) and Robin Hood (Kevin Costner), not to mention Funny Girl (Barbra Streisand) and Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren).

For the record:

12:00 a.m. June 3, 1994 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 3, 1994 Home Edition Part A Page 3 Column 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 52 words Type of Material: Correction
Olmos endorsement--Based on information provided by the gubernatorial campaign of state Sen. Tom Hayden, The Times on Sunday incorrectly listed actor Edward James Olmos as a Hayden supporter. Daniel Haro, community relations director for Olmos Productions, said that although Olmos and Hayden may agree on some issues, Olmos never endorses political candidates.

State Sen. Tom Hayden, another Democrat, has received $94 contributions (his self-imposed limit) from “Star Trek’s” Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and, of course, from Barbarella (Jane Fonda).

There are some obvious reasons that Hollywood moguls and stars have long been involved with California politics and are active again this year. For one thing, the entertainment business is one of the state’s most important industries and state government decision-making can have a direct impact.

But as one top Democratic political consultant put it: “It’s simpler than that. Stars attract stars. Political stars, Hollywood stars--they’re stars. They attract each other, like mosquitoes to blood.”

Not all the gubernatorial contenders are aswarm in celebrities. Democratic Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, while supported by some entertainment industry executives, has no superstars on his endorsement list. And Republican physicist Ron Unz? His most famous supporter is Arthur Laffer, the economist and inventor of the Laffer Curve.

Although few voters assess candidates solely by the luminaries they court, film stars and industry executives can attract attention and campaign contributions.

Some well-loved stars also are thought to lend a degree of credibility. Veterans of California politics still talk admiringly about a 1988 TV ad, narrated by Heston, that Wilson used to get reelected to the U.S. Senate. When Heston warned voters not to believe Wilson’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, it was as if God himself had chosen sides.

“Heston said something like, ‘Everything you’re going to hear in this race from the other side is untrue,’ ” recalls Darry Sragow, Garamendi’s campaign manager. “Heston, being Moses, had an interesting impact on the race.”

Stars can also help enliven a candidate’s image. Burdened with a fossil-like persona, former U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston surrounded himself with youthful stars, loading several--including Morgan Fairchild, Marilu Henner and Robin Williams--onto a campaign tour bus and traveling around the state.

Some candidates adopt a counter-strategy: defining themselves in opposition to a familiar face. When U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein ran for governor in 1990, she sent out a mailer featuring photos of herself, Eastwood and Ronald Reagan.

“It would make my day,” Feinstein said in the mailer, “to say a resounding ‘NO’ to those who would dictate to the rest of us on issues like birth control and abortion.”

But the most important role most celebrities play in politics has less to do with image and more to do with money. The entertainment industry--actors, agents, lawyers, producers and studio executives--donates large sums to would-be leaders. And the very famous can inspire others to give as well.

A basic rule of fund raising is that big names draw big crowds, said Kathy Garmezy, a Democratic Party activist and executive director of the nonprofit Hollywood Policy Center.

“A ‘face’ is usually worth a lot” at a fund-raising event, she said. “You can have somebody show up to a fancy dinner and their presence is worth more than any check they would write.”

For example, Beatty and his wife, actress Annette Bening, have been the “headliners” at three fund-raising dinners for Brown in Los Angeles ($1,000 a plate), Sacramento ($500 a plate) and San Francisco ($500 a plate). They have also hosted a reception at Morton’s, a West Hollywood restaurant popular with entertainment executives.

In every case, Brown fund-raiser Ann Hollister said, their presence added “a special energy” to the event--especially when Beatty told a tale about the time he and Brown went out on a date. The gist of the story, according to those who have heard it, is Beatty’s joking acknowledgment that having gone out with him may not be a plus for an aspiring governor.

Similarly, actors Bob Hope and Chuck Norris have added glitz to past fund-raisers for Wilson, and Hope has hosted a few at his home.

Last week, several stars came out for Hayden at a fund-raiser at a Hollywood nightclub. Grammy-winner Bonnie Raitt, actress Tyne Daly and others co-hosted the event, which featured songs and readings that have inspired Hayden over the years. Actress Alfre Woodard read Alice Walker, actor Ed Begley read Henry David Thoreau and actor Harry Dean Stanton sang an Irish folk song.

Garamendi has the backing of Sid Sheinberg, the MCA president who co-hosted a recent fund-raiser at the home of David Gerber, president of the Gerber/ITC Entertainment Group. But Sragow, Garamendi’s campaign manager, acknowledges that Garamendi has been more successful wooing regular folks than famous ones.

“John Garamendi is very happy working with (gold) miners 2,200 feet under the ground. . . . That’s who he’s happy being with,” Sragow said, referring to one of Garamendi’s much-ballyhooed “workdays” that he completed in each of the state’s 58 counties. “That’s different than saying he is uncomfortable with or hostile to the stars. That’s not true. But left to his own devices, he gravitates toward ordinary folks.”

Celebrity Politics

Every election year, the stars come out for California’s politicians and 1994 is no exception. Three of the five candidates for governor have attracted significant celebrity support (Democrat John Garamendi and Republican Ron Unz, meanwhile, say they have focused their efforts in other arenas). Will it make much of a difference? Probably not. But can you really resist reading who’s come out for whom? Here is a sampling:

KATHLEEN BROWN

* Warren Beatty, actor

* Annette Bening, actress

* Kevin Costner, actor

* Barry Diller, QVC Inc. chief

* David Geffen, entertainment mogul

* Don Henley, singer

* Judith Krantz, author

* Sherry Lansing, Paramount Pictures chairman

* Michael Ovitz, super-agent

* Barbra Streisand, singer

* Abigail Van Buren, columnist