PERSONALITIES

Speculation is that Tony Coelho, the former House majority whip who's being honored tomorrow at a black-tie dinner, is about to announce he will become a managing director with Wertheim Schroder & Co., a New York investment banking firm. Unlike some other former members of Congress, Coelho wants to avoid any future employment that would have him using his Capitol Hill connections. From the numerous business and university positions Coelho has been offered, it seems likely that he will also establish lecturing positions at UCLA and Georgetown University.

Tomorrow's dinner at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency, emceed by CBS anchor Dan Rather, honors Coelho's work on behalf of those with epilepsy and is developing into a testimonial for the highly respected Coelho. It is sponsored by the leadership of the Senate and the House and is expected to bring out such colleagues as House Speaker Tom Foley and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. Among the scheduled speakers one might not expect to see at a dinner honoring a California liberal Democrat are House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich and Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole. Coelho, whose epilepsy destroyed a youthful ambition to become a Catholic priest, has over the years raised $3 million through his Coelho Fund for the Epilepsy Foundation and the UCLA School of Medicine. Tomorrow's dinner will serve as the first public recognition of support since the resignation of the 47-year-old former congressman, who many said would one day become speaker before he resigned in May. After a 1986 investment was questioned, he was caught in the ethics hurricane that also forced the end of Speaker Jim Wright's career. Coelho's resignation ended a Capitol Hill career of nearly 25 years as staff aide and congressman. Out and About

Among the guests expected at Coelho's dinner will be homeless activists Mitch Snyder and Carol Fennelly, along with actor Jon Voight, who are holding their own big event this week. On Friday, a chartered jet of Hollywood celebrities will land at Dulles Airport as part of the buildup to Saturday's Housing Now march on Washington. Friday evening there's a $150-a-ticket fund-raising reception for the nearly 200 stars expected at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill, where most of them will be staying. Among the stars Snyder has amassed for this march are Rita Coolidge, Susan Dey, Linda Evans, Valerie Harper, Casey Kasem, Vidal Sassoon, Ally Sheedy, Steve Allen, Susan Anton, France Nuyen, Edward James Olmos, Louis Gossett Jr., Lesley Ann Warren, Dionne Warwick, Alfre Woodard, Hal Williams, Armand Assante and, long committed to fighting homelessness, Martin Sheen... .

Americans do seem to want to know various bits of useless information, but do they really care how people eat their spaghetti or corn on the cob? Or whether they clean their bellybuttons every day or will wear torn underwear? There are answers to all these important, big questions. In fact, they're in a new book titled "The First Really Important Survey of American Habits" by Mel Poretz and Barry Sinrod. After a "scientific" poll of some 2,000 people, Poretz and Sinrod found, among other vital bits of information, that 53 percent eat spaghetti by winding it, while 47 percent cut it; 80 percent eat corn on the cob by biting around the ear, 20 percent from side to side; 38 percent clean their bellybuttons daily, 20 percent never do; 61 percent would wear torn underwear, 39 percent (obviously remembering the admonitions of their grandmothers) would not. Now those are useful statistics for your next Washington cocktail party... .

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.