Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

G. David Schine

Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was a wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954 in his role as the chief consultant to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Early years

He was born in Gloversville, New York to Junius Myer Schine and Hildegarde Feldman. Junius was in the movie theater, hotel and real estate industries. Gerard attended Phillips Academy then graduated from Harvard University in 1949.

Anti-communism and Army-McCarthy

In 1952, at age 24, Schine published an anti-communism pamphlet called Definition of Communism, and had a copy placed in every room of his family's chain of hotels. Although the pamphlet contained many errors, it led to Schine being introduced to Roy Cohn through newspaper columnist George Sokolsky, and the two becoming friends. Cohn at that time was Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel, and he included Schine into McCarthy's staff as an unpaid "chief consultant". Among their other anti-communist activities, Schine and Cohn conducted a well-publicized and widely ridiculed tour of Europe in 1953, examining libraries of the United States Information Agency for books written by authors they deemed to be Communists or fellow travelers.

In November 1953, Schine was conscripted into the United States Army as a private. Cohn immediately began a campaign to obtain special privileges for Schine. Cohn met with and made repeated telephone calls to military officials from the Secretary of the Army down to Schine's company commander. He asked that Schine be given a commission, which the Army refused due to Schine's lack of qualifications, and that Schine be given light duties, extra leave and not be assigned overseas. At one point, Cohn was reported to have threatened to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met. During the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954, the Army charged Cohn and McCarthy with using improper pressure to influence the Army, while McCarthy and Cohn counter-charged that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" in an attempt to squelch McCarthy's investigations into Communists in the Army. The hearings were broadcast live using the relatively new medium of television and were viewed by an estimated 20 million people. Just prior to the hearings, Schine and Cohn appeared on the cover of TIME magazine on March 22, 1954.

Schine and Cohn were rumored to have a sexual relationship, although there has never been any proof of this. More recently, some historians have concluded it was a friendship and that Schine was heterosexual. During this period, Schine was linked romantically with some actresses, including Rhonda Fleming and Piper Laurie. Roy Cohn's homosexuality would later become known publicly, and he died of AIDS during 1986.

The Army-McCarthy hearings absolved Senator McCarthy of any direct wrongdoing, blaming Cohn alone. But the exposure of McCarthy and his methods before a television audience is considered by many as being important to his disgrace. Roy Cohn resigned from McCarthy's staff shortly after the hearings.

Later years

After the hearings, Schine left politics and refused to comment on the episode for the rest of his life. He remained active in the private sector as a businessman and an entrepreneur, working in the hotel, music, and film industries. On October 22, 1957, he married the Miss Universe of 1955, Hillevi Rombin of Sweden. They had six children, including Frederick Berndt Schine (1964-1996), and were married for nearly 40 years until their deaths in 1996. Also in 1957, Gerard was named head of Schine Enterprises, by his father Junius. In 1963 Junius resumed his position as head of the company.

Schine made a cameo appearance as himself on a 1968 episode of Batman. Schine was executive producer of the 1971 film The French Connection, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture. In 1977 he produced That's Action!. Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with chart topping music that achieved Billboard gold and platinum and Cash Box #1, by The DeFranco Family. Schine's company, Schine Music, would also provide songs to Lou Rawls and Bobby Sherman, among others. A musician himself, Schine had music that he had composed published, and at one point, he guest-conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for Arthur Fiedler. Schine's post production video house in Hollywood, Studio Television Services, handled clients such as HBO, Disney, Orion, and MGM/UA. His publicly traded research and development company, High Resolution Sciences, endeavored for years to bring high definition to broadcast television.

Death

Schine was killed in 1996, at the age of 68, in a private airplane accident in Burbank, California. His wife was with him on the plane, and his son, Berndt, was piloting the airplane. All three died from their injuries. They were buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Publication

Schine, Gerald David (1952). Definition of Communism.

Legacy

Following Schine's death, Tony Kushner wrote a one act comedy play, G. David Schine in Hell. The play takes place on June 19, 1996 (the day Schine died), and portrays Schine as he arrives in hell, where he is reunited with Roy Cohn, Richard Nixon, Whittaker Chambers, and J. Edgar Hoover.

Schine appears as a character in the Novel Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon (Pantheon Books: 2007).