NEXT HE’LL CHANGE HIS NAME TO MARLON,

The toughest ticket in town for the past few years has been an invitation to the annual celebrity bash sponsored by the mythical Gourdian Society, masterminded by P.R. men Buddy Beck and Joe Barta. The centerpiece of the affair is a satirical stage production of a movie classic, and in the last few years, a star has been born – one John Tower, U.S. Senator. “Tower is notoriously the biggest ham in the show,” says one annual participant. Last year Tower’s antics landed him in Time magazine in his Superman costume. But this year, it seems, Tower’s stardom has gone to his head. When the organizers announced that this year’s show would be based on The Alamo, Tower said no. Apparently he decided that the Alamo (or perhaps John Wayne) was too sacred a subject to satirize; and he convinced some other biggies to join his boycott. To appease their temperamental star, the party planners scrapped The Alamo and came up with a new show – appropriately, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.