John Clark Pro Se Blog

It's been brought to my attention that the Daily Mail published a piece a few days after the death of my ex that purported to be the result of an "exclusive interview" with me.  It ran under the name of Alison Boshoff (whoever she is) on May 8th, to be accessed all over the world.  It was headlined THE LOVE CHILD WHO BROKE LYNN REDGRAVE'S HEART: In the week the actress died, her ex-husband tells of his shame and regret.  As my readers know, I brought a complaint against them to the British Press Complaints Commission. Daily Mail Complaint detail.

Now, it seems, their MO has changed. Instead of planting their staff on location here in Hollywood, which costs money of course, they use the freelance services of agencies, such as Splash News.  In this case of a Daily Mail "exclusive", there was a knock on my door, and I stood on the front step wrapped in a towel fresh out of the shower, and gave my responses to the news of Lynn's death as honestly as I could to 2 guys who identified themselves as being from Splash News. (Now I wish they'd been from the A.P., an honest and respected outfit.)  They were certainly genuine and personable and sympathetic. That was it. They had a recorder and a small camera.  I expected to be quoted, and hoped to see my remarks appear in various places.

I count members of the press as friends, on the whole, because I know what it's like to be one of them, and I believe it's best not to slam doors in their faces.  I did not expect the Daily Mail to claim an exclusive interview, and then compose an article in their style of Propaganda, and rehash bits of old gossip, bestirring selected commentary from the hoi polloi at the bottom of the article, suggest I co-operated, and then leave the impression that I was paid for an exclusive interview.  Yes I could use the money, but I have never, ever, been paid for any interview at any time in connection with the divorce of Lynn and me. Which is how I came to start this website, to dispense the truth, and anybody is free to quote from it, and some do.  I hope to get a book out of my lifelong adventures in the celebrity trade as I have experienced it as part of my memoirs, and of course I'd want to get out of debt with it, but not this way.  Is it actionable, against the faceless editor bosses and publishers who make the decisions? Who knows. I do know I do not look forward to hiring attorneys.

I wrote about Dr. Laura Schlessinger awhile back, comparing her to Dr. Toni Grant. So did Betty Bowers, which is also worth recalling.  If you want to know who Betty Bowers is, she's explained here.  Meanwhile, we will wait with baited breath for the umpteenth coming of Dr. Laura, but in what shape? She claims she will be giving up her radio show.  Back to books, or TV reality appearances? A game show? A Judge on America's Got Talent? (I can think of others who have done this.)  Perhaps she will go back to this, although I think it's got a bit past her.

Her callers will have to find some other problem-seeker offering personalized answers. Someone with a little sensitivity, someone who will know whether it is ok to flaunt the "N" word. I do feel a tiny bit sorry for her, truth to tell. For her life as of now will be taken over by others not of her choosing, and I know how that feels.

This site is happy to publicize the work of Natalia Sidiakina, for the enlightenment of the public, and in the interest of attaining justice in this country (if indeed that is even possible.)

Link to many items on this subject here in "The Self-represented fool".

So, Chief Justice Ronald George is retiring next January.  Wants to spend more time "with his family" he says.  Also time for traveling, time to enjoy his retirement. Lucky him.

Let's have a look at where he will be leaving the system, the system of justice we have endured and continue to endure on his watch here in California.

Here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

We hope that our next chief justice will see it as his first priority to clean up the shocking performance record of Family Court and Probate judges (usually interchangeable), how they're elected, and how they operate under their current algorithms. He will have left an array of cases showing legal dysfunction at its worst.  Perhaps now he will have time to think about the legacy he left behind, and the new Keeper can learn from it.

Most of all, it's time to think about the pro ses and pro pers, who labor under a system that favors lying lawyers, and discourages the use of our courts by we the people, exercising our constitutional right to appear unrepresented in court, and insist on being treated with due respect and equality. Let judges act more like umpires applying the rules, and less like lawyers bending them.

