Though I hadn’t talked to him in some 10 years, I was saddened to learn of Ted Goetz’s passing last month at the age of 84. Ted was one of the first people in the business I got to know when I joined this paper in the late 1970s. He was a straight shooter, a mentor of assorted producers in this business, developed the careers of numerous directors, and helped to bring the commercial production community together–first via the Commercial Film Producers Association, a Los Angeles area-based organization, which was the predecessor in many respects to what became the AICP’s West Coast chapter.
I met Ted during his long tenure as executive producer at FilmFair and at a juncture when the AICP had become firmly entrenched as a collective voice for spot production houses. He served as president of AICP/West and a national VP of the AICP. He was also an astute labor negotiator, bringing considerable savvy and expertise to talks with unions. Yet with all his acumen, he retained his humility and let others seek and have the spotlight.
But Ted’s quiet work behind the scenes and the universal respect he earned over the years from both the production house and ad agency sides of the business finally thrust him into that proverbial spotlight one evening in 1992 as a recipient of the Jay B. Eisenstat Award. Named for the late legendary founding father of the AICP, the Eisenstat Award was instituted in 1990 to recognize outstanding contributions and service to the commercial production industry.
Ted recalled that when he went on stage to accept the award, he felt “a great sense of pride for the organization, of how so many people worked to create a consolidated, articulate voice for our industry. And that voice has helped to do a great deal of good in our business.”
Still, the last time Ted and I chatted, on the occasion of the AICP’s 30th anniversary in 2002, he humbly observed that perhaps his highest career honor was not winning the Eisenstat Award but accepting it in ’94 for another, the late Frank Tuttle, a past national AICP president.
“That meant a lot to me,” recollected Goetz. “Frank was what the AICP is all about–he was a unifying force within the production house community, and in helping to bring that community together with agencies, clients and suppliers.”
In our obituary on Ted last month (SHOOTonline, 7/23), we sought out some of his colleagues, including Patrick Collins, currently head of the Collins Consulting Company in L.A. Back during his production house days, Collins served as the first president of AICP/West and worked with Goetz.
“Ted was the mentor every young producer needed,” observed Collins. “He became a good friend as well as a very kind and savvy counselor. And he gave a whole new definition to the description: A Nice Man.”
Those last three words succinctly capture how I would sum up Ted, which in and of itself is a wonderful legacy. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, 3 pm, at the site of the former FilmFair in L.A. Log onto theodoreagoetz.blogspot.com for further info. Donations in Ted’s memory may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Delay TikTok Ban
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.
"President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case," said Trump's amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general.
The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.
He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger... Read More