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David Begelman | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-08-26)August 26, 1921 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1995(1995-08-07) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Body discovered | August 7, 1995 |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation(s) | producer, film executive |
| Spouses | Ester Begelman (died) |
| Children | 1 |
David Begelman (August 26, 1921 – August 7, 1995) was an American film producer, film executive and talent agent who was involved in a studioembezzlement scandal in the 1970s.
Begelman was born to a Jewish family[1] in New York City. His father was a Manhattan tailor.[2]
Begelman was in theUnited States Army Air Forces during World War II. He then became a student atNew York University. Following college, he worked in the insurance business.[2]
He worked at the Music Corporation of America (MCA Inc.) for more than 11 years, starting in the mid-1950s,[2] eventually becoming vice president. He left in 1960 to co-found the talent agencyCreative Management Associates (CMA) with fellow MCA agentFreddie Fields.[2] Their clients includedJudy Garland,Barbra Streisand,Liza Minnelli,Woody Allen,Gregory Peck,Paul Newman,Steve McQueen,Jackie Gleason andFred Astaire. At CMA, Fields and Begelman pioneered themovie "package", where the talent agency put their stars, directors and writers together on a single project.[2]
Begelman left CMA in 1973 to take over the flounderingColumbia Pictures. Begelman used his package method at Columbia, dramatically changing the company's image by producing such hits asShampoo (1975),Funny Lady (1975) andClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).[2]
In February 1977, actorCliff Robertson received a1099 form from the IRS indicating he had received $10,000 from Columbia Pictures during 1976. He had never received the money, and discovered that his signature on the cashed check had been forged. Robertson's report started a criminal investigation. TheLos Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) verified that the $10,000 check was a forgery, and it was tracked to Begelman. He was ultimately fined and sentenced to community service and a public service, anti-drug documentary for the forgeries.[2]
Columbia Pictures suspended Begelman on a paid vacation and announced its own investigation. The studio discovered that Begelman had embezzled an additional $65,000 through other forged checks. However, the studioboard of directors wanted to keep the matter out of the press. The Begelman scandal led to a rift between Columbia executives. Columbia PicturesCEOAlan Hirschfield was ousted from the studio in 1978 following his refusal to reinstate Begelman on moral grounds.[3] Following a brief reinstatement, Begelman was quietly fired. The studio released a statement saying he had suffered emotional problems.
Despite the pressure to remain quiet, Robertson and his wifeDina Merrill spoke to the press. David McClintick broke the story inThe Wall Street Journal in 1978, later turning it into a best-selling book,Indecent Exposure (1982). Robertson later claimed he had been blacklisted during the 1980s for coming forward about the Begelman affair, and had few roles during this period.
Kirk Douglas, in his autobiographyThe Ragman's Son (1988), wrote of the scandal:
This is the town where Cliff Robertson exposed David Begelman as a forger and a thief, with the net result that Begelman got a standing ovation at a Hollywood restaurant, while Robertson was blacklisted for four years. On the bad days, you think of whatTallulah Bankhead said: "Who do I have to fuck to get out of this business?"[4]
A writer forNew West magazine, working on this story, queried Begelman's claimed alma mater,Yale University, listed in hisWho's Who entry. Yale responded that Begelman had never attended that university. TheNew West article said that "although Begelman was indicted for forgery and grand theft, the Hollywood types were more outraged that he had listed Yale inWho's Who. Apparently they figured that everybody steals money. It was the fact that he lied about Yale that drove them crazy."[5]
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In 1993, a book by Coyne Steven Sanders,Rainbow's End: The Judy Garland Show (Morrow 1990), about the history of Judy Garland'sCBS Television seriesThe Judy Garland Show (1963–1964), devoted a chapter to possible embezzlement of Garland's funds by Begelman. Garland's estranged husband at the time,Sid Luft, hired an attorney to audit her income from the time Begelman began representing her with fellow agentFreddie Fields. It was discovered that several hundred thousand dollars were missing, much of it written in checks to "Cash" and endorsed by Begelman at various casinos in Las Vegas. Other entries in her accounts showed large sums paid for "protection" with no authorization, all approved by Begelman, though Garland had no personal security. In addition, a 1963 Cadillac convertible, given to Garland as partial payment for appearances onJack Paar's television program, was titled to Begelman. Garland never knew the car was part of her compensation for her appearance.
