Putting Young Blacks in the Director’s Chair

BRUCE Paltrow paces the periphery of his new Manhattan office, crackling with New York energy. Well over 6 feet and lean, he has adopted the California casual look. The phone rings frequently, and Paltrow rushes to answer each call. He’s working on his newest series “Tattinger,” slated for NBC’s fall lineup. It’s about a recently divorced man who returns from Europe and tries to rebuild his once-prosperous restaurant.

On the other side of the country, Paltrow’s partner, Mark Tinker, his co-executive producer on the Emmy-Award-winning “St. Elsewhere,” oversees the final season of that show while Paltrow’s out of town. Both men are known for creating opportunities for nonwhites and women, continuing the successful employment practices Paltrow began as executive producer of “The White Shadow” in the mid ‘70s.

Paltrow has been the topic of scathing indictments, usually hissed behind his back, for his hiring practices. But he recalls a frontal assault from a white producer-writer he didn’t hire to direct an episode of “St. Elsewhere,” giving the job, instead, to a black newcomer. Paltrow relishes the tale.

“I will say, to his credit, that this guy screamed and told me I was an ass to my face,” he says. “I’ve been told people call me a jerk, so this was at least refreshingly honest. He was right to be angry. I was practicing reverse discrimination, but I figured he had food on the table and a list of credits to take to the bank.

“When we brought ‘The White Shadow’ to the networks, they initially balked,” says Paltrow. “They never said they wanted more whites, but they inferred it by asking for more balance. It was like they saw too many black faces.”

So much for life before Bill Cosby. But the show, about an inner-city basketball team with a white coach, became a hit, running three seasons, and Paltrow did more than just put a bunch of black actors on screen. He gave several of them the chance to direct.

One of them was Kevin Hooks, who hadn’t thought about directing until he was on the “White Shadow” set. “My experience had been as an actor, but I thought I’d be more effective as a film maker. I feel comfortable guiding people in their performances,” says Hooks, who’s directed episodes of “St. Elsewhere,” “Vietnam War Story” and “21 Jump Street.” “But after all this time I still run into the Jackie Robinson syndrome and have to conquer the subconscious racism and cynicism I come across.”

Hooks felt a flash of faith when he found Thomas Carter directing him in an episode of “The White Shadow” at the end of the show’s second season. Paltrow had made the 25-year-old black actor his apprentice and eventually handed him the reins. So Hooks asked for the same shot at directing, and he, too, received Paltrow’s speech: Watch, learn, no promises.

Finally, Hooks was given the choice of directing show No. 15 or No. 18; he chose the latter, but the series was canceled before the 16th episode. He was devastated. But Paltrow was busy working on his next series, MTM’s “St. Elsewhere.” He called Hooks to direct an episode, and Hooks did several that first season. By then, another young actor, Eric Laneuville, was standing in the wings. Laneuville went on to direct nearly 20 episodes of the show, and works on another series, “Beverly Hills Buntz.”

“To put it in simplistic terms, without Bruce I would be unemployed,” says Laneuville. “I never would have had the chance to become a director.”

Yet Paltrow realizes that for all his help, these men created their own successes. It is their talent, persistence and ability to deflect prejudice that have kept them employed.

“I’m not running a charity,” Paltrow says, “although I admit I’m predisposed to give minorities an extra opportunity, if you will, because society isn’t fair. But the real answer to why do I do it: I get off on it.”