Misplaced Pages

G. David Schine: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 22:30, 16 June 2008 editRichard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users195,161 edits Undid revision 219791427 by RedSpruce (talk)← Previous edit Revision as of 01:26, 20 June 2008 edit undoRedSpruce (talk | contribs)12,082 edits rv, per multiple un-challenged points in TalkNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox Person | name =Gerard David Schine | image =DavidShine2.jpg | image_size = 150px | caption =Schine at the Army-McCarthy hearings, 1954 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|9|11}} | birth_place = ] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|6|19|1927|9|11}} | death_place = ]| death_cause =] | resting_place =] | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = ] | education =]<br>] (1949) | employer = | occupation = | title = | salary = | networth = | height = | weight = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | religion = | spouse =] (m. 1957) | partner = | children = ] (1964-1996)<br>Mark Schine (twin of Berndt)<br>Vidette Schine Perry<br>Kevin Schine<br>Axel Schine<br>Lance Schine<ref name=nytobit/> | parents =]<br>Hildegarde Feldman | relatives =Renee Schine Crown (sister) | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} {{Infobox Person | name =Gerard David Schine | image =DavidShine2.jpg | image_size = 150px | caption =Schine at the Army-McCarthy hearings, 1954 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|9|11}} | birth_place = ] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|6|19|1927|9|11}} | death_place = ]| death_cause =] | resting_place =] | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = ] | education =]<br>] (1949) | employer = | occupation = | title = | salary = | networth = | height = | weight = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | religion = | spouse =] | partner = | children = Frederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996) | parents =]<br>Hildegarde Feldman | relatives =Renee Schine Crown (sister) | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}


'''Gerard David Schine''', better known as '''G. David Schine''' (], ] &ndash; ], ]), was a wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the ] of 1954 in his role as the chief consultant to the ].<ref name=gds>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine |quote=At the start, the focus was on G. David Schine, an Army private who had been chief consultant to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B12FF385D13778DDDAC0894DE405B878BF1D3&scp=13&sq=Army-McCarthy+Hearings&st=p |publisher=] |date=], ], Sunday |accessdate=2008-04-01 }}</ref><ref name=rovere/><ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations |year= |publisher=] |quote=G. David Schine, chief consultant | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TMQ1AAAAIAAJ&dq |isbn= }}</ref> '''Gerard David Schine''', better known as '''G. David Schine''' (], ] &ndash; ], ]), was a wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the ] of 1954.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B12FF385D13778DDDAC0894DE405B878BF1D3&scp=13&sq=Army-McCarthy+Hearings&st=p |publisher=] |date=], ], Sunday |accessdate=2008-04-01 }}</ref>


==Early years== ==Early years==
He was born in ] to ] and and Hildegarde Feldman.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=J. M. Schine, Hotel Chain Founder, Dies. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/642930612.html?dids=642930612:642930612&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=May+09%2C+1971&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=J.+M.+Schine%2C+Hotel+Chain+Founder%2C+Dies&pqatl=google |quote=J. Myer Schine, 79, founder and chairman of Schine Enterprises, owners of the Los Angeles Ambassador and other hostelries throughout the nation, died Saturday... |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-16 }}</ref> Junius was in the movie theater, hotel and real estate industries. Gerard attended ] then graduated from ] in 1949.<ref name=nytobit/> He was born in ] to ] and Hildegarde Feldman.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=J. M. Schine, Hotel Chain Founder, Dies |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/642930612.html?dids=642930612:642930612&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=May+09%2C+1971&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=J.+M.+Schine%2C+Hotel+Chain+Founder%2C+Dies&pqatl=google |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-16 }}</ref> Junius was in the movie theater, hotel and real estate industries. David attended ], then graduated from ] in 1949.<ref name=obit/>


