By E. Graydon Carter

Interior Secretary James Watt might have considered his boss's background before declaring that he did not want the Beach Boys to play at Washington's annual July 4 celebration. Watt's reason: they attracted an "undesirable element." The gaffe earned Watt a rebuke from President Reagan, 72, who, along with Nancy Reagan, 61, warmly welcomed the group to the White House last week for a charity concert. "If you did not believe that our whole family have been fans of yours for a long time," said Reagan, "just look at Nancy." The group looked as the First Lady glowed with delight through their rendition of an old presidential favorite, California Girls.

Back in the 1950s when the Chicago Cubs weren't much, Infielder Ernie Banks was something else. By all accounts "the greatest Cub ever," Banks retired in 1971, but the future Hall of Famer's association with the club went into extra innings. He worked first as a coach and then part time in the promotional department. But times have changed, and so have the Cubs. (For one thing, they are now legitimate contenders in the National League East.) Last week the team announced that it had let "Mr. Cub" go. "I had missed some engagements," says he. "They say they had to make budget cuts." Still, says Banks, 52, who will now be concentrating on his career in insurance: "I feel I'll always be a Cub. I'd be happiest if I could stay with them for another 30 years."

In bringing yet another Agatha Christie whodunit to the screen, the brains behind Sparkling Cyanide, a CBS-TV movie due to air next season, have left an even greater mystery untold. In a dubious creative move, the film's producers have changed the time of the original story from the 1930s to the present and shifted the locale from London to a lake near Pasadena, Calif. On the bright side is the casting of Perennial Ingenue Deborah Raffin, 30, as a potential victim. Clearer heads also prevailed with the hiring of a real Englishman, Anthony Andrews, 35, the Teddy bear-toting Sebastian of Brideshead Revisited. Andrews should have little trouble adding some stiff upper lip to the proceedings.

In a refreshing style that could only be described as all his own, Paul Kehayias, 65, directed his swan song with the Boston Pops last week. Kehayias, who will retire in July after 40 years as the Boston Symphony's chauffeur, was treated to a turn in the orchestral driver's seat by B.S.O. Director Seiji Ozawa, 49, and Pops Conductor John Williams, 51. The two had chipped in $2,500 to purchase the opportunity, which was one of the novelty offerings up for sale at the organization's annual fund-raising auction. After the guest conductor accepted a few preliminary pointers from Williams, he strode confidently to the podium and put the Pops through a high-velocity performance of Stars and Stripes Forever.

--By E. Graydon Carter This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.