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MR CHAIRMAN

   During my 10 years of Corporate Television work I must admit I was called on to produce some real "boring" shows - but there were also moments that made me want to go to work.  Here's a brief list of the "highlights" of my time - that I can remember.

Over the years I saw many changes in the stodgy old phone company as it expanded into a communication giant. Working with James Earl Jones was an event.  We shot a piece with him in his NYC Village apartment - what it was about I really can't dredge up but I learned an amazing fact.  Mr. Jones stuttered!  He said he lived with it growing up and he went into acting because when he memorized scripts he didn't stutter.  I also learn that he was paid $10,000,000 to exclusively do VZ commercials and $1,000,000 every time he made a new commercial.  Not bad for someone who was speech challenged.

For another taped employee recruitment show which was going out to higher learning institutions I suggested that the last scene should be shot as the Chairman and CEO boarded his corporate jet where his only comment in the piece was, "And if you work hard you just might get to ride in one of these all over the world!"  He agreed to the idea and we arranged the shoot for at the Philadelphia Executive airport.  It only took a few minutes as Mr. Smith was a "pro" and hit his marks.  After the shoot as we walked to our cars he with a huff said, "Do you know how much it cost for that shot?  It cost about $5000 just to take the plane out of the garage.  I hope this never happens again!"  My client walking with us was mortified.  As always I wasn't in awe of a major exec as most in management were.  I said, With due respect Mr. Smith I arranged this shoot to be done on a day when the plane was having a maintence and a brief flight test.  The scene didn't cost the company anything!"  He stopped, turned and chuckled. Give me the "high sign" and got in his limo.  My client was speechless.

 I had another CEO incident - Mr. Smith came to our studio to do a short message and after the shoot asked if he could make a few calls from my office.  "I said of course, it's you office more than mine!"  He took over my desk and I gave him some privacy.  Before he did the scene my secretary had to sew his suit jacket that was literally falling apart.  This multi-millionaire was definitely not a cloths hog.  When he left I returned to my desk and found he had forgotten his large wallet filled with credit cards and his "little black book" of phone numbers.  For a moment I thought "blackmail!"  Thought better of it and walked over to his 50th floor magnificent office.  "Thanks," he said, "I wondered where I put that!!"  And that was Ray Smith and he proved that day that one can have titles, big bucks and fly in jets wherever he wanted - but he still "just a common and human character just like me.  There are more stories about him - but I am bound by my personal code of TV to not write them down.  Ray retired after several years at the top of our Fortune 50 company, moved to California and bought a winery with his "golden parachute" pay-out.  Many of the higher execs were relieved because he many times promised stuff that hadn’t been invented yet.



 

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