==Anti-communism and Army-McCarthy== ==Anti-communism and Army-McCarthy==
In 1952, at age 24, Schine published an anti-communism pamphlet called ''Definition of Communism'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Schine |first=Gerald David |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Definition of Communism |year=1952 |publisher= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S3HHHAAACAAJ&dq |isbn= }}</ref> and had a copy placed in every room of his family's chain of hotels. Although the pamphlet contained many errors,<ref name=rovere> In 1952, at age 24, Schine published an anti-communism pamphlet called ''Definition of Communism'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Schine |first=Gerald David |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Definition of Communism |year=1952 |publisher= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S3HHHAAACAAJ&dq |isbn= }}</ref> and had a copy placed in every room of his family's chain of hotels. Although the pamphlet contained many errors,<ref>
{{cite book {{cite book
|last = Rovere |last = Rovere
|first = Richard H. |first = Richard H.
|title = Senator Joe McCarthy |title = Senator Joe McCarthy
⚫ |publisher = University of California Press
|authorlink=Richard Rovere
⚫ |publisher = ]
|date= 1959 |date= 1959
| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=c5GOLPhg954C&printsec=frontcover&dq | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=c5GOLPhg954C&printsec=frontcover&dq
|pages = pg. 194 |pages = pg. 194
| quote = He hired Roy M. Cohn as Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee, and Cohn recruited G. David Schine as "Chief Consultant" ... confused Stalin with Trotsky, Marx with Lenin, Alexander Kerensky with Prince Lvov, and fifteenth-century utopianism with twentieth-century Communism. ... | quote = ... confused Stalin with Trotsky, Marx with Lenin, Alexander Kerensky with Prince Lvov, and fifteenth-century utopianism with twentieth-century Communism. ...
|id = ISBN 0-520-20472-7}}</ref>
|id = ISBN 0-520-20472-7}}</ref><ref>Olson, James C. , via ], p. 278.</ref>
it led to Schine being introduced to ] through newspaper columnist ], and the two becoming friends.<ref>, '']'', ], ]. "It was Sokolsky, his friends say, who brought Cohn and Schine to the attention of McCarthy and got them their jobs with the subcommittee." Accessed ], ].</ref> Cohn at that time was Senator ]'s chief counsel, and he brought Schine into McCarthy's staff as an unpaid "chief consultant". Among their other anti-communist activities, Schine and Cohn conducted a highly publicized and widely ridiculed <ref> it led to Schine being introduced to ], and the two became friends. Cohn at that time was Senator ]'s chief counsel, and he brought Schine into McCarthy's staff as an unpaid "chief consultant". Among their other anti-communist activities, Schine and Cohn conducted a highly publicized and widely ridiculed,<ref>
See for example: {{cite book See for example: {{cite book
| last = Cook | last = Cook
| first = Fred J. | first = Fred J.
| title = The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy | title = The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy
| publisher = ] | publisher = Random House
| date = 1971 | date = 1971
| pages = pp. 411-413 | pages = pp. 411-413
Line 35: Line 34:
|authorlink =Geoffrey Ward |authorlink =Geoffrey Ward
| title = Roy Cohn | title = Roy Cohn
⚫ | publisher = ]
| quote = His single stated regret was that he and his young fellow-counsel, G. David Schine, had ever undertaken their celebrated 1953 trip to Europe to purge United States Information Agency libraries of 'more than thirty thousand works by Communists, fellow-travelers and unwitting promoters of the Soviet cause.'
⚫ | publisher = ]
| date = 1988 | date = 1988
| url = http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml | url = http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml
| accessdate = 2008-03-12 }}</ref> | accessdate = 2008-03-12 }}</ref>