In addition, Begelman told Garland a photo existed of her, partially nude, having her stomach pumped in a hospital emergency room after a drug overdose in London, and that blackmailers were demanding $50,000 to turn over the picture and all negatives. As she was in negotiations with CBS at the time for her new television series, Garland paid rather than face the adverse publicity and potentially damaging the deal's prospects. Luft's attorney eventually determined that the check went to a holding company with a business address in New York City owned by Begelman, and was further traced to a personal account of Begelman.
Rather than confront Begelman at a time when he was playing such a pivotal role in her show business re-emergence, Garland decided to eat the financial losses based upon the promise of millions coming from the deal with CBS. However, once her show was cancelled, she and Luft sued Begelman for the hundreds of thousands he had allegedly stolen as well as $1 million in punitive damages. Due to her dire financial situation at the time, Garland was forced to settle the suit for royalties owed her byCapitol Records that Begelman and Fields, as her agents, had collected but were holding because of the lawsuit.
In January 1980, Begelman returned to the production world and became COO and president ofMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer signing a four-year contract worth $1.9 million.[6] In 1981, MGM acquiredUnited Artists and in October, Begelman was appointed as chairman and CEO of UA[6] but with the exception ofFame,Clash of the Titans, andPoltergeist, he was unable to repeat his success at Columbia and was dismissed in 1982.[7] After leaving MGM/UA, Begelman was offered a position to run a production company, Sherwood Productions, by backerBruce McNall.[8] Under Sherwood, Begelman backedWarGames (which started production at MGM),Mr. Mom,The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, andBlame It on Rio. According to the makers ofBuckaroo Banzai, Begelman continued to be engaged in fraud: reporting inflated figures to investors but producing the films for much less to pocket the difference.[citation needed]
When investorNelson Bunker Hunt pulled out of Sherwood in 1984, Begelman took the slack and founded Gladden Entertainment (named after Gladyce, his wife)[9] with the remaining assets[10] and repartnering with McNall. There, he greenlitMannequin,Weekend at Bernie's,The Fabulous Baker Boys,Short Time andMannequin Two: On the Move.Short Time andMannequin Two did poorly. In 1986, the company revealed that they filed a lawsuit againstThe Cannon Group, Inc. and Cannon Screen Entertainment, stemming from a decision for the previous agreement withThorn EMI Screen Entertainment for removing two films from the slate, but the suit was settled on August 12, 1986.[11] In 1988, McNall sold 40% of his ownership to foreign investors. At the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, Begelman revealed that the company had a distribution deal with MGM, Live Entertainment and Rank Film Distributors for 10-film and $150-million. However,Credit Lyonnais had placed a lien on Gladden's assets as the bank was owed $90 million. A petition was filed by Hollywood's three major talent guilds in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles to liquidate the company for failure to pay actors, directors and writers residuals in the amount of $4.1 million.[12] Begelman left Gladden Entertainment to found Gladden Productions.[13] However, he was not able to get funding for the new production company.[2] (Ironically, MGM today holds the rights to the Sherwood/Gladden films as a result of their purchase of theEpic library fromPolyGram in 1998; PolyGram had acquired the library from Credit Lyonnais two years prior.)[14]
Begelman was married four times. His first wife was Ester Begelman, a sister of a friend; she died of breast cancer after seven years of marriage.[15] His second wife was Lee Reynolds;[15] they had one daughter, Leslie Begelman Belskie, before divorcing.[16] In 1975, he married Gladyce Largever, former wife of New York real estate developerLewis Rudin; she died in 1986 of cancer.[9] After his wife's death, he lived with actress Sandra Grant Bennett until 1990 when he married Annabelle Weston.[17]
Begelman became depressed over his Gladden Entertainment bankruptcy and failure to find funding for Gladden Productions. Begelman was found shot dead in a room at theCentury Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on August 7, 1995, at the age of 73.[2] His death was ruled a suicide;[2] he was interred atHillside Memorial Park Cemetery inCulver City. At his death he was married to his fourth wife and was survived by his daughter, a sister and a brother.[2]