So Roman Polanski goes free!  The sound you hear is the exhalation of breath echoing through the Halls of Hollywood.  A Swiss news agency released the following item:

Polanski was charged with giving drugs and alcohol to a 13-year-old girl before raping her at Jack Nicholson's Hollywood home in 1977.  According to Polanski, the teen had consented. He spent 42 days in prison undergoing psychiatric evaluation and then fled the country prior to sentencing.  He recently sought dismissal of his case on the grounds of misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it. Earlier this year the girl - now woman - involved also filed to have the charges dismissed.  At the time of Polanski's Zurich arrest, many criticised the fact that the case was being brought up so many years after the incident.  The Swiss Filmmakers Association described it as, "not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal".

Justice Minister Widmer-Schlumpf then defended the arrest, saying: "It is the rule of law and everybody is treated the same way, whether it is an ordinary citizen or a famous personality."

It's worth recalling that Richard Fine, Esq. (same age, see below) challenged the Court, and DID NOT RUN. He trusted that due process would work.  (P.S. He's still in solitary, over one year later.)

(Spoiler - irony)  How DARE any country criticize the U.S. Justice system. We citizens TRUST it. It is PERFECT!

When you get to my age, a refresher covering most aspects of an active life in the Showbusiness is always a good idea.  Also, the nature of the current showbiz tends to get away from you.  With that in mind, I noticed a 1 week movie-making course being given just down the road from me, at the premises of Universal Studios (which brought back memories of the House Calls disaster).

The course, which cost $1,500, covered the latest advances in communication and supply of recorded entertainment to the masses - unlike live theatre, with which I have always been more comfortable back in New York.

The six day course was provided by the Hollywood branch of the New York Film Academy, in a surprisingly clean and modern office building, and bussed students to the nearby Universal lot, where we could shoot on their Western and European sets, or practice location work in Griffith Park.

Provided was the latest in video camera equipment (Panasonic), and editing software (Final Cut Pro). Things being what they are, these days, state-of-the-art changes take place almost every day.

The instructors are seasoned professionals, taking time out from their not busy enough creative schedules, to impart some of their special knowledge to people like me, and their acting students were happy enough to perform for my camera.  An aside here, I have too much respect for SAG and AFTRA and Equity members to expect them to work for nothing (sorry USC and UCLA student wannabe movie makers, and their elite schools who demand professional performer freebies, giving nothing in return.)

Day 1 the class of just 6 paired off, and then we met the instructors who introduced us to student actors we'd work with, and described the functions of the workshops and the safety hazards to avoid on set. We were also told to prepare a 2 or 3 minute story to be shot in about 20 shots, with a point of view, a beginning, and an end. Day 2 we were introduced to video cameras, their technical capabilities and how to operate them, and Day 3 was a discussion on screen-writing, with the necessity for story containing conflict and suspense, then a trip to Griffith Park just to test out the cameras. As a stills photographer more comfortable with 35mm film, I was told to just multiply the unfamiliar exposure settings of video by 7.2, to get recognizable results.  Day 4 we met the editor guy, who put post-production in its place, and showed how the editor could make or break a film. I didn't know that Walter Murch made Apocalypse Now into a movie out of a mess of a million shots. Murch believes in editing from a standing position, and asked to be left alone for many days in a dark quiet room, producing a masterpiece. Then we went out to the U. lot, on a very hot day of pure exhaustion. But it was worth it. And after, I slept well. Day 5 was spent editing what we shot, and trying to put muscle memory into the fingers in the dark in an attempt to operate the computer keys. And the final day, it was viewing the results, mutually criticizing the 6 movie clips, and taking home the DVD for further work (maybe.) Audio and special effects and lighting were deemed too complicated to tackle in a 1-week course. Agreed.

So my next thought is to buy a Canon digital camera to go with my FCP Studio package which I hadn't yet dared inspect. Thank you NY Film Academy and the instructors I met. I'm happy to promote all of it. A freebie from me.