In November 1953, Schine was drafted into the ] as a private.<ref name=lat/> Cohn immediately began a campaign to get special privileges for Schine. Cohn met with and made repeated phone calls to military officials from the ] down to Schine's company commander. He asked that Schine be given a commission, which the Army refused due to Schine's lack of qualifications, and that Schine be given light duties, extra leave and not be assigned overseas. At one point, Cohn was reported to have threatened to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met.<ref>{{cite news In November 1953, Schine was drafted into the ] as a private.<ref name=lat/> Cohn immediately began a campaign to get special privileges for Schine. Cohn met with and made repeated phone calls to military officials from the ] down to Schine's company commander. He asked that Schine be given a commission, which the Army refused due to Schine's lack of qualifications, and that Schine be given light duties, extra leave and not be assigned overseas. At one point, Cohn was reported to have threatened to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met.<ref>
{{cite news
| title = The Self-Inflated Target | title = The Self-Inflated Target
| quote = ... the Army's sensational charge: Roy Cohn had threatened to "wreck the Army" in an attempt to get special treatment for one Private G. David Schine.
| publisher =] | publisher =]
| date = ], ] | date = ], ]
Line 63: Line 62:
| first = Neil | first = Neil
| title = Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present | title = Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present
⚫ | publisher = New York: Vintage Books
| quote = Ironically, it was the inordinate concern on the part of McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy M. Cohn, regarding the military of McCarthy committee aid G. David Schine — a concern that may or may not have had a homosexual element to it — that was to precipitate the Army-McCarthy hearings that finally brought down the Washington senator.
⚫ | publisher = Vintage Books
| date = 1995 | date = 1995
| url = http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/finnegan/English%20256/Miller.htm | url = http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/finnegan/English%20256/Miller.htm
Line 74: Line 72:
| authorlink = Tom Wolfe | authorlink = Tom Wolfe
| title = Dangerous Obsessions | title = Dangerous Obsessions
| quote = But so far as Mr. Schine is concerned, there has never been the slightest evidence that he was anything but a good-looking kid who was having a helluva good time in a helluva good cause. In any event, the rumors were sizzling away ...
| publisher = ] | publisher = ]
| date = ], ] | date = ], ]
Line 83: Line 80:
| first = Randolph | first = Randolph
| title = An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture | title = An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture
| quote = Tall, rich, and suave, the Harvard-educated (and heterosexual) Schine contrasted starkly with the short, physically undistinguished, and caustic Cohn.
| publisher = glbtq, Inc | publisher = glbtq, Inc
| date = ], ] | date = ], ]
Line 95: Line 91:
| title = Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy | title = Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy
| publisher = ] | publisher = ]
| quote = | date = 1995
| date = 1995
| pages = pp. 127, 138 & 166 | pages = pp. 127, 138 & 166
| id = ISBN 015101082X}} | id = ISBN 015101082X}}
Line 109: Line 104:
| last = Hoffman | last = Hoffman
| first = Nicholas Von | first = Nicholas Von
|authorlink = Nicholas von Hoffman
| title = Citizen Cohn: The Life and Times of Roy Cohn | title = Citizen Cohn: The Life and Times of Roy Cohn
| publisher = Doubleday | publisher = Doubleday
Line 139: Line 133:
Roy Cohn resigned from McCarthy's staff shortly after the hearings. Roy Cohn resigned from McCarthy's staff shortly after the hearings.


==Later years== ==After Army-McCarthy==
After the hearings, Schine left politics and declined to comment on the episode for the rest of his life. He remained active in the ] as a ] and an ], working in the hotel, music, and film industries. On ], ], he married the ] of 1955, ] of ].<ref name=wpobit/><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine Is Married. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F16FA3955137A93C1AB178BD95F438585F9&scp=2&sq=%22G.+David+Schine%22&st=p |quote=G. David Schine, former investigator for the late Senator Joseph R. McCarthy ... Sweden, who won the Miss Universe title in 1955, were married here last night. |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-11 }}</ref> They had six children, including Frederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996), and were married for nearly 40 years until their deaths in 1996.<ref name=wpobit/> Also in 1957, Gerard was named head of Schine Enterprises, by his father Junius. In 1963 Junius resumed his position as head of the company.<ref name=time>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A Towering Empire. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834085,00.html |quote=In 1957, he turned over the title of president of Schine Enterprises to his elder son, G. (for Gerard) David Schine, who was once the most famous private in the U.S. Army. ... He has not been company president since 1963, when his father took the job back himself. |publisher=] |date=1965 |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref> After the hearings, Schine left politics and declined to comment on the episode for the rest of his life. He remained active in the ] as a ] and an ], working in the hotel, music, and film industries. In 1957, he married the ] of 1955, ] of ].<ref name=wpobit/><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine Is Married. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F16FA3955137A93C1AB178BD95F438585F9&scp=2&sq=%22G.+David+Schine%22&st=p |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-11 }}</ref> They had six children, including Frederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996), and were married for nearly 40 years until their deaths in 1996.<ref name=wpobit/> Also in 1957, David was named head of Schine Enterprises, by his father Junius. In 1963 Junius resumed his position as head of the company.<ref name=time>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A Towering Empire. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834085,00.html |publisher=] |date=1965 |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref>


