Paramount Counsel Leaving

Jay Rakow, senior vice president and general counsel of Paramount Pictures, is leaving to rejoin the law firm of Christensen, White, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser & Shapiro as a partner and head of its entertainment practice.

He will be succeeded by Rebecca Prentice. Rakow, who left the law firm in 1993, plans to stay at Paramount through July.

* Talent agent Christopher Buchanan and independent producer John Tomko are joining Jerry Weintraub Productions as senior vice presidents of production. Tiffany Wheat is moving up to vice president of production from director of development at the Warner Bros.-based producer.

* Mary Donovan was promoted to senior vice president, East Coast publicity, for New Line Cinema.

* Walt Disney Pictures named Bernie Goldmann senior vice president of production.

* Nigel Clark was promoted to senior vice president of international marketing at Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International.

* Gaylord Entertainment has named E.K. Gaylord II, son of Chairman Edward Gaylord, to the new position of vice chairman. The younger Gaylord has been a director.

* Peter von Gal has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hallmark Entertainment.

* Marsha Hook Haygood has been promoted to senior vice president of administration for New Line Cinema.

* Gary Elrich has been promoted to senior vice president for studio operations at Twentieth Century Fox Filmed Entertainment.

* Joe McFadden was named senior vice president of sales at Capitol Records.

* Warner Bros. promoted Tom Lassally to executive vice president of production.

* Leslie E. Frank and Gregory A. Thompson have joined the entertainment law firm of King, Purtich, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner.

* Ken Wilson has been named president and Stanley Winslow has been named vice president of the black music division at MCA Records.