Singer describes producers’ power

Press, 5 November 1983, Page 8

Singer describes producers’ power

PA Wellington Producers of television shows such as "That’s Country” in New Zealand had the power virtually to control the direction of a performer’s career, said the country and western singer, Jodi Vaughan, yesterday. It was advisable for artists to keep in the producers’ “good books,” Miss Vaughan told the Commission of Inquiry into the Broadcasting Corporation. Miss Vaughan, also known as Elaine Patricia Slight, said she would not work with the “That’s. Country” producer, Trevor Spitz, again unless fellow performers, Brendan Dugan and Gray Bartlett, .were also there. She said she did not have the faith in Mr Spitz that a performer should have in the producer of a show. Dugan and Bartlett were sacked from the show in March after a note expressing dissatisfaction with Mr Spitz was seen by the show’s executives.

Dugan told the commissioners, Mr Reid Jackson and Mr Mervyn Good, yesterday that on March 2 he was asked by the executive producer of “That’s Country,” David McPhail, to withdraw the allegations and resign from the show. Dugan said he refused to resign or to withdraw the allegations and so he was

dismissed by Mr McPhail. He thought Mr McPhail was following orders and “just doing his job.” During cross-examination by Mr C. B. Atkinson, Q.C., counsel for Mr McPhail, Dugan denied that his note, signed by himself, Miss Vaughan, and Gray Bartlett, was an ultimatum which in effect said “either he (Spitz) goes, or we go.” The note was for discussion among artists on “That’s Country” and was not to be presented to the show’s executives until the end of the series then being filmed, so that the show would not be disrupted, Dugan said. He said the note had been . shown to Mr Spitz by,, two overseas performers who worked on “That’s Country.” The grievance of the performers who signed the note was that Mr Spitz was, not only the co-producer of “That’s Country” but manager of one of its stars, Suzanne Prentice. Dugan alleged that this resulted in favouritism towards Miss Prentice but said that the series now being shown on television seemed to treat all the artists fairly. “His (Mr Spitz’s) attitude towards other performers was aggressive and unpleasant and he was not pre- • pared to listen to suggestions or to discuss matters with which we felt

unhappy,” Dugan said. Dugan said Mr Spitz had an aggressive manner to most artists, but in response to a question by Mr K. N. Hampton, counsel for Mr Spitz, he said he could think of no specific incidents to support his view. Bartlett said he was dismissed after he commented on Dugan’s dismissal to a Christchurch newspaper. He said .he had complained about Mr Spitz’s actions to the producer, John Lye, but Mr Lye did not seem to be asserting his authority. Mr Spitz was in charge of the show, Bartlett said.

He took, his concerns to members of the corporation hierarchy, but nothing resulted from this, Bartlett said.

As a result of a meeting after the sackings between Actors’ Equity, representing Dugan and himself, and the corporation, an assurance was given that they would be reinstated but this was not honoured, Bartlett said.

On April 8, Country Gold Promotions, the company owned by Dugan and Bartlett, which manages them and Miss Vaughan, sent a telegram to the corporation saying all three were unavailable for work until the dispute was settled. On August 23 a letter from the company to the corporation said the performers were again available for work.