Schine made a ] as himself on a 1968 episode of ''].''<ref>{{cite web Schine made a ] as himself on a 1968 episode of ''].''<ref>{{cite web
Line 147: Line 141:
|publisher = TV.com |publisher = TV.com
|date = ], ] |date = ], ]
}}</ref>
}}</ref> Schine was executive producer of the ] ''],'' which was nominated for eight ]s and won five, including ].<ref name=nytobit/><ref name=gds/> In 1977 he produced ''That's Action!''.<ref name=gds/> Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with chart topping music that achieved '']'' gold and platinum and '']'' #1, by ]. Schine's company, Schine Music, would also provide songs to ] and ], among others. A musician himself, Schine had music that he had composed published, and at one point, he guest-conducted the ] for ]. Schine's post production video house in ], Studio Television Services, handled clients such as ], ], ], and ]. His ] ] company, High Resolution Sciences, endeavored for years to bring ] to ]. Schine was executive producer of the ] ''],'' which was nominated for eight ]s and won five, including ].<ref name=obit/> Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with chart topping music that achieved '']'' gold and platinum and '']'' #1, by ]. Schine's company, Schine Music, would also provide songs to ] and ], among others. A musician himself, Schine had music that he had composed published, and at one point, he guest-conducted the ] for ]. Schine's post production video house in ], Studio Television Services, handled clients such as ], ], ], and ]. His ] ] company, High Resolution Sciences, endeavored for years to bring ] to ].


==Death== ==Death==
Schine was killed in 1996, at the age of 68, in a private airplane accident in ].<ref name=lat>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Plane Crash Kills McCarthy Aide; Aviation: G. David Schine, his wife and son die as single-engine craft goes down near freeway soon after takeoff from Burbank Airport. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/16636506.html?dids=16636506:16636506&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+20%2C+1996&author=JOSE+CARDENAS%3BDOUG+SMITH&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Plane+Crash+Kills+McCarthy+Aide%3B+Aviation%3A+G.+David+Schine%2C+his+wife+and+son+die+as+single-engine+craft+goes+down+near+freeway+soon+after+takeoff+from+Burbank+Airport. |quote=G. David Schine -- focus of the epic congressional hearings in the 1950s that led to the downfall of Sen. Joseph McCarthy -- Schine's wife and their son were killed Wednesday when their single-engine plane crashed moments after takeoff from Burbank airport, police said. |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref> His wife was with him on the plane, and his son, Berndt, was piloting the airplane. All three died from their injuries.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Crash Kills G. David Schine, 69 <nowiki></nowiki>, McCarthy-Era Figure |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E1DC1E39F932A15755C0A960958260&scp |quote= G. David Schine, a catalytic figure in the fierce drama that brought to a climax the chapter in American history known as the McCarthy era, was killed on Wednesday when a single-engine plane piloted by his son Berndt crashed shortly after takeoff from ]. Mr. Schine, who was 69 <nowiki></nowiki> and lived in ], died with his wife, Hillevi, 64, and their son, 35. |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-11 }}</ref><ref name=wpobit>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine Dies at 68. Key Figure in McCarthy Era. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/9830444.html?dids=9830444&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Jun+21%2C+1996&author=Barnes%2C+Bart&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=B6&desc=G.+David+Schine+dies+at+68%3B+key+figure+in+McCarthy+era |quote=Also killed in the crash were Mr. Schine's wife, Hillevi Schine, 62, and his son, F. Berndt Schine, 34. Mrs. Schine was Miss Universe in 1956. |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref> Schine was killed in 1996, at the age of 68, in a private airplane accident in ].<ref name=lat>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Plane Crash Kills McCarthy Aide; Aviation: G. David Schine, his wife and son die as single-engine craft goes down near freeway soon after takeoff from Burbank Airport. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/16636506.html?dids=16636506:16636506&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+20%2C+1996&author=JOSE+CARDENAS%3BDOUG+SMITH&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Plane+Crash+Kills+McCarthy+Aide%3B+Aviation%3A+G.+David+Schine%2C+his+wife+and+son+die+as+single-engine+craft+goes+down+near+freeway+soon+after+takeoff+from+Burbank+Airport. |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref> His wife was with him on the plane, and his son, Berndt, was piloting the airplane. All three died from their injuries.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Crash Kills G. David Schine, 69, McCarthy-Era Figure |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E1DC1E39F932A15755C0A960958260&scp |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-11 }}</ref><ref name=wpobit>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=G. David Schine Dies at 68. Key Figure in McCarthy Era. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/9830444.html?dids=9830444&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Jun+21%2C+1996&author=Barnes%2C+Bart&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=B6&desc=G.+David+Schine+dies+at+68%3B+key+figure+in+McCarthy+era |publisher=] |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref>


==Publication== ==Publication==
*{{cite book |last=Schine |first=Gerald David |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Definition of Communism |year=1952 |publisher= |quote= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S3HHHAAACAAJ&dq |isbn= }} *{{cite book |last=Schine |first=Gerald David |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Definition of Communism |year=1952 |publisher= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S3HHHAAACAAJ&dq |isbn= }}


