When guest list turns to ghost list

You’ve got the Beverly Hills mansion (a beautiful French Normandy-style estate owned by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman). You’ve got the celebrity entertainment (Melissa Etheridge, unplugged). You’ve got Wolfgang Puck’s catering crew (on the menu: steak and fries, with risotto for the vegetarians). And the guest list includes some of Hollywood’s top executives, who have contributed thousands of dollars to the Democratic party for the privilege of attending the event.

Yet there’s something missing: a number of the main political VIPs set to be feted.

When it came time to stage the fundraising bash at the DeVito-Perlman residence Wednesday night, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dianne Feinstein and Harry Reid were stuck in Washington, dealing with major last-minute legislation, including the Patriot Act. Sen. Charles E. Schumer had the flu.

And the pols weren’t the only ones tied up elsewhere: Party cohost DeVito had to work. Some of the boldest of the boldface name guests -- Barbra Streisand and Rob Reiner -- were also busy.

So what’s a fundraising hostess to do? Try humor -- and a little improvisation.

“My husband Danny wants me to tell you that he wishes he could be here tonight, but he’s in London filming a movie,” Perlman told the crowd.

To make it up to them, Perlman said, DeVito wants the guests to have run of the house. “You’re welcome to play pool.”

As for the absent senators?

Perlman quipped: “Oh, they’re in London filming the movie with Danny.”

Pulling together a Hollywood political event is never easy. It takes a staff of schedulers, personal assistants, campaign consultants, well-connected financiers, stylists, valet drivers, caterers, photographers, suit salesmen, chauffeurs and an array of secret service agents.

And at this time of year, with so many politicians trying to raise money while wrapping up their legislative session, it’s especially difficult.

Since Dec. 1, there has been a star-studded Democratic fundraiser almost every night in Los Angeles. The Perlman-DeVito gala -- spearheaded by Sen. Barbara Boxer to raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee -- was billed as one of the biggest fundraising events of the season.

To get things rolling, Boxer turned to uber-fundraiser Sim Farar, Southern California chairman of Clinton’s reelection campaign, for help in late October. Farar knew he had to move fast.

The first step was to line up the politicians: In addition to Clinton, Reid, Schumer, Feinstein and Boxer, Sens. Debbie Stabenow, Maria Cantwell, Daniel K. Akaka and Jack Reed also agreed to attend.

Boxer personally called DeVito and Perlman to ask if they would hold the gathering at their house. They enthusiastically agreed. Etheridge, who had recently performed at another fundraiser being held in town for the same committee, said she would be willing to sing several songs at this event too. “This is my tour of the House and Senate,” she told the audience Wednesday night.

Farar personally called reliable donors -- some gave more than $20,000 to attend. Carrying two cellphones, he was in constant contact with Washington.

“You want to make sure that everything is going well,” he said. “The parking is going to be there. The caterer is going to be there. The Secret Service is going to be there. The seating is important.”

Everything was working out. Until Tuesday, that is, when it became clear that the senators were still needed in Washington to vote on a variety of bills. Farar arranged for two private jets (one owned by Federal Express) to bring the senators to Los Angeles after they finished their session Wednesday. But Reid told Farar that he needed to stay behind to make sure things were going smoothly. He asked Clinton to stay in Washington with him. Busy with their own legislation, Feinstein and Reed also backed out.

No one really knew who would make it out until the plane landed Wednesday afternoon at Van Nuys Airport. They were relieved to find Boxer, Stabenow, Akaka, Dick Durbin and Mark Dayton on board. At the event, which raised more than $500,000, actors Ed Norton Jr. and Larry Hagman were among those waiting to greet them. By daybreak, the senators were on their way back to Washington.

And the Hollywood political fundraising season was officially over for the year.