Jurisdictional disputes in the motion-picture Industry : hearings before a special subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, first-session, pursuant to H. Res. 111 (1948)

358 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES and most people thought he was a marvelous actor, but he was a glorious singer ; but he was up there on the stage in the morning and maiking it oif, every action he took. By the time of the performance he had it in such a routine way that they thought that was grace personified. But when he was through — and he sang one of the arias he was going to do in the opera — he came down from the stage and there was an old lady back in the aisle, who was scrubbing. He went up to her and he said, "Mamie, how did I do this morning?" She said, "Oh, Mr. Scotti, you did wonderful." She said, "You were much better this morning than you were yesterday morning, and you will give a great performance." So he came over to me and he said, "You know, Carroll, all these music critics comment on my work, but there is my greatest critic." I just wondered if that feeling existed around the lot. I wondered if, whenever Mr. Reagan, or Mr. Arnold, or whatever actor it was, makes a picture — I wondered if they are in there pitching. Do you have that feelinji on the lot? I don't know anything about it. Mr. Arnold. Generally so ; generally speaking, yes. There are very few people that don't like actors on the lot. There are a few that think sometimes that we are high-hatting them, and that we earn too much money, but the general feeling among actors and the stage hands and the crew is that whether they are an actor or a stage hand, they are in the theater— they are in pictures. Ihave been out here 15 years and I have been in the theater about 25, and I never have arguments with people. The only argument I had was with a director. That is the only argument, once in my life. Mr. Reagan. Mr. Kearns, the viewpoint there has always been a part of show business on the part of the people working on the job. It goes back to the old-time days of the circus, when they yelled, "Hey, Rube," when the town people got tough with them. Of course, we in the acting profession do come across, to use the slang term. There are certain actor haters that you run into in bars and other places that seem to have that attitude, but there are not too many of them. I would say that the gentleman you mentioned was a very smart and very shrewd actor. He knew, as we all know, that the critics don't pay for their tickets and the Mamie's do. Mr. Arnold. That also happened on the legitimate stage. Wlien we were putting on a new show, the stage hands were working in there, and you would ask them, "What do you think of the show ; is it going to be good or bad ?" and 9 times out of 10 they are right. Mr. Reagan. Mr. Kearns, I think the thing you are referring to is what has happened all through the business, because I think one of the greatest tragedies as the result of this labor strife that we have been through is the fact that it breaks up this closely knit family unit. I hope that we can get not only some technical solution, but some solution there which will take away that deterioration in that attitude, and make us realize that we are all people in this industry and ought to have the same attitude. Mr. Kearns. Thank you, Mr. Reagan. We will recess. Mr. Arnold. May t say something to Mr. Doherty? If Mr. Doherty would come to live in Hollywood, he might change his mind