David Schine | |
|---|---|
 Schine at theArmy-McCarthy hearings, 1954 | |
| Born | Gerard David Schine (1927-09-11)September 11, 1927 Gloversville, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 19, 1996(1996-06-19) (aged 68) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westwood Village Cemetery |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Known for | Army–McCarthy hearings |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Junius Myer Schine (father) Lester Crown (brother-in-law) |
Gerard David Schine, better known asG. David Schine orDavid Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who became a central figure in theArmy–McCarthy hearings of 1954 in his role as the chief consultant to theSenate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.[1][2][3] Later in life, he became a part of the film/television industry. He was theexecutive producer for the 1971 filmThe French Connection.[4]
Schine was born inGloversville, New York, toJewish parents, hotel magnateJunius Myer Schine and Hildegarde Feldman.[5][6] He attendedPhillips Academy and graduated fromHarvard University in 1949.[1] He had entered Harvard in the summer of 1945, taken a leave of absence in the spring of 1946, and returned in the fall of 1947 after a year working as an assistantpurser for theArmy Transport Service. Though this was a civilian position, he wrote on his application for re-admission to Harvard that he was a "lieutenant in the Army," and other students resented his calling himself a veteran. Said one, "We were all veterans and his pretending to be one went over like a lead balloon."[7]
At Harvard, he lived, according to a laterHarvard Crimson portrait, "in a style which went out here with the era of the Gold Coast," the years beforeWorld War I when wealthy Harvard students lived apart from their classmates in private accommodations.[8] College administrators denied his requests to use his dormitory room as an office and to allow a female secretary to visit outside of regular visiting hours.[7] He did, however, conduct the university band and also served as its drum major.[9]
In 1952 Schine published a six-pageanti-communist pamphlet called "Definition of Communism"[10] and had a copy placed in every room of his family's chain of hotels.[11] Although the pamphlet contained many errors,Time called it "remarkably succinct."[12][13] The pamphlet introduced Schine toRoy Cohn through newspaper columnistGeorge Sokolsky, and the two became friends.[14] Cohn at that time was SenatorJoseph McCarthy's chief counsel, and he brought Schine onto McCarthy's staff as an unpaid "chief consultant".
McCarthy-era opponents of Communism sought to stamp out material they viewed as pro-Communist. Schine and Cohn conducted a much-criticized tour of Europe in 1953, examining libraries of theUnited States Information Agency for books written by authors they deemed to be Communists orfellow travelers.[15][16]Die Welt of Hamburg called themSchnüffler or snoops.[17]Theodore Kaghan, Deputy Director of the Public Affairs Division in the Office of the U.S.High Commissioner for Germany and a target of the subcommittee, called them "junketeering gumshoes."[18]
In November 1953, Schine wasdrafted into theUnited States Army as aprivate.[19] Cohn immediately began a campaign to obtain special privileges for Schine. Cohn met with and made repeated telephone calls to military officials from theSecretary of the Army down to Schine's company commander. He asked that Schine be given acommission (which the Army refused due to Schine's lack of qualifications) as well as light duties, extra leave, and no overseas assignments. At one point, Cohn was reported to have threatened to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met.[13] During theArmy-McCarthy Hearings of 1954, the Army charged Cohn and McCarthy with using improper pressure to influence the Army, while McCarthy and Cohn counter-charged that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" in an attempt to squelch McCarthy's investigations into Communists in the Army.
The hearings were broadcast live using the relatively new medium of television and were viewed by an estimated 20 million people. Just prior to the hearings, Schine and Cohn appeared on the cover ofTime on March 22, 1954, under the banner "McCarthy and His Men".[20]
The Army–McCarthy hearings absolved McCarthy of any direct wrongdoing, blaming Cohn alone. The exposure of McCarthy and his methods before a television audience, however, is widely considered to have heralded the beginning of the end of his career.[21][22] Cohn resigned from McCarthy's staff shortly after the hearings.[23]
After the hearings, Schine left politics and refused to comment on the episode for the rest of his life, so his view of his relationship with Cohn remains unknown. He remained active in theprivate sector as a businessman and an entrepreneur, working in the hotel, music, and film industries. He was for a time a member of theYoung Presidents' Organization.[24] On October 22, 1957, he marriedMiss Universe of 1955,Hillevi Rombin ofSweden.[25][26] They had six children and were married for nearly 40 years.[25] Also in 1957, Schine's father named him head of Schine Enterprises, though in 1963 Schine's father resumed his position as head of the company.[27] In 1977, Schine described himself as "retired."[2]
Schine made acameo appearance as himself on a 1968 episode ofBatman.[28] Schine was executive producer of the 1971 filmThe French Connection, which was nominated for eightAcademy Awards and won five, includingBest Picture.[1][2] In 1977, he produced the documentaryThat's Action!.[2] Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with music byThe DeFranco Family that achievedBillboard gold and platinum andCash Box No. 1. Schine's company, Schine Music, also provided songs toLou Rawls andBobby Sherman, among others. A musician himself, Schine had music he composed published. He once conducted theBoston Pops Orchestra in place ofArthur Fiedler at a concert celebrating hisHarvard University 25th reunion in a performance of Sibelius'Karelia Suite. Some of the musicians refused to play for him and one commented later: "That man ruined my father's life. No way I was going to play for him."[29] Schine's post-production video house in Hollywood, Studio Television Services, handled clients such asHBO,Disney,Orion, andMGM/UA. Hispublicly tradedresearch and development company, High Resolution Sciences, endeavored for years to bringhigh definition tobroadcast television.
| Title | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The French Connection | 1971 | Executive producer |
| That's Action! | 1977 | Writer/Director |
Schine and Hillevi's marriage lasted almost 40 years until their deaths together in 1996 in a private plane accident. Schine, 68, and Hillevi, 62, died on June 19, 1996, along with their 34-year-old son Berndt, who was piloting the plane that crashed in Burbank, California.[1][19][25] They were buried atWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
G. David Schine, chief consultant
[Schine] confused Stalin with Trotsky, Marx with Lenin, Alexander Kerensky with Prince Lvov, and fifteenth-century utopianism with twentieth-century Communism. ...
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| International | |
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