The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-09-13
HOLLYWOOD Letter
Hollywood Letter
Shoot the Extra!'-- Unskilled
Labor i'm the Film Industry
BY ARTHUR FAIRcHMD.

BY ARTHUR FAIRCHILD.
THREE HUNDRED SAILORS
ACT AS EXTRAS In HOLLY
WOOD PICTURES"
EXTRAS ASK MARY PICK
FORD TO APPEAL TO NRA FOR
THEM"
These two headlines, appearing
within a few days Of each other, are
sefl-explanatory to those who under
stand Hollywood methods; to Others
it should be explained that they in
dictate the exploitation and hypo-
crisy that is peculiar to the "city of
fluff"
When 300 sailors are hired to work
as extras, you may be sure that they
are offered by the Government with
out compensation being asked from
the producers. Thus, 800 more work
ers are deprived of wages by the
pretenders sponsoring unemployment
relief in the form Of MIRA. (We Do
Our Part--to keep them unemployed
oWCCknCdlb
AS for Mary P5ckford, she was the
first to burst into print with de-
Tense of the poor Hollywood extra.
They were underfed, underpaid and
underdogs, said Mary in a published
appeal to NRA's Labor Advisory
Board, some weeks ago. Taking Mary
seriously, a group of extras in New
York sent her a wire asking that
she appear before the Board in Wash
ington and present their case. But
Mary was too busy; she couldn't
possibly go to Washington.
The truth of the matter lies in
Mary Pickfords desire for publicity,
especially at this time when the
lady's popularity is waning. To fur
ther believe that she would assist
workers when she herself is a pro-
Queer and an employer OF extras,
would be like having faith in the
MIRA. Americas Sweetheart" saw
a swell chance for publicity and she
grabbed it in hurry.
Low Wages for Extras
The exploitation of extras belongs
in category directly from that Of
any other type of American worker.
They are, as you may know, mob
scene actors engaged by the day, and
paid at the conclusion of each days
work Because of the tremendous
number of extras in Hollywood, their
earnings, if reckoned on yearly
basis, are extremely small. It is not
uncommon for extras to work but
three or four days a year; the rest
of the time they spend in plodding
from one studio to the other in
search of the one days job.
The glamour" of Hollywood at
tracts thousands of screens struck
persons, young and old, each feeling
greatness will be theirs once they get
inside the holy studio portals. Each
year thousands arrive expecting star
dom and remain as extras. Today
there are known to be over 10000
extras in and around Hollywood, and
there is work enough for only 800
every day.
Fair Living for Only 200
OF the entire $4,000 but 200 receive
a fair living from this work. They
work possibly three to four days a
week and receive on an average of
$3.50 per day. These few privileged
count as assets, appearance or special
characteristics which classify them
as types; or they may be on the
preferential lists of the studio en-
ployment office or of the Central
Casting Office, controlled by the Will
Hays organization. Special relation
ships, in the case of girls, with direc-
tors, assistant directors or executives,
give them place on the preferred
list. 1t amounts to prostitution
usually, with payment made via the
preferred list.
The Central Casting Office orig
mated with Will Hays some years
ago, when news of the scandalous
treatment Of girls reached the outer
world. 1t was intended to parcel
out work fairly, remove the commits
sion evil, and permanently eradicate
the preferred list. Within the past
two weeks, Central and its manager,