HOLLYWOOD: Happy as a Clan

On election night an impatient Democrat picked up a telephone and called Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel, hoping to persuade the Vice President of the U.S. to concede. Soon he was screaming at a switchboard operator who refused to put him through: "But this is Frank Sinatra!"

Frankie never did get through, but he wasn't kidding. Hollywood was more closely involved with the 1960 election than with any since the politically conscious 1930s. On the Republican side, Actor George Murphy was often called on to warm up audiences for Nixon, and Nixon's final four-hour telethon involved answering questions fed to him by Lloyd Nolan and Robert Young. On the Democratic side, Sinatra's Clan (mercifully kept out of public sight most of the time) had a brocade-vested interest in the election because of Actor Peter Lawford's marriage to John Kennedy's sister, Pat. The Clan is now buffing its cuff links and ordering gowns for the inaugural ball.

Citizen Kane Feeling. Clansman Dean Martin began to put out word that President-elect Kennedy was going to appoint him "Secretary of Liquor." Sammy Davis Jr., a convert to Judaism, had other ambitions: "Sinatra will be Ambassador to Italy," he said. "I'm hoping for Jerusalem, but I'll be lucky if I get Kenya." Some of Hollywood's other post-mortems last week were turning into post toasties as many echoed the comment of Democratic Writer-Producer-Director Dore Schary: "I don't know who can stave off this rush of professional showmen into politics, but somebody had better do it right away." Others agreed with Republican Dick Powell: "I think these people hurt Kennedy by their cheap publicity."

Mercedes McCambridge, who helped run the draft-Stevenson group at the Los Angeles convention, labored dutifully for Kennedy during the campaign, last week said bitterly: "I'm tired of democracy. We should have a monarchy, with Tuesday Weld as one of the princesses and a nice couple from Armpit, Nev. to reign. I have a Citizen Kane feeling about Daddy Kennedy sitting out here directing the show behind the scenes from Marion Davies' house."*