Embedded Files
There are some strange figurative correlations noticeable between Hollywood and Babylon: a portion of the cover of the 1975 book by Kenneth Anger is shown along with the Babylon set structures erected in Los Angeles for production of the movie "Intolerance" (1916).
Prior to experiencing 'paranormal initiation' and in 1997 becoming a nonfiction metaphysical author, my writing career began with an entry-level position in the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley adult magazine publishing industry (article) during my final months as a USC cinema major. Then, after more than seven years working at a Hollywood Hills home-based talent agency (article) and a stint at a Sunset Boulevard public relations firm, I became a movie studio publicity writer at Paramount Pictures (article) long-known as the only major studio with a long history of geographically being situated in the municipality called Hollywood within the city named with the Spanish words for 'the angels.'
There were aspects of working within a corporate movie studio hierarchy—where key commodities of individual relevance were one's creative skills or celebrity status—that I now recognize as preparing me for what was to follow among the stages of my life experiences. Previous blog articles about this phase in my life include "Ten Film Clips from Paramount Movies" and "Metaphysical Subjects and Paramount Movies (1990s)". There were also interactions witnessed between top-ranking studio executives that left me shocked at the degree of animosity directed at one another. This may have been motivated by the stress of handling the responsibilities deriving from holding a position where a chief's longevity is determined primarily by profit margin. The years when I was involved with Paramount were commercially impressive ones in the history of the studio.
After I completed drafts of press kit production information and news releases, speeches, articles, and other items, these would be circulated to filmmakers for revisions and suggestions. I often would have to interview filmmakers or cast members who weren't adequately covered in materials turned in by unit publicists or available through viewing videotaped interviews or reading interview transcripts. Although I never kept any precise records beyond what quotes were used in press kits and other publicity materials, some of the in-person or telephone interviews that I remember conducting include filmmakers Richard Donner, Scott Frank, Peter Hyams, Neil Jordan, Howard W. Koch, Mary Lambert, Art Linson, Randal Kleiser, Frank Marshall, Lorne Michaels, Ridley Scott, Joel Schumacher, Robert Towne, Robert Townsend, David Zucker; dozens of contributing technicians, designers and composers; and actors including Harvey Keitel, Keanu Reeves, Christopher Walken and multiple cast members of "Clueless," "Pet Sematary," "Scrooged" and two "Friday the 13th" movies. When I telephoned "Scrooged" score composer Danny Elfman to conduct an interview, he called me back to make sure that I wasn't a contriving Oingo Boingo fan.
At that time, I was still a novice in comparison to my degree of writing and editing experience today. I recall there were a few occasions when grammar would be changed by filmmakers that may not have been compatible with the style guide that I used (The Chicago Manual of Style) yet I didn't have any inclination to intercede. Upon gaining experience, I became more demanding about grammatical consistency yet upon being relegated to work as a home-based vendor to the studio after a company downsizing, my participation in the process became more limited and I devoted my time to writing an unpublished manuscript chronicling the history of talking poltergeist cases (1, 2, 3) among other 'on spec' projects.
This Testament photo shows myself at far right on a Paramount soundstage. Several of these coworkers participated in the interviews conducted for the book, including my twin brother Mike. Two of the other men in this photo are also named Michael. (Testament photos and captions).
In retrospect, my work as a movie publicity writer was a conscious form of creativity or thinking analogous to 'subjective channeling' (article). I became a Paramount Pictures employee after writing the press kit production information for several movies—beginning with "The Untouchables" and including "Fatal Attraction"—while working as a public relations firm assistant at a prominent Sunset Boulevard firm. The first assignment was the result of helping my brother who was a publicity director at the studio after other writers had turned in drafts that weren't acceptable to department executives. One of the reasons I was well-prepared to speedily accomplish the task for this particular movie is because a book I owned was I Hear America Talking (1976) that includes essential background information about storyline elements in the movie. I also was highly familiar with the movies of Brian DePalma and once received a letter from him after an agent had submitted one of my screenplays to him.
The description of what a movie is about is known as 'positioning.' Having seen so many movies while growing up and majoring in cinema, I always could easily estimate what elements of a movie storyline would be most enthralling to movie critics and filmgoers. Some samples of the final versions of these paragraphs are provided from press kits among my movie assignments that total more than 100.
Dan Gallagher is a happily married New York City attorney. Alex Forrest is an unmarried publishing executive who seduces him when his wife and daughter are out of town. For Dan, their liaison is a diversion. But for Alex, the end of the affair is the beginning of a nightmare for all of them. An impulsive sexual encounter provokes a pathological obsession in "Fatal Attraction."
