The Two Hundred Thousand Dollar Mistake

The corruption behind the scenes in Hollywood.

The Show Must Go On

The glitz and glamour of Hollywood became the backdrop of my childhood. I danced on American Bandstand, on played Family Feud, watched sets be built, worked on The Price is Right, General Hospital and In Living Colour, while watching actors rehearse their lines. It felt like quite the privilege.

Growing up behind the scenes in Hollywood made me privy to a whole lot of corruption and devious acts. My dad worked as the lead prop man for television series, concerts, plays, the Emmys, the Grammys, or anything else for the taking.

Smoke and Mirrors

In that era, the studio executives would hand my dad thousands in cash, and his job was to find unusual props needed for the sets. For instance, my dad knew where to find a six-foot pink teddy bear as soon as the request came.

He and his other prop coworkers all remained on the lookout for Hollywood gems as they drove around the back streets of Wilshire Blvd.

However, without computers, receipts made up the accounting system that dutiful employees handed to accounts payable. The studios were unaware that all the prop men and women (not as many at the time) bought their own register that printed out fake receipts. Therefore, much of the propman’s stash could be pocketed but somehow accounted for without notice.

Oops…

Every once and a while, an overzealous new accountant would jump on board and notice discrepancies. Quickly, he would announce to the executives of a problem of money missing. Well, those executives knew all about it, too. They, too, had their own ways of pocketing the studio’s stash.

In the middle of the hustle and bustle, management would placate the new accountant by explaining,” it was just a mistake.” The accountant would not argue, and the money remained distributed into the inner-lining of the entire staff.

A Day in The Life

Besides the day drinking and onslaught of cocaine used by the majority of those who worked in Hollywood, including celebrities and everyone else, the stealing of money and the buying of six-foot teddy bears continued. Until one day…

My dad mentioned that he would like to write a story about the studios “Two hundred thousand dollar mistake,” wink, wink, tug, tug. The guys would laugh because they all knew of what he was referring.

One day, while the guys were taking a break, an executive came stumbling down the stairs, stepping over his own feet, racing towards my dad. “NO, two hundred thousand dollar mistake, David,” He demanded. “No mistake, no mentions, no story.” Somehow, word got out of my dad’s impending story.

Understanding that his job was more important than his story, my father obliged. But he kept those execs on their toes for years. They gave him the best schedules, and his union voted him into a leadership position. But the “Two hundred thousand dollar mistake” disappeared.

Break a Leg

I knew at a young age that stealing was wrong. I do not condone the actions of the crew. But, this story is not about judgment. It is a story about how life rolls behind the curtain in stage life. It is a fast-paced world, anytime a staff member was at home, they knew they could be working. The schedule is a revolving door. This weighs heavy on all that work there.

However, the staff still delivers lines of cocaine on catering carts to the celebrities’ dressing rooms. People find ways to pocket the studio’s money, and corruption continues all the way from the top because as they say in Hollywood, “The show must go on!”