Next I look forward once again to Digital Day at the Directors Guild headquarters at the end of July.  A chance to see the latest advances in digital cameras and to get inside the heads of famous directors and software makers.

But for now it's back to Wimbledon. 6' 9" John Isner, 68 all, final set, the Queen, what more could you want for unbearable suspense (unless it's U.S.A. v. England in the World Cup)?

I feel like the family has been in a cocoon for some years.

Now there has been a life-change, and I'm proud to reintroduce my kids that I had with Lynn:

Kelly is now PEMA CLARK, and emerges as a singer song-writer. With the band she has formed, SIREN, she has put out an album called VORTEX, with the help of my first son by actress Kay Hawtrey, Jonathan Hawtrey Clark, who produced the album.  He's a screen-writer who lives in Dublin.  Their website is called SEASONGMUSIC, and you can find her on YouTube.

ANNABEL CLARK is a successful photographer in New York.  Here's her website showing some of her beautiful pictures.

CAPT. BENJY CLARK. No, he did not follow his parents into the business, and he is NOT an actor on Pee-wee's Playhouse.  He is in fact Captain Ben Clark, flying East Coast short-haul for Delta.  He tells me he is back at the manuals, boning up on bigger equipment to go international. He has always yearned for bigger equipment. That's my Benjy.  Delta is a great company to work for, he tells me.

So, all-in-all, forgive me for boasting about my new-found family.

Some people, aka celebrities, are simple, brilliant, unsullied, and innocent souls.  They deserve to be left alone by the masses (aka us.)  Usually women, and who are we talking about?

Sandra Bullock comes to mind.  As does Barbara Walters, Betty White, Princess Di, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Angela Lansbury CBE, and Lynn Redgrave OBE. (the Brits with their intimidating honorifics know how to do this.)

Who, then, are these countless commenters who bestow their deathless pronouncements to protect their heroes at the end of any newsworthy story?  I believe they are fans, yes, but they think they are today's Greek Chorus, who were a body of people invented by the ancient Greeks to add their voices and give meaning to the onstage events of life's dramas. Note that the performers wore masks.

But THEIR voices are false. On the report of my attempted attendance at Lynn's funeral, a fusillade of comments appeared after the Daily Mail's report.  I repudiate their verdicts.

Having watched with a certain morbid fascination the fiasco of Sarah Ferguson's life, and her interview with wannabe prosecuting attorney Oprah Winfrey (Barbara Walters's usual turf, but she's OOA), I have this very American advice to give her:

Sue for performance of what was a contract, for the full amount of 500,000 pounds which translates to about 730,000 dollars, plus punitive damages for a variety of reasons. Attorneys will line up for the opportunity to represent Fergie, just for the exposure, or at worst on a contingency basis. This will get her off the hook financially, and avoid her impending bankruptcy.  British courts are lenient towards defendants in libel, slander and defamation cases, especially where it concerns Britain's gutter press. Or the suit could be pressed in a New York court, for the first meeting was in a NY hotel.

It is clear that a contract was made, and passes the meeting of the minds test. That the businessman was a reporter playing a role is his problem.  And there's money to be collected, the News of the World is very rich.

(As an aside, it's Interesting how Brits are willing to sit down and speak for themselves, while Americans such as Oprah will cover themselves with a thick layer of attorneys, and never, ever, speak up, except when forced to under oath in a courtroom because their lying attorneys failed in their usual ploy of keeping their client off the stand.  Does this make Americans better people?  I wonder.)

Well it was only a week, but what a week!  Miyuki needed to go there, and I had no intention to follow her. Quite happy thank you, staying home and in a familiar place. Old age gets to you that way.

But I changed my mind.  Surprise!  Facebook seems to be the best way to tell you about it.

Exhausted from trans-Pacific travel, but now it's back to work.