Schuller Sued by Pageant Ex-Directors

A dispute over rights to Christmas and Easter pageants at the Rev. Robert H. Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral has moved to court, where former directors of the shows have sued to halt them.

Michael Coleman and Conwell Worthington, who were in charge of the pageants in 1983-85, also asked for $55 million in damages in their federal lawsuit.

They were fired without cause in 1986 and replaced by Schuller’s son-in-law, they alleged. Then the Garden Grove church failed to keep promises to buy out their interest in the show and ignored their right to veto changes in content.

Chuck Todd, general counsel for the church, called the allegations “groundless” and said he had thought that the dispute was resolved last year.

“More than a year ago, an extensive investigation was undertaken by the Crystal Cathedral, employing consultants and legal experts in all areas of copyright law and drama,” Todd said. “The results of the investigation clearly demonstrated that there was no liability on the part of the cathedral to Worthington and Coleman.”

Cathedral officials also disputed another allegation in the Worthington-Coleman suit: that their firing was motivated by anti-Semitism. Coleman is Jewish.

“Our investigation revealed no basis upon which any allegation of anti-Semitism could be made,” Todd said. “We consistently employ Jewish actors and actresses in the production, and the cathedral has never engaged in discriminatory practices.”

A separate statement by the Schuller Ministries issued Thursday denied any bias. That statement reads:

“Our religious heritage is the Dutch Reformed Church, and we have a hatred of anti-Semitism. Historically, it was the Dutch Reformed Church that was the first to give shelter to European Jews during the (Second World) war. Dr. Schuller, the ministry staff and church congregation have strong respect and sympathies for the historic plight of the Jewish people.”

The first Christmas pageant was held in 1981, the year after the cathedral opened, and quickly gained enormous popularity. Last year, more than 191,000 people saw the “Glory of Christmas” production. The “Glory of Easter” production drew 103,000 in 1987.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleged that the shows gross $5 million a year, a figure that could not be confirmed through the cathedral. When Worthington and Coleman were fired in 1986, cathedral officials said the change was needed to hold down costs of the pageants.

Last week, Schuller announced another major cutback: a 25% reduction in the $1-million production budget for the “Hour of Power” broadcast ministry and the layoff of 40 of the weekly show’s 250 or so staff members.

Although a church spokesman called the situation “very, very severe,” he said the cutbacks would not affect the cathedral itself or its various other missionary programs.

Attached to the director’s lawsuit was a copy of a five-page document titled “Agreement,” which appears to guarantee Worthington the power to block changes in the productions in the event that he is fired and to provide a lump sum of $135,000 and annual payments of $95,000 for a period that was not specified..

While Todd declined to comment specifically on the document, other correspondence attached to the lawsuit suggests that cathedral officials question its authenticity.

In late 1986, Worthington and Coleman proposed to drop all claims in return for a payment of $335,000, plus $200,000 per year through 1990. That offer is contained in a letter to the cathedral from the former directors’ lawyer, which also alleged that the firings may have been because of unspecified “improprieties” discovered in cathedral operations.

Also in the letter, the directors’ lawyer said he would seek a court order halting the pageants--a threat that apparently was not carried out.

The lawsuit named Schuller, Schuller’s son-in-law Paul D. Dunn, the cathedral and Robert Schuller Ministries, among other defendants.

It alleged that the cathedral violated the copyright of the former directors, breached their contract and engaged in fraud in firing them.

Most of the damages are claimed on allegations of malice in the cathedral’s termination of Worthington and Coleman.