People have been attracted to greater Palm Springs since it emerged as a resort oasis amid the sand dunes. Retirees and movie stars were among the first, followed by golfers and philanthropists. Sometimes they fell into more than one of the categories. But other species have since been drawn to our desert, either permanently or temporarily.

Writers love the Palm Springs desert. Many a prestigious typewriter clicked away hereabouts. Frank Capra crafted his screenplays in his cottage on the grounds of La Quinta Hotel. Best-sellers were written here by resident novelists Joseph Wambaugh, Harold Robbins, Sidney Sheldon, Herman Wouk and part-timer Ray Bradbury.

Presidents fancy our valley towns. It's where Ronald and Nancy spent every New Year's Eve at the Walter Annenberg estate during Reagan's eight years in the White House. It's the spot the first George Bush chose for his summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki.

It's where Mamie and Ike retired, where Jerry and Betty settled down, where JFK came to frolic with Frank Sinatra. It's where Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and George Bush the elder played a round of golf together at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in February 1995.

Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush have not yet succumbed to Palm Springs, but they will. They will.

Famous glamorous drug abusers arrive in the desert regularly. It's where Elizabeth Taylor came to dry out more than once. Others famously kicking their respective habits at the Betty Ford Center have been Liza Minnelli, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Cash, Mary Tyler Moore, Chevy Chase, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Gene Autry, Don Johnson, Eddie Fisher, Darryl Strawberry and a further cast of superstars.

Singers are crazy about Palm Springs and environs. After Lily Pons came Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Elvis Presley.

Comedians get hooked on this corner of the desert. Harold Lloyd was a desert dweller first. The Marx Brothers followed with homes at Tamarisk Country Club. Bob Hope lived high atop Southridge in Palm Springs. Red Skelton lived in Pinyon Crest and Tamarisk Country Club.

Disgraced evangelists gravitate to the desert. Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye lived in Palm Springs for quite a spell after his scandal. And Jimmy Swaggart was busted with a prostitute in Indio.

Tycoons are partial to desert living. For example, Walt Disney, Walter Annenberg, Gene Autry and Merv Griffin all ruled their respective empires while living among local swaying palms.

Academy Award winners end up in greater Palm Springs. Warner Baxter, second recipient of the best actor award, started it all by living on his Desert Hot Springs ranch. Later, Janet Gaynor, winner of the very first best actress honor, moved to Desert Hot Springs with her husband, producer Paul Gregory.

Best actress award winner Ginger Rogers spent the last decades of her life in her Thunderbird Country Club home. Other best-actresses Jane Wyman and Loretta Young retired to the Palm Springs desert.

Best actor winner William Holden's home was on Southridge in Palm Springs. While he was married to Magda Gabor, best supporting actor George Sanders lived in Palm Springs as did the aforementioned Crosby, Sinatra and Disney, all Oscar winners.

And so we are a destination for retirees, movie stars, golfers, philanthropists, writers, presidents, alcoholics, singers, comedians, disgraced evangelists, tycoons and Oscar winners. What category will seek us next?

Quotable locals

Kevin LaCross (manufacturer's rep): “I'm looking for a woman who is feminine and gentle, but can still fix broken household items without calling on me.”

Dessa Reed (poet and author): “I'd love to be a hippie, but I'm too sophisticated.”

Hovak Najarian (retired art professor): “We are all born in a historical time period.”

Susan Stein (fashion editor, Palm Springs Life): “Sophia Loren is a good example of a woman with style.”

Jonathan Sawyer (insurance broker): “They say you learn from your mistakes, but I have learned far more from the things that worked rather than from the things that didn't.”

Les Pricer (computer consultant): “When I was in college, I wanted to look like George Hamilton, so I tanned my face and wore ascots.”

V.J. Hume (actress and musician, when asked to what she owes her high energy for accomplishment): “I'm fueled by vitamins and fear.”

Stephen Browning (regional vice president of the Border Sierra Region of American Cancer Society): “My region encompasses about 8 million people and a bunch of Bighorn sheep.”

Allene Arthur's column appears on Mondays. Reach her at (760) 323-6014; fax (760) 323-5816; e-mail arth71@aol.com