==Legacy== ==Legacy==
Following Schine's death, ] wrote a one act comedy play, ''G. David Schine in Hell''. The play takes place on ], ] (the day Schine died), and portrays Schine as he arrives in hell, where he is reunited with ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Fisher |first=James |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope |year= |publisher= |quote= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OCNKSCEJsxsC&pg=PA185&dq=%22G.+David+Schine%22&ei=WZMLSJSoI4GuywSk68SaBw&sig=KXWYsPDYaPUaPuedqiL6LQw7_LA |isbn=0415942713 }}</ref> Following Schine's death, ] wrote a one act comedy play, ''G. David Schine in Hell''. The play takes place on ], ] (the day Schine died), and portrays Schine as he arrives in hell, where he is reunited with ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Fisher |first=James |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope |year= |publisher= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OCNKSCEJsxsC&pg=PA185&dq=%22G.+David+Schine%22&ei=WZMLSJSoI4GuywSk68SaBw&sig=KXWYsPDYaPUaPuedqiL6LQw7_LA |isbn=0415942713 }}</ref>


Schine appears as a character in the Novel ''Fellow Travelers'' by ] (Pantheon Books: 2007). Schine appears as a character in the Novel ''Fellow Travelers'' by ] (Pantheon Books: 2007).
Line 167: Line 162:
*] *]
*] *]
*


==External links==
* at ]
* at ]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Schine, G. David}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Schine, G. David}}
Line 180: Line 171:
] ]
] ]
]

Revision as of 01:26, 20 June 2008

Gerard David Schine
File:DavidShine2.jpgSchine at the Army-McCarthy hearings, 1954
Born(1927-09-11)September 11, 1927
Gloversville, New York
DiedJune 19, 1996(1996-06-19) (aged 68)
Los Angeles, California
Cause of deathAirplane crash
Resting placeWestwood Village Cemetery
EducationPhillips Academy
Harvard University (1949)
Known forArmy-McCarthy Hearings
SpouseHillevi Rombin
ChildrenFrederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996)
Parent(s)Junius Myer Schine
Hildegarde Feldman
RelativesRenee Schine Crown (sister)

Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was a wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954.

Early years

He was born in Gloversville, New York to Junius Myer Schine and Hildegarde Feldman. Junius was in the movie theater, hotel and real estate industries. David attended Phillips Academy, then graduated from Harvard University in 1949.

Anti-communism and Army-McCarthy

In 1952, at age 24, Schine published an anti-communism pamphlet called Definition of Communism, and had a copy placed in every room of his family's chain of hotels. Although the pamphlet contained many errors, it led to Schine being introduced to Roy Cohn, and the two became friends. Cohn at that time was Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel, and he brought Schine into McCarthy's staff as an unpaid "chief consultant". Among their other anti-communist activities, Schine and Cohn conducted a highly publicized and widely ridiculed, tour of Europe in 1953, examining libraries of the United States Information Agency for books written by authors they deemed to be Communists or fellow travelers.

In November 1953, Schine was drafted into the U. S. Army as a private. Cohn immediately began a campaign to get special privileges for Schine. Cohn met with and made repeated phone calls to military officials from the Secretary of the Army down to Schine's company commander. He asked that Schine be given a commission, which the Army refused due to Schine's lack of qualifications, and that Schine be given light duties, extra leave and not be assigned overseas. At one point, Cohn was reported to have threatened to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met. In the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954, the Army charged Cohn and McCarthy with using improper pressure to influence the Army, while McCarthy and Cohn counter-charged that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" in an attempt to squelch McCarthy's investigations into Communists in the Army. The hearings were broadcast live using the relatively new medium of television and were viewed by an estimated 20 million people. Just prior to the hearings, Schine and Cohn appeared on the cover of TIME magazine on March 22, 1954.

Schine and Cohn were rumored to have a sexual relationship, although there has never been any proof of this. More recently, some historians have concluded it was a friendship and that Schine was heterosexual. Schine was known to have a fondness for attractive women, and during this period, he was romantically linked with some starlets, including Rhonda Fleming and Piper Laurie. Roy Cohn's homosexuality would later become publicly known, and he died of AIDS in 1986.

The findings of the Army-McCarthy hearings cleared Senator McCarthy of any direct wrongdoing, placing the blame on Cohn alone. But the exposure of McCarthy and his methods before a television audience is considered by many as being key to his downfall from his former position of power and influence. Roy Cohn resigned from McCarthy's staff shortly after the hearings.

