Tuesday, March 1, 2011

More stars than there are in Heaven ...

Barney responds to fans' recent comments about contacting MGM about the release of the rest of the Cagney & Lacey series on DVD ...

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MGM ... yes, the company of Leo, the lion and "more stars than there are in Heaven" ... the place where (over 50 years ago) I began my show business career... has, apparently just dodged its umpteenth bankruptcy. Not without losing a couple of employees, including my best contact at what has been for some time a beleaguered company. Through machinations and show business vagaries they have, for some time now, been the holders of the underlying copyrights to Cagney & Lacey. They have been incompetent managers. Their predecessors, at Orion Pictures Corporation, were worse. Having you all bombard these folks now with pleas for competency might become a serious waste of time. On the other hand... there are new folks at the helm and who knows? Maybe something can come of all this turmoil.

Give me... and them... some time. I would like to meet with them and get a sense of the lay of the land before some international write-in campaign is begun. When I do that (and it will be later this year due to my schedule as much as theirs) I will report back to you and then perhaps we can decide together whether to storm the balustrades. We may be the wrong demographic for "storming" but we can at least contemplate that part of our long ago past. Give me til fall at the latest and I will get back to y'all on this important subject.

Meanwhile... a sad comment on our times: as noted above I have been in show business over 50 years and never before would it have been possible to report what is now on my desk. Within a few months time two of my former employees have been murdered. At Sunday night's broadcast of the Academy Awards, Ronni Chasen
was memorialized after the senseless shooting that took place near her Beverly Hills, California home. She was an off again/on again publicist for me (most importantly on Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years) and then, only last week, came word of the murder by pirates in international waters off the coast of Somalia of Scott U. Adam... my production manager for a time on The Trials of Rosie O'Neill.

I could be wrong, and certainly in 50 years a lot of former associates of mine have passed on, but I don't think any of those went by acts of violence. To have two such events occur back-to-back has given me and mine plenty to contemplate.

Barney Rosenzweig
March 1, 2011

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

They'll be in my prayers. Jackilyn

Babel44 said...

Happy Wedding Anniversary to a special couple on this day, may your love continue to grown deeper, richer, stronger and more beautiful with each passing year/day. May you both always walk together with the knowledge that God blessed all of us with your being, and with the knowledge that both of you in your special way are a gift to your family, friends and admiring fans, for you both are indeed extraordinary beautiful human being planted here by God. May the years ahead be happy ones each next one happier than before
With all my respect, admiration and love
Elizabeth