Baltimoreans have been hanging with all sorts of celebrities these days -- beginning at the world premiere of the new flick, The Sum Of All Fears at DC's Warner Theatre a week and a half ago. Local superscribe Tom Clancy -- who wrote the best-selling novel on which the film is based and was executive producer for the movie -- offered a couple hundred tickets to one of his favorite local charities, Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology Friends, which sold each for $150 a pop. A bargain at any price -- considering you got first crack at this crackerjack action film. Then, at the party afterward, you got to mingle with: Capitol Hill politicians like Senators John Kerrey, Fred Thompson, Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham; national media types including Bernard Shaw, John McLaughlin, and DeeDee Myers; and Hollywood hot-shots like Paramount Studio chief Sherry Lansing and power broker Mike Ovitz.

And then there were "Sum's" stars. Uh huh. We're talking Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell and Liev Schreiber. Affleck couldn't have been sweeter to his adoring fans -- graciously posing for photos and signing autographs the whole night. And Freeman cut quite the swoon-able figure in an elegant suit.

At the shindig, "Sum's" director Phil Alden Robinson made note of another breathtaking moment -- so to speak -- that he had observed earlier that evening as he stood in the back of the theater during the screening. Robinson said, when a nuclear bomb went off during the Super Bowl in our own beloved B-more (don't worry, we're not ruining the movie for you) -- he'd never seen such a still audience -- not a head moved.

For more inside scoop, just ask some of the locals who were there that night: Marty and Sharon Bass, Jed Dietz, Dr. Julia McMillan or Tony and Kay Lambros.

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Meanwhile, movie star Elizabeth Shue was in town recently for another movie screening -- "The First Year" -- a documentary about five Los Angeles-area teachers struggling through their first year on the job -- by Shue's filmmaker hubby, Davis Guggenheim. The Charles Theatre was packed for the fundraiser to benefit Teach for America and Maryland's Initiative for New Teachers. In fact, says attendee Amy Elias, at the end of the screening Guggenheim told the audience that while he's done showings around the country, ours was the biggest, best and most impressive.

Then -- as a surprise -- he introduced three of the teachers in the film who had been flown to Baltimore for the screening. Talk about your standing ovation.

The event raised $53,000 for the two organizations.

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The House of Ruth also got a great turnout for the celebrity speaker -- two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winner David McCullough -- at its "Second Annual Spring Luncheon."

Barbara Brody -- who co-chaired the get-together with Olwen Modell and Pat Modell -- says the sell-out crowd of 600 was totally wowed by McCullough, who drew from his latest prize-winning biography, "John Adams."

She said he talked about Adams' wife, Abigail -- reading some of Abigail's letters and pointing out the beauty of her writing, although she and other women of her time received no formal education.

"He didn't speak just as a historian," says Barbara, "he was captivating ... very down to earth." She especially loved the anecdote McCullough told about hearing that he'd won the Pulitzer while he was cooking spaghetti for his wife's birthday dinner.

The luncheon raised more than $130,000 for the House of Ruth.

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And then there was the celebrity who didn't know it at Harbor Hospital's gala. Ostensibly, the Hyatt Regency hoop-de-doo was kicking off the hospital's 100th anniversary year, and raising more than $135,000.

But there was also the party's "hidden agenda" -- surprise honoree Barney Johnson, who's retiring this year as the hospital's president.

"Barney is very, very modest," says the hospital's Nan Rosenthal, "and doesn't like a lot of hoopla about him, so we thought it was best to surprise him if we could."

And they did. Johnson was absolutely thrown when he began seeing his history played out on a big screen set up in the ballroom.

"He was totally shocked," Nan says, "but he was also really touched."

And Nan couldn't believe she and the 450 people there -- most of whom had known about the surprise -- had kept it just that for weeks.

"It was unbelievable, I was sure someone would spill it, even that night," she says, "All during the cocktail hour, I was sure someone would come up and congratulate him."

Guess it makes sense that those well-versed in doctor-patient confidentiality would do just as well when it comes to a doctor-president capacity.

Academy of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality awards

The Marriott Waterfront Hotel ballroom bubbled with a celebratory air -- as folks from Baltimore's restaurants, caterers and hotels received a pat on the back at the "8th Annual Academy of Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Awards." This was the night Academy students honor those who -- the rest of the year -- help support the program that trains them for careers in the hospitality industry. Now it was the industry folks who could, literally, enjoy the fruits of their labors -- munching on hors d'oeuvres, sipping wine and perusing the silent auction tables -- and raising more than $85,000 for the Academy in the process.

Among those in the crowd of 500 Academy friends and supporters: Stephanie Edelman and Bill Walsh, event co-chairs; Abby Fitzpatrick, Joe Herbert, Nancy Hinds and Peter Komar, event committee members; Mike Whipple, Academy advisory board chair; Hannah Byron, Peggy Daidakis, Joan Davidson, Larry Frank, Jon Koscher, Werner Kunz, Dr. Charles Monaghan, and Paul Wolman, board members; Ed Kane, THE WATER TAXI president; Clarence Bishop, 2012 Olympic Coalition senior vice president; Jay McCutcheon, Downtown Partnership vice president; Andy Murray, National Historic Seaport director; Sallie Craft, National Academy Foundation Mid-Atlantic region consultant; John Patti, WBAL Radio news anchor / reporter; Dennis Dietz, Days Inn Inner Harbor general manager; Liam Fuller, Pepsi Bottling Group marketing director; Marsha Valentine, Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association administrative assistant; Michael Durham, Stadium Sports co-owner; Patti Newmann, Travel Host advertising director; Steve deCastro, Big Steaks Management CEO / owner; and Barry Fleischmann, Innovative Gourmet chef / owner.

-- Sloane Brown