Obama finds friends in Hollywood, and money too!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Beverly Hills reception for Barack Obama on Tuesday night brought in $1.3 million for the Illinois senator's White House bid in the first major show business fund-raiser of the 2008 presidential campaign cycle, organizers said.

The $2,300-per-person event was hosted by DreamWorks co-founders Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. It was followed by a private dinner at Geffen's home for those who raised at least $46,000 each for Obama.

The star-studded reception drew such Hollywood names as Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, Ron Howard, Morgan Freeman and Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines.

Others writing checks for the event included studio executives Ron Meyer of Universal Studios and Brad Gray of Paramount Pictures, a source close to the event told Reuters.

But the event was notable for generating a sum of money that easily rivaled the Hollywood fund-raising efforts of presumed Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"The big surprise was the success of Obama," said Andy Spahn, the political advisor for Spielberg and Katzenberg, adding that the senator's public rally earlier in the day drew a crowd of about 10,000 people.

By comparison, Clinton's last West Coast fund-raising gala, hosted by supermarket magnate Ron Burkle during her Senate re-election campaign, raised between $800,000 and $900,000, according to a party activist with knowledge of the event.

Clinton planned to return to Los Angeles for a series of smaller receptions with donors on Thursday ahead of a March 24 gala back at Burkle's home.

Another Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser Wednesday night at the Beverly Hills home of real estate mogul Richard Ziman.

While Clinton has been a leading beneficiary of Hollywood political largess in recent years, Democratic Party insiders have said they expect many Hollywood donors to give to multiple candidates early in the 2008 campaign cycle.

Reuters/Nielsen