Job Opening?Robert Reich, named Friday as the...
Job Opening?
Robert Reich, named Friday as the next labor secretary by President-elect Bill Clinton, may soon lose a $250-a-month job he’s held for more than four years.
Reich’s appointment means the Harvard professor will probably have to give up his biweekly commentary for “Marketplace,” a half-hour daily business program produced at USC that airs over American Public Radio.
Reich, who receives $125 per spot, has appeared on the program for four years. He’s now on a leave of absence helping college chum Clinton with the transition.
J.J. Yore, Marketplace commentary editor, says no decision has been made, adding that there is still some sentiment at the program to let Reich continue even as a government insider. But it’s unlikely.
“My own feeling is that it would feel funny to have someone who is officially part of the administration as a regular commentator,” Yore says.
Big Interest In Little Tramp?
Tri-Star Pictures will find out next week if comic Charlie Chaplin can still bring in an audience in these modern times when it releases director Richard Attenborough’s “Chaplin” film biography.
One early indicator may come Tuesday, when Christie’s auctions an autographed Chaplin photograph. The New York auction house estimates it will fetch from $700 to $900.
How does Chaplin’s expected price compare to those for other Hollywood legends? Autographed photos of Rudolph Valentino and W.C. Fields are expected to fetch the same amount. But it’s well below prices for Lon Chaney ($2,200 to $2,400) and Walt Disney ($4,000 to $4,500).
If it’s any comfort to Chaplin fans, the photo should bring in more than the $200 to $500 expected for two scripts signed by Adam West, television’s “Batman.”
A Price That Will Floor You
Talk has it that Sony Pictures may be interested in buying a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Great Western Forum. If so, it’s not the only asset Lakers owner Jerry Buss is selling.
Buss is marketing via a toll-free number 8-by-10-inch pieces of the original Forum basketball court that the Lakers played on from 1967 to 1991. Called “The Ultimate Lakers Memorabilia,” it includes a certificate of authenticity.
The price is $995, which works out to $12.44 a square inch. As a bonus, the offer includes autographs from five former team greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Elgin Baylor.
Briefly . . .
All I Want for Christmas Is a Paycheck: A new book titled “Job Search: The Total System” suggests people who are unemployed use Christmas cards to update friends, associates and relatives “in a positive way” about their employment status . . . Reserve a Seat: UCLA Extension will offer a course next month on business frauds, cons and scams . . . Will It Help Them Get Him There on Time?: Day Runner in Fullerton has sent 100 of its personal organizers to the committee putting together the inauguration for Clinton, who is notorious for running late.
