A Hollywood Turnout at Romney's BH Event

Mitt Romney's fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday drew a sizable turnout among show biz figures, many of whom have long been supporters of GOP candidates.

Among those present were Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer, Frank and Katherine Price, Burt Sugarman, Terry Semel, Gary Sinise, Patricia Heaton, John O'Hurley, Kerri Turner, Lionel Chetwynd, Pat Boone and Connie Stevens, according to a source who was present. David Foster performed, as did Robert Davi, who sang Frank Sinatra's "My Country."

"The mood was amazing," said the source. "Really upbeat, exciting." Also present was Romney's wife Ann, who spoke before her husband. According to press reports, Romney spoke of his wife's emergency landing in Denver on Friday, when smoke filled the cabin as she and a campaign team were headed to Los Angeles.

Romney's predecessors as the GOP standard bearers, George W. Bush and John McCain, each held Hollywood-centric events early in their campaigns.

By contrast, Romney didn't enter the race with the same connections to the industry as Bush and McCain had, so the turnout was significant in showing that show biz conservatives and even self-described independents are still behind Romney. Democrats greatly outnumber Republicans in the industry --- the split has been running about 72% to 28% according to fundraising figures from the Center for Responsive Politics. But the number of conservatives in the business is still a significant and even visible share, something that Clint Eastwood pointed out when he spoke at the Republican National Convention.