In 1942, during the third year of World War II, the United States secretly set out to build the world's first atomic bombs. General Leslie R. Groves was the man assigned to get the job done. He selected brilliant physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to oversee the Manhattan Project's top secret $2 billion experiment. Under the direction of Groves and Oppenheimer, a diverse international group of the finest minds known to science assembled in a remote New Mexico laboratory to build the weapons, which became known as 'Fat Man' and 'Little Boy.' For each man, the mission began as a race against time. It would become their obsession.
A thriller from the director of "Die Hard" based on the bestselling novel by Tom Clancy, "The Hunt for Red October" is set before Glasnost and Perestroika during a time in which the United States Navy and the Soviet fleet are involved in a deadly chain of events. Sean Connery stars as Marko Alexandrovich Ramius, the captain of the Soviet Typhoon submarine Red October. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who is summoned when Ramius begins to carry out a mysterious plan. As the nuclear submarine makes an unauthorized approach on America's eastern seaboard, the navies of the United States and the USSR both hunt for the most deadly submarine ever built in a race that will test all their strength, courage and ingenuity.
Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg star in the suspense-thriller "Ghost," a startling love story.
Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen are in love and have never been happier than they are now, living in their new Tribeca loft. Tragedy strikes when Sam is killed by an assailant on a New York street. Molly is left to grieve for Sam but, unbeknownst to her, he remains on earth as a ghost. Desperate to contact Molly, who is unable to see or hear him, Sam discovers that he is only able to communicate with a psychic named Oda Mae Brown, a charlatan astonished to discover that her powers are authentic. Sam's need to reach Molly becomes urgent when he learns her life is in danger.
On a shaded bus bench in Savannah, Georgia sits a most unlikely storyteller. Forrest Gump has seen it and done it all, but he may not have completely understood any of it. Forrest is not the brightest of fellows. But it's like his mama always told him: "Stupid is as stupid does." And what Forrest Gump has done is follow the tide of history through the latter 20th century, from the football field to the battlefield, from the company of presidents to the clutches of the media, into the arms of his one true love.
The "Star Trek" generations converge in "Star Trek Generations." A mysterious astronomical phenomenon bridging different time frames brings face-to-face the two famous captains of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and James T. Kirk (William Shatner), in the 24th Century.
In the late 13th century, William Wallace (Mel Gibson) returns to Scotland after living away from his homeland for many years. The king of Scotland has died without an heir and the king of England, a ruthless pagan known as Edward the Longshanks, has seized the throne. Wallace becomes the leader of a ramshackle yet courageous army determined to vanquish the greater English forces. Wallace's courage and passion unite his people in "Braveheart." [2023 comment: This movie was a highly idealized version of historical events, to say the least.]
When I'd worked on the production notes for "Fatal Attraction," I saw an early test screening of the movie with the original ending that showed Alex (Glenn Close) commit suicide and leave 'evidence' incriminating Dan (Michael Douglas) for murder. This ending was a letdown for test screening audiences who found it anticlimactic and I was asked to make suggestions. Found among my files is a draft of my response to this request (with typo).
Beyond an innate ability to understand what movie plot ingredients are considered of interest to the audience and provocative of coverage by entertainment journalists, it's easy to see now how it's even rarer for someone to attain metaphysical insights to the extent of mine. Considering the insights made possible through my study into the field of transcendental communication cases in recent decades, I've learned "the Soul records memory as feelings" and "everyone's opinion about any one thing will differ often vastly, for each has formulated that opinion based on his unique experiences and the understanding or misunderstanding that he has gained in his soul, not only from this life but from all lives lived before this one." (article) I would discover that the All-Encompassing Oneness had another plan for me other than serving as screenwriter or movie publicity writer and there had been many indications of this that I didn't recognize until the pivotal insights gained in 1995. Occasionally I received compliments from well-known producers and directors. One example is shown below.
Today the actions of the female antagonist in the movie "Fatal Attraction" seems a symbolic representation of the way metaphysically and spiritually ignorant people attempt to manipulate others through fear and threats — today the storyline seems a microcosm for the psychosis of a US government bureaucracy where egocentric military indoctrinated officials beginning with the Joint Chiefs of Staff control the American political and social systems through news media regulation and covert provocations/proxy wars with other paperwork principalities to maximize departmental funding and what they consider to be their personal prestige. An example of the documentation for all that has gone on includes 938. Department of Defense Memorandum of understanding.
This month some of my Twitter post offer these messages — (my Twitter profile)
News headlines today document yet more reasons for sheeple to wake up and demand military indoctrinated government officials practice spiritually aware diplomacy worldwide instead of finding new ways to steal from the public for egotistical war funding. DEFUND THE JOINT CHIEFS!
