An Actor’s Take on Christy Affair

As a struggling actor since the age of 12, I have spent more than half my life paying annual dues to the Screen Actors Guild. Even so, there were some years that, much to my chagrin, I was told I hadn’t earned enough to qualify for health coverage and would have to pay for the guild’s policy out of my own pocket--or lose my benefits altogether.

Now comes the allegation that George Christy, the Hollywood Reporter’s venerable society columnist, took on-screen credit for roles that never existed in order to qualify for the guild’s generous coverage (“A Party Columnist Caught in the Eye of the Storm,” by David Shaw, May 14; “Drama at the Hollywood Reporter,” by Jeff Leeds, May 3).

These credits were allegedly granted to him as quid pro quo for favorable mentions in his celebrity-studded column, “The Great Life,” most prominently by producers Steve Stabler and Brad Krevoy. In addition to the credits and the subsequent health coverage that they engendered, Christy allegedly received other industry perks, such as free office space, in exchange for his journalistic largess.

Christy claims that he did in fact perform in these Stabler-Krevoy-produced pictures but that the end result--almost every time--ended up on the cutting-room floor. Even if he’s telling the truth, he doesn’t bother to mention that he wouldn’t have had the roles in the first place if not for his Reporter contacts. And he doesn’t address the fact that the salary reported to the guild for these supposed roles--enough to qualify him for benefits--was often not commensurate to the tiny walk-ons he was purported to have had.

SAG, to its credit, filed suit against Stabler and Krevoy in 1993. The lawsuit maintained that Christy and others were given these gift roles with the express purpose of defrauding the benefit plan. Further, SAG claimed that some roles were given to insiders like Christy in exchange for the promise of future favors.

According to an article by former Reporter writer David Robb, that suit was settled in 1994. But Reporter publisher Robert Dowling clearly felt that SAG’s evidence wasn’t enough to call Christy’s ethics into question; he was allowed to remain on the job. Christy is still on the job today, despite the fact that he was investigated again for similar charges in 1998. In fact, an audit currently underway represents the third time that Christy has been under SAG’s microscope, but still Dowling doesn’t feel that he’s seen enough.

Well, I have.

If SAG is to be believed, Christy appallingly tried to take for himself hard-won benefits that he never earned--and this despite the fact that he already had a high-profile job for a major industry publication.

To add insult to injury, Christy hasn’t even tried to apologize. Instead, he has offered only lame spin, including that some credits he received were for roles as an extra where he wasn’t recognized. But Christy knows full well that extras don’t receive screen credit; that, in and of itself, would have qualified as a grossly inappropriate favor. Even so, Christy has been quoted as saying, “I really feel I’m being victimized here.”

Nonsense. The real victims are the thousands of hard-working, passionate men, women and children who spend many years training, auditioning, mailing, showcasing, reading, praying, begging, borrowing and cajoling in order to--if they’re lucky--genuinely earn enough in their chosen profession to qualify for benefits.

Christy, if he indeed took credit for roles he never played, insults actors everywhere who have dedicated their financial and emotional resources to their craft, and whose sweat and tears are copiously shed in an attempt--often in vain--to make a living doing what they love.

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I urge all actors and fellow artists to boycott the Reporter--and its sister publications Back Stage and Back Stage West--until Dowling comes to his senses and forces Christy to resign. Actors are the lifeblood of publications such as Back Stage, and every day Christy remains on the job is a slap to our collective face. The SAG audit may still be ongoing, but what Christy has admitted to already is enough to result in his ouster.

Meanwhile, the unrepentant, recidivist Christy owes the entire membership of SAG a very public apology. Despite numerous chances to shape up, he has repeatedly proven that he does not have the ethical chops to be a journalist, and it is time for him to go.

Perhaps he can pursue a new career as a full-time actor. Let’s see if he can work often enough to qualify for health benefits on his own, without the aid of his well-connected cronies.

My guess is he can’t.