Time for more Hollywood stories.
This is a twofer. Two people I worked for who could not have been more different from each other, yet both left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry: Robin Leach (1941–2018) and George Schlatter (1929 - ). If neither name rings a bell, you are either a post-baby boomer or you simply weren't paying attention to television between 1979 and 1995.
I encountered Robin Leach the first day I was at Entertainment Tonight, but not yet in person. I was watching the E.T. pilot show where they were trying to show off what they could do with entertainment news. Inside the pilot, the microphone was thrown over to a English speaking commentator with a thick British accent, heavy build, moderately wrinkled face and someone you would cringe over if you met him today. His headline, not verbatim but, essentially, “We are going to look at the child slave/sex rings in Hollywood today”. Uh yeah. That sounded shocking! Nothing ever came from it that, legally, I know of. It was the kind of headline that E.T. used to shock and grab viewers.
Robin continued as an interviewer for E.T. producing stories about the rich and famous and acting like one who is. Some thought Robin was charming and some thought he was a bit of a male show business pig. Tastes vary.
Robin left the show and created, with the help of a gentleman named Al Masini, who also is credited with creating Entertainment Tonight, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”, which began airing in 1984 and was renamed twice to “Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte” and eventually to just “Lifestyles” before leaving the air and syndication in 1995.
From Wikipedia:
“It was one of the first shows to feature the lives of the wealthy, largely intended to be an insight into the opulent residences and the glamorous lifestyles of those it profiled. However, many of the geographic areas it covered were also ideal destinations for vacations, and in his on-camera appearances, Leach indirectly made references to resorts and tourist attractions....Leach ended each episode with a wish for his viewers that became his signature catchphrase, "champagne wishes and caviar dreams."
Robin began producing other shows in addition to “Lifestyles”. “On Top All Over the World”, another glitzy series, and “The Start of Something Big,” with Steve Allen as host.
Robin was a fan of my style and he asked me if I would come to work for him as director/editor. I produced stories for both of those shows, working out of a little edit bay/office at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. Interestingly, the nearest place to grab lunch was “Norm’s” restaurant.
At some point in my tenure there, I noticed I was being short changed in my pay. Seemed like it was not up to “scale” for my Director’s Guild work there. So, I went to Robin and basically said that it looked like I have not been getting my correct pay. Now here is where I say, simply, what was known to everyone. Robin was cheap. Really cheap. He would go out of his way to save a buck. Needless to say, Robin could not care less about my pay and pretty much shoved me off back to my office.
That hit a nerve. He did not realize that I was not one to be treated like that. So, off the Director’s Guild (DGA) I went and filed a grievance, as quite a bit of back pay was involved. Then, speaking to some co-workers, I found out the EVERYONE was not getting their proper compensation as outlined by the DGA. An investigation took place, my worries were verified, and Robin was forced to open his wallet an compensate everyone for the difference. I moved on to other assignments, as there were many back in Hollywood at that time.
Robin and I did not speak for years, but I had found out that he was a better man than I had estimated him to be. The next time I saw Robin was at a twenty year E.T. reunion on the Paramount Lot. He either did not remember the incident or did not care. We had a lovely conversation. I told him my wife and I had created a non-profit, the Fascinating Learning Factory. Having the balls to do so, I asked him if he would be willing to donate to the cause. A week later, I received a $500 check and a “Nice seeing you again” note. You just never really know someone even when you think you do.
On to George Schlatter. I have no negative stories for this storied man. For those who were not yet alive back in the early 70s, you missed one of the most innovative and funny television series of all time, “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In”.
From Wikipedia:
“Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (often simply referred to as Laugh-In) is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, originally aired as a one-time special on September 9, 1967, and was such a success that it was brought back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8 pm (ET). It quickly became the most popular television show in the United States.”
George was the gold standard of television producers and just about everyone wanted to work for him on his hit show, “Real People”. Like everything else in Hollywood, it took knowing someone on the inside. Nicholas Stein worked for George for years, but left to work at E.T.
He recommended me over to George’s staff and, being the visionary I am and thinking “How long can this show last” about E.T., I left and took a job at Real People, specifically to work for George Schlatter. I had no idea it would turn out to be their final season, but that hardly mattered. What mattered was the honor and privilege of sitting beside this remarkable soul as he reviewed my rough cuts, offered thoughtful suggestions, and then, as he always did with his editors, gave me full and generous credit for the piece.
Working with George had other perks, if he liked you. He DID like my work, so he helped me get a job with what would be the last two hour, true variety show, “On Stage America”. This was an absolute wonderful show for a video editor like myself. Normally, TV editors never get to see an audience’s reaction to their work, at not at that time. At On Stage America, we would produce a six or seven minute story about an entertainer, present that story to a live audience of hundreds of souls, and get to see them laugh and cry at all the right places. That was absolutely a wonderful experience.
There is a story about most folks I worked with because Hollywood is SUCH a crazy town and every one it is absolutely CRAZY! Nice to be in Colorado.
Addendum:
Howard Lamden, Chris Simpson and myself were among the editors there. There were others but I am old and I forgot! My appologies. We all worked in the basement of the Aquarius Theatre, formally the Earl Carrol Theatre on Sunset Blvd. There were two edit bays.
It was an old building and the director wanted to have a camera crane be able to move back and forth in front of the stage. But the floor was not designed to carry that much weight.
Their solution? Go to the basement and install some supports underneath the upper floor.
That was done over a weekend. When we all returned to work, I entered my edit bay and found a steel post DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF MY EDITING DESK. It meant that I had to work with a pole in front of my face and between my legs. The monitors were CLEARLY right there, so it took an incredible amount if idiocy to place the support there. Laughing first, pissed off later, the producers were appalled and had the post supports moved.