Bert Fields
Fields' notable clients included Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Warren Beatty, James Cameron, Mike Nichols, Joel Silver, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Mario Puzo, and John Travolta.
[3] He represented Jeffrey Katzenberg in a landmark action against Disney, and also obtained a multimillion-dollar judgement for George Harrison against his former business manager.
[4] Fields defended the Church of Scientology after many of its celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Chick Corea, were boycotted in Germany, where the religion is not legally recognized.
He wrote an open letter to Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the International Herald Tribune comparing the boycotts to Nazi book burnings.
[5] Fields represented Bob and Harvey Weinstein through years of skirmishes between Miramax and its corporate owner, Disney, rarely making public statements until he arranged the brothers' departure, in 2005, without litigation.
[6][7] In January 2008, Fields, representing Tom Cruise, stated that an unauthorized biography (by British author Andrew Morton) was full of "tired old lies" or "sick stuff.
"[8] In June 2008, Drew Pinsky, in an interview for Playboy, mentioned his belief that for Tom Cruise to be "drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology," he was likely to have emotional problems.
"[9] Fields, representing Cruise, responded by calling Pinsky an "unqualified television performer" and likened him to Nazi Joseph Goebbels, saying, "He seems to be spewing the absurdity that all Scientologists are mentally ill.
"[10] Pinsky, a licensed physician of Jewish ancestry, responded through his representative, "Dr. Drew meant no harm to Mr. Cruise and apologizes if his comments were hurtful."
"[15] Fields and other attorneys from Greenberg Glusker represented The Weinstein Company from 2005 to December 2017 when it dropped them as a client over unpaid bills.
For example, Fields was already one of Michael Jackson's lawyers when the singer was accused of sexually abusing a child; he resigned due to what he saw as Elizabeth Taylor's interference.
Other tales are much lighter in tone; for instance, Gore Vidal turned to Fields when a movie studio refused to credit his work on the screenplay for the 1987 film The Sicilian.
(ISBN 978-0-9905602-9-6) Elizabeth I, aka the Virgin Queen, was a colorful figure who still manages to stimulate the popular imagination more than 400 years after her death.
Fields' wide-ranging biography spans the entire Tudor dynasty, with Elizabeth's rise to power, her completion of England's break from the Roman Catholic Church, the war with Spain, and her constantly evolving entourage of advisers, favorites, and paramours.
Now, we're given Shylock's full story, his dangerous background, his life, loves and challenges as an educated Jew in 16th century Venice, the motivation for demanding his seemingly bizarre 'bond,' as well as what occurred after his fateful confrontation with Portia and the Doge.
The letter was signed by 34 prominent figures in the U.S. entertainment industry, including the top executives of MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as actors Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn, director Oliver Stone, writers Mario Puzo and Gore Vidal, and talk-show host Larry King.
He performed and recorded professionally as a singer and vibraphonist with Les Deux Love Orchestra, led by Bobby Woods.
On October 2, 2022, a memorial was held for Bert Fields at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center.