After Army-McCarthy

After the hearings, Schine left politics and declined to comment on the episode for the rest of his life. He remained active in the private sector as a businessman and an entrepreneur, working in the hotel, music, and film industries. In 1957, he married the Miss Universe of 1955, Hillevi Rombin of Sweden. They had six children, including Frederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996), and were married for nearly 40 years until their deaths in 1996. Also in 1957, David was named head of Schine Enterprises, by his father Junius. In 1963 Junius resumed his position as head of the company.

Schine made a cameo appearance as himself on a 1968 episode of Batman. Schine was executive producer of the 1971 film The French Connection, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture. Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with chart topping music that achieved Billboard gold and platinum and Cash Box #1, by The DeFranco Family. Schine's company, Schine Music, would also provide songs to Lou Rawls and Bobby Sherman, among others. A musician himself, Schine had music that he had composed published, and at one point, he guest-conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for Arthur Fiedler. Schine's post production video house in Hollywood, Studio Television Services, handled clients such as HBO, Disney, Orion, and MGM/UA. His publicly traded research and development company, High Resolution Sciences, endeavored for years to bring high definition to broadcast television.

Death

Schine was killed in 1996, at the age of 68, in a private airplane accident in Burbank, California. His wife was with him on the plane, and his son, Berndt, was piloting the airplane. All three died from their injuries.

Publication

Legacy

Following Schine's death, Tony Kushner wrote a one act comedy play, G. David Schine in Hell. The play takes place on June 19, 1996 (the day Schine died), and portrays Schine as he arrives in hell, where he is reunited with Roy Cohn, Richard Nixon, Whittaker Chambers, and J. Edgar Hoover.

Schine appears as a character in the Novel Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon (Pantheon Books: 2007).

Notes

  1. "G. David Schine". New York Times. June 5, 1977, Sunday. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. "J. M. Schine, Hotel Chain Founder, Dies". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1971. Retrieved 2008-03-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Crash Kills G. David Schine, 69, McCarthy-Era Figure". New York Times. June 21, 1996. Retrieved 2008-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. Schine, Gerald David (1952). Definition of Communism. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. Rovere, Richard H. (1959). Senator Joe McCarthy. University of California Press. pp. pg. 194. ISBN 0-520-20472-7. ... confused Stalin with Trotsky, Marx with Lenin, Alexander Kerensky with Prince Lvov, and fifteenth-century utopianism with twentieth-century Communism. ... {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  6. See for example: Cook, Fred J. (1971). The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy. Random House. pp. pp. 411-413. ISBN 0-394-46270-X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  7. Ward, Geoffrey C. (1988). "Roy Cohn". American Heritage Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  8. ^ "Plane Crash Kills McCarthy Aide; Aviation: G. David Schine, his wife and son die as single-engine craft goes down near freeway soon after takeoff from Burbank Airport". Los Angeles Times. June 20, 1996. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. "The Self-Inflated Target". Time (magazine). March 22, 1954. Retrieved 2008-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. "Cohen and Schine. The Army Got Its Orders". Time (magazine). March 22, 1954. Retrieved 2008-03-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. Miller, Neil (1995). "Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present". New York: Vintage Books.
  12. See for example:
    Wolfe, Tom (April 3, 1988). "Dangerous Obsessions". New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help);
    Baxter, Randolph (November 13, 2006). "An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture". glbtq, Inc. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    On the other hand, author Tom Wicker refers to Schine as "Cohn's boyfriend:" Wicker, Tom (1995). Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy. Harcourt. pp. pp. 127, 138 & 166. ISBN 015101082X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  13. "Piper Laurie". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen.
  14. Hoffman, Nicholas Von (1988). Citizen Cohn: The Life and Times of Roy Cohn. Doubleday. pp. pp. 127, 183–190. ISBN 0245545050. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  15. See, for example:
    Oshinsky, David M. (2005). A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. Oxford University Press. pp. pp 464-465. ISBN 0-19-515424-X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help),
    Reeves, Thomas C. (1982). The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy: A Biography. Madison Books. pp. pp 639 et seq. ISBN 1-56833-101-0. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  16. ^ "G. David Schine Dies at 68. Key Figure in McCarthy Era". Washington Post. June 21, 1996. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. "G. David Schine Is Married". New York Times. October 23, 1957. Retrieved 2008-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. "A Towering Empire". Time (magazine). 1965. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra". TV.com. March 7, 1968. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. Fisher, James. The theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope. ISBN 0415942713. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

See also

Categories: