CEASE AND DESIST FROM JONATHAN FRID/2010 FEST DVDS DISCONTINUED

[Nancy]

Joe the best thing to do in the future is write to JF via the Visitor's Corner section on his website and ask permission before selling anything on video that features him.

a lot of this could have been avoided if an anouncement was made about no videotaping allowed during what is considered a performance as has been done in the past.

[Annie]

Hi Joe sorry to hear this news.   Thanks for all that u do .
               Love   Anne

[The Doctor and K9]

Yes it is too bad. I used to be a fixture at the DS Festivals, but since I moved to Texas, I can't afford to go very often. Having the videos is a way to feel almost as if I were there. I still get a tad down the weekend of a Fest when I'm not in attendance. With luck, I'll be at the next one. I'm trying to go to all the five year milestones, with the next one being the 45th(???!!!!) anniversary. It would be nice to be a small part of the others I can't attend. Now they'll probably ban video recording altogether.

[Brian]

i dont agree with the actors being able to control or object to pictures/video being sold from them being out in public especially if they are on the street like at the vista theatre. the paparazzi take and sell pictures/video of stars all the time and make a living selling the pictures to tabloids. theres a fan that photographed the d.s. stars in front of the abc studios. he has been selling photos for years at the fest and elsewhere.

Joe, with all due respect to your opinion as stated, stars (and non-stars, as most of the DS actors might be considered) and even you and I, do have the rights to control use of our image(s) when commercial (aka profitable) use of such images is considered.  I can't speak for paparazzi...maybe they have specific rights due to their status and press credentials.  But as a private citizen, it would not be within my rights to record in any media the image or audio/video performance of anyone else and sell that media for personal gain.  Nor would anyone else be permitted to do the same with my media images.  And, just becuase someone has done this and gotten away with it doesn't make it right.

Sorry, but that's the law, and, even more importantly, it's the moral way to handle this sort of issue.

[David]

If I may say, I think it's unfair to call Mr. Frid a "diva" who enjoyed "an odd fame".
He's an actor who was cast in a failing network show & turned that show into a major hit.
Nothing to sneeze at, if you ask me!

[MagnusTrask]

If I may say, I think it's unfair to call Mr. Frid a "diva" who enjoyed "an odd fame".
He's an actor who was cast in a failing network show & turned that show into a major hit.
Nothing to sneeze at, if you ask me!

Agreed.

[Gothick]

Not making any comment at all on the quality of Jonathan Frid's performance as Barnabas (which I think was extraordinary) but can we please move beyond the myth that he "rescued a failing show"?  From posts shared here long ago, I recall that the ratings were pretty healthy during the Laura Collins Phoenix story and on into the run-up to the introduction of Barnabas.  I think the dramatic spike happened in 1968--"that year of insanity" as people on the ground at the time remembered it.  Or am I wrong?

I think a lot of actors don't care about videos of public appearances because they regard the distribution of same as free publicity.  That clearly isn't the case here.

G.

[Willie Loomis]

There are many actors out there who don't like the roles they have become known for.   I  understand from reading a book on I Love Lucy that Viviane Vance was very bitter about her fame as Ethel Mertz to the point of depression and therapy.   

He just felt trapped in his role.   

[David]

My understanding is that the ratings went up enough during the Laura story to stave off the cancellation, and went up more during the Maggie in the basement story.
I discovered the show a week before 1795 began--as I recall, during 1795 my classmates & I were stunned by what we were seeing, and this is when the running home from school began.
According to A Hard Day's Fright, a New York Times story from July 1967, the show was already attracting quite a bit of attention because of the direction it was going in.

[michael c]

frid has long stuck me as being somewhat diva-like. there are certainly worse things to be called.

besides i don't genuflect to the altar of frid. he's just an actor.

an actor who in this case is behaving with a considerable level of grandiosity. does he seriously think that there's going to be this huge run on his reading of richard the III?

i'm surprised there are those who find threatening fans with legal action to be gentlemanly behavior. he could be a bit more of a team player. if his DS co-stars(and yes,frid had CO-STARS,he didn't get on the set and act by himself for 23 minutes every day)don't mind their time at the fest being "exploited" why should he? it's a public event.

and yes,i guess i think playing a vampire on a soap opera and winding up a "tiger beat" heart throb at 45 could be considered somewhat an "odd" way to find oneself famous but whatever.

[Gerard]

I think the whole thing is so sad.  I work with handicapped children for a non-profit and make minimum wage for it.  I'm not tooting my horn or saying what I do is so noble, and if I wanted to I could move on and leave them behind, but what I'm doing specifically in my area (it's hard to explain, so just go with the flow) can find no one else to do it, so I hang around for the kids.  No big deal.  If someone used a photo or video of what I do would bring them some money, while advertising the importance of what I do (not the importance of what I am), I think that would be great.  I would feel a deep appreciation even though I got nothing monetary out of it (and I could use that "monetary" - I'm trying to negotiate my property taxes, which I cannot pay). 

I have the deepest respect for Mr. Frid.  What he did on DS gave me a focal point on my childhood, not just something I enjoyed, but someone I could identify with because I also grew up as an "outsider" from the "norm" and it kept me going.  I understand that when someone exploits someone to make money is wrong, and there need to be guidelines and even laws, but in this situation that is not the case.  Someone simply wanted to provide fans with something that would make them happy.  They're not trying to get rich off of someone.

Well, enough of my kvetching.

Gerard

[Miranda]

I can certainly see where Jonathan's reading of Richard III at the Fest could be classified as a performance, but is the game that much different than the 20 years of previous Fest tapes out there , including this year, of the stars reacting to scenes of themselves shown onstage?? I, too, am just sorry things got to this stage, too...

[D_Friedlander]

I suppose you've already considered this idea, Joe, but I'm throwing it out there anyway, especially as I, too, was deprived of an opportunity to attend this past year and always appreciate anyone's good videos of things I have missed. 
Have you tried suggesting to Mr. Frid (and/or his legal representatives) that in return for deleting the actual Richard III footage, but keeping the Q&A and handprint ceremony, you could make a donation to the charity of his choice from the proceeds (though I guess he would have to name the percentage)? 
I don't know what you sell the DVDs for, but if it's an affordable loss to you (would this qualify for a tax deduction?), then you still get to sell your work, the fans can buy these mementoes, and Mr. Frid will have the satisfaction of helping whatever causes he still supports, as well as being generous and fair to people who have been loyal fans for over 40 years. 
It would be win-win-win for all if it succeeded, but if not, at least then you could say you tried everything.

[joe integlia]

its not a bad idea but there still the problem of who and how the sales would be monitored.

[David]

I have a gut feeling that the attorney is egging this on--the attorney wants to make money too--I don't think Joe's videos are on Frid's personal radar.
Maybe we could all contact the attorney & say that Joe is providing a valuable service to fans who can't make the fests--some due to finances, some due to health problems.

Surely some kind of agreement could be reached.