In asking others to reflect on the career and contributions of production veteran Chuck Sloan, who passed away last month at the age of 71, I found myself hearkening back to when I first got to know Chuck in 1981 when he and director/cameraman Eric Saarinen teamed to form Plum Productions, beginning what was to be a successful 26-year company run.
I knew Chuck only by reputation at his previous roosts, The Film Consortium and prior to that Wakeford/Orloff. I remember finding it curious that after serving at these two major companies with full-service operations, Chuck was opening a small boutique in rather modest trappings, a converted garage space in Los Angeles.
Yet that initial impression melted away when I saw the enthusiasm he had for the venture and the promising early spotmaking exploits of Saarinen. Yes, the production house ambience was unassuming, but you couldn’t help walking away with the feeling that Plum was destined to be a player and that Chuck would help steer Saarinen to stardom. Over the years, I’ve been at countless interview sessions with execs launching companies but I can only recall a handful of times knowing for sure that an upstart shop would go on to prominence. It’s a feeling that goes beyond educated guesswork and analytical insight. Plum was one of those instances.
It was good for a chuckle when Plum was deemed an overnight success by some when the classic Saarinen-directed Jeep “Snow Covered” commercial won the Grand Prix at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in ’94. By this time, Plum was ensconced in much nicer Santa Monica quarters but Chuck struck me as remarkably the same as when I first met him in that quasi-office garage space. He was straight forward, unassuming yet opinionated and forceful when certain issues both in and outside the scope of the commercialmaking business arose. He was unpretentious, had a self-deprecating sense of humor and was a dynamic positive influence on others, qualities that reminded me of the late Frank Tuttle, an exec who was a professional mentor to me and best known for his tenures at Wakeford/Orloff and The Film Tree. I didn’t know until later that Chuck regarded Frank as his mentor, describing him as “a great executive, a man of personal and professional integrity, and he taught me so much.”
That description is strikingly similar to those used to characterize Chuck by his colleagues upon his recent passing (SHOOT, 4/15). It’s amazing to look back to see how many careers he positively influenced both within Plum and for assorted others outside of the company.
Shelby Sexton, partner/executive producer at Wild Plum, a production house that emerged after Plum’s closure in ’07, may have summed up Chuck’s sense of people best as she looked back at her big career break. Sexton had started in the business right out of college as a receptionist at Plum. “A year later one of the executive producers was leaving the company,” she recalled. “Chuck said ‘I’m going to make you the next executive producer.’ Chuck was the kind of guy who saw things in people. He saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself at the time.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More