DEMOCRATS CASH IN BIG ON HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION.

Byline: Leslie Wayne The New York Times

For President Clinton, this evening will be a memorable one: Barbra Streisand will serenade him under the stars, Maya Angelou will read him poetry, and he will mingle with Hollywood's corporate elite at a breathtaking Mediterranean-style estate overlooking Beverly Hills.

And once the evening is over, the Democratic Party will be $3.5 million richer.

When it comes to raising money, especially for Democrats, no one does it better than Hollywood. The open wallets of movie stars and corporate donations from studio moguls make the entertainment industry one of the party's biggest sources of funds. Plus the glamour of celebrities can help draw crowds to Democratic rallies and fund-raising events.

``Politicians and movie stars spring from the same DNA,'' said Jack Valenti, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, the movie industry's trade group, who was once a special assistant to President Johnson. ``Both hope for applause, read from a script and hope to persuade audiences.''

And, Valenti said, ``many in Hollywood feel passionate about the same issues as the Democrats.''

At today's event, orchestrated by Hollywood's ``A-list'' - including Streisand, record producer David Geffen and film director and producer Steven Spielberg - more than 700 people will pay up to $12,500 a ticket to hear entertainers like Streisand, the Eagles and the Neville Brothers.

Tickets come in three prices: $2,500, which admits the holder to the show and the estate, Greenacres, former home of silent-screen star Harold Lloyd and site of a Clinton fund-raiser in 1992; $5,000, which provides admission to a cocktail reception and a ``preferred'' seat; and $12,500, which buys a VIP dinner and a spot close to the stage.

And those prices pale when compared with the per-person giving at two small dinners that Geffen gave at his home earlier this year. Those affairs, attended by the president and just 12 guests, netted about $2 million for the Democratic Party.

``To understand Hollywood is to understand big money and politics,'' said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. ``When we think of the Hollywood heavy hitters, we think of Democrats. The biggest contributing ZIP code to Bill Clinton is 90210,'' Beverly Hills' fabled enclave of wealth.

Democrats already have raised $4.7 million in Hollywood in this election cycle, compared with $890,000 raised there by the Republicans, according to the Campaign Study Group, a consulting firm. Since 1991, when Clinton first took aim at the White House, Hollywood has given $18 million to Democrats, compared with $2.6 million to Republicans.

These are sums that have gone to the party, not directly to candidates, who by law can receive only $1,000 from an individual and $5,000 from a corporation's political action committee.

The connection between Hollywood and Democrats goes back decades and, with the exception of Ronald Reagan's presidency, has proved hard for Republicans to penetrate. From the photograph of Lauren Bacall draped on a piano played by Harry S. Truman to John F. Kennedy's association with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and the rest of the Rat Pack, Hollywood glamour and Democratic politicians have gone arm in arm.

In contrast, since Bob Dole attacked the film industry last year for producing a ``nightmare of depravity,'' Republicans have found Hollywood so poor a source of financing that they have virtually written it off.

``We are more interested in Main Street than Hollywood,'' said Howard Leach, finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. ``That's where the real majority is.''

One of the Democrats' biggest fund-raisers is Geffen, a founder of DreamWorks SKG, who says he has raised ``many millions'' for the party in the past few years.

Geffen's influence in Hollywood is such that he was able to persuade some of the industry's heaviest hitters to attend his million-dollar dinners with the president: Steve Jobs, the Apple Computer founder; Steve Tisch, the producer; Peter Morton, the founder of the Hard Rock Cafe; Edgar Bronfman Jr., the Seagram's heir; and Lew R. Wasserman, the former MCA studio chairman.

``The Democratic message of taking care of people who are poor and unemployed has traditionally resonated with Hollywood, and that continues to be the case today,'' Geffen said. The only thing he has received in return for his efforts, he said, is a night at the White House and an invitation to a state dinner.

The source of Democratic money in Hollywood falls into two categories: the stars and the studios. Studios have a business agenda, like other industries, and make big donations, in part to get their views across.

Their main concern today is intellectual property - protecting U.S. entertainment products from piracy and copyright infringements abroad. In addition, the industry recoils at attacks by politicians who see Hollywood as a source of moral depravity.

Stars are less pragmatic. Most come from ordinary backgrounds and, despite their wealth and fame, identify as artists and not with the establishment.

``Many have been very fortunate and want to give back something to their community,'' said Lara Bergthold, executive director of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which has raised more than $6 million in the past decade, mostly for Democrats.

Celebrities also draw crowds and so help raise money from wealthy people who want to be around them. ``People will come to an event with a celebrity connection who might not come to another political event,'' said Ann Lewis, deputy manager of the Clinton-Gore campaign. ``One of our big challenges is to expand our donor base, and celebrities help.''

Bill Clinton first visited Hollywood many years ago, as a young rising Arkansas politician. In 1992, Streisand's appearance at a glitzy Clinton fund-raiser netted $1.2 million in a single afternoon.

Streisand, who also has sung at fund-raisers for the presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale, helped raise even more money by appearing at Clinton's pre-Inaugural Ball; indeed, her performance helped secure television rights for the event.

The appearance of Kevin Costner at the side of Hillary Rodham Clinton on the night of the president's acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention sent a message to moderate white male voters: Costner, a registered Republican, is now in the Clinton camp.

The danger for Democrats, some say, is that Hollywood will make the party appear to have lost touch with common people. For that reason, organizers say, tonight's event has been closed to the press.

``It's bizarre,'' said Miller, of the Center for Responsive Politics. ``Democrats have the reputation of being for the working people. When it becomes a party of the stars, people must wonder whether the Democrats have lost their way.''

Geffen disagrees.

``Even back to the Kennedy days,'' he said, ``there was discussion that stars can have a negative influence. But it doesn't seem to be much of a negative when you are winning.''

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CHART: HOLLYWOOD GOES TO WASHINGTON

Overall contributions,past five years