Never before in memory had so many notables with White House connections assembled under the same roof. Among the guests at the Women's National Press Club's 50th anniversary dinner at Washington's Shoreham Hotel: Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 73; Mrs. Charles S. Robb, 26, elder daughter of Lyndon Johnson; Teddy and Joan Kennedy; Mrs. James A. Hoisted, 64, only daughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt; Mrs. Richard T. Brigham (Peggy-Ann Hoover), 44, Herbert's granddaughter. Also Alice Roosevelt Longworth, 86, Theodore's daughter--and Pat Nixon, who showed up with husband and family. sbsbsb

Off for a month's vacation from the attentions of Rome's paparazzi went Sophia Loren, 35, with her husband, Italian Film Producer Carlo Ponti, and their 18-month-old son Cheepy (C.P. Jr.). On the well-guarded Adriatic island of Yugoslavia's President Tito, a longtime Loren friend, photographers will be no problem--though Cheepy's language may cause some international complications. Since his father speaks to him only in Italian, his mother in English and his nursemaid in German, the youngest Ponti communicates in a linguistic potpourri ("Morgen acqua okay" -'This morning the water is fine").

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Who was the lady hiding her face behind a large black carpetbag? It was none other than Katharine Hepburn, 60, playing hooky from her star role in Coco to catch her good friend Lauren Bacall, 45, in Applause--and visibly annoyed when Manhattan's press photographers spoiled her getaway act. When one especially persistent reporter tracked her quarry all the way home, she got more than a picture. "Get away from me, you little brat," hissed Katie, "or I'll punch you in the face."

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The scene required the leading man to enter a boudoir where Actress Karen Black, 27, reclined in a costume consisting of nothing but makeup. Absolutely not, said Johnny Cash, 38, Nashville's country-and-western singer, in Hollywood for his first starring film role in A Gunfight. "How could I do that and then record an album of hymns?" he demanded. To spare Johnny that moral crisis, Karen's topography was concealed.

#8729;sbsb "It's hard to stay married 50 years, especially in Hollywood," said the bride, 75. Indeed, a golden anniversary is such a rare event that a sizable if elderly contingent of the film colony--among them John Wayne, 63, and Pat O'Brien, 70 --were there to hear Film Director John Ford, 75, and his Mary repeat the solemn vows that they first uttered half a century ago. What's the secret? Said John: "Keeping your mouth shut." Said Mary: "Don't believe anything you hear and don't believe anything you see." #8729;sbsb

Beneath eagle feathers grinned the Crow Indians' new pipe carrier--better known as U.S. Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel. The outspoken Cabinet member stopped off at the Crow reservation in Montana's Bighorn mountain area to be inducted into the tribe. The title is only honorary; the Crows' real pipe carrier is Henry Old Coyote, whose brother, Barney Old Coyote, translated the proceedings, which were conducted in Crow. Responded Conservationist Hickel, using the white man's tongue: "You have learned to live with nature without abusing her."

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At one of Lenny Bernstein's parties, the face in the crowd looked very familiar. Where had he seen that dark beauty before? Peter Diamond, director of the Edinburgh International Festival and a man notorious among his friends for forgetting names, decided on the classic male approach. "Excuse me," he said, "but I think I know you. Haven't we met before?" A look of utter incredulity swept over the features that are engraved on the minds of millions of male moviegoers. "The name," came the reply, "is Elizabeth Taylor."

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Since 1944, when F.D.R. ran for a fourth term, Frank Sinatra has loyally come to the aid of his party. Among those his voice has coaxed funds for are Jack Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, and in 1966, California Governor Pat Brown. Now, says Sinatra, he will sing for Republican Ronald Reagan, up for re-election next fall. Said the singer-actor with a straight face: "It is my duty as a citizen to put aside partisan considerations when I think the other party's candidate is clearly the outstanding candidate."

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As the world's greatest soccer player, Brazil's national hero and one of the highest-paid professional athletes ($152,000 in salary), Pele could afford to be magnanimous. He would be happy, he said, to lend some parts of his uniform to an upcoming soccer exhibit in London. On second thought, though, no sense in taking chances with garments of such inestimable symbolic value. Pele insisted they would have to insure them for $300,000.

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