If nuclear war occurs, the main reason will be military indoctrinated American govt officials who lack metaphysical understanding while egotistically controlling foreign provocations/the bureaucracy/economic system/news media to maximize military funding. http://metaphysicalarticles.org
What government officials don't comprehend about choosing provocations with other countries and proxy war with Russia due to military indoctrination while lacking metaphysical and spiritual understanding has been explained by 'channeled entities.' Example: https://metaphysicalarticles.org/2015/06/intricacies.html
Every organism is an aspect of our shared omnipresent Higher Self/Selves (in Oneness) and subject to the Laws of this (so-called) 'The Only One.' Index of articles that might be beyond the reasoning ability of programmed mystification UFOlogy mentalities: https://www.metaphysicalarticles.org/2020/05/ufology-cases-for-metaphysical.html
Military indoctrinated officials are 'sheeple' too as they are merely existing with a mentality devoted to following their 'assumed imperatives' without the metaphysical, spiritual and cosmological understanding that motivates metaphysically insightful people to advocate diplomacy and commonly known Christian values when interacting with counterparts officiating for other countries. Another of my Twitter messages is shown below.
As I've mentioned in preceding blog articles, I now regret the amount of time throughout my life wasted on seeing unimpressive movies and TV shows—including some with highly disturbing plot elements—during the early decades of my life. Today I can only laugh when I consider my having purchased tickets to see movies such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Some movie watching choices may have seemed odd back then if I'd contemplated the matter at the time, such as "Oh God! You Devil." Even acclaimed Broadway musicals such as "Sweeney Todd" (about a 19th Century serial killer) can be bleak spectacles that linger in the mind. Even scenes in terrible fictional video narratives still now occasionally come into my mind at times and it astonishes me to realize what myself and other people have allowed to enter into one's consciousness in the guise of 'entertainment' without giving careful consideration to this matter. As with some of those insipid television commercials, sometimes the most idiotic dialogue/slogans happen to be the most memorable. I also now consider that from the Superconscious perspective of 'All That Is,' numerous people watching the same entertainment may seems like a 'sheeple'-oriented form of mundane life experience; in another way, 'The God Force' is always co-experiencing each personality iota's mental responses and emotions.
Reflecting about the words of one 'channeled' communicator in particular, I also question how being a passive spectator can fulfill soul evolution purposes of an Earth life: "And the reason that you're here is to get the identity to take back to the Source to feed the Source with love and beauty and strength, knowledge, everything that makes power. That is why you're here." (article) The time one devotes to 'entertainment' can consist of what might be compared to 'computerized programming' on a superficial level of consciousness. Another transcendental communicator is quoted: "It is important for the level of consciousness of this planet to be raised. It is the love from this planet that generates the energy that feeds God. And this planet has stopped the growth of part of the Universe. In other words, instead of evolving in the manner it should, to become one with the Divine, it is going backwards." (article)
In one previous blog article I wrote about the sudden transformation of my vocational career —
Then in the summer of 1995 began the paranormal initiation that transformed me into someone who wanted to help expand the spiritual consciousness of people instead of engaging in the film publicist's occupation of encouraging people to escape into fantasy. My life changed completely very quickly. My expanded consciousness resulted from what can only be described as an unseen Force manifesting in ways that would've been beyond my own ability to think possible prior to the transformative sequence of events.
There are more than 7.7 [7.9 in 2023] billion other people currently existing on Earth yet the events chronicled in my autobiographical case study and the articles at this blog show reveal there are individuals who chronicle events in their lives that have no known documented precedent. When evidence cannot be denied [and any form of evidence can be denied as a choice made by an individual [example article] understanding becomes possible. First and foremost, I've considered myself a journalist about my own experiences as well as other research findings I've presented. Some further articles about myself are planned as this may help readers to comprehend aspects of their own lives that they may not have considered before.
Concerning the period when I worked as a talent agent, I've always done my best to be considerate when recalling this early period of my career. There were incidents experienced or witnessed that would be considered scandalously abusive behavior nowadays yet at the time were accepted to be common aspects of male sexual seduction and the conduct could reach absurd levels of debauchery with celebrity behavior. Obviously, manifold 'casting couch' imbroglios of past decades are 'all but forgotten' even during the present epoch of 'Me Too' and 'Cancel Culture' litigiousness. I remember once when Ruth, myself and two other female agency co-workers whom I considered close friends went to watch a client perform at a local valley restaurant, one co-worker began talking about her "gift." I was startled to realize that what she was indicating was her capabilities related to engaging in sexual intercourse with men. The impression was fostered that she'd been so taken advantage of by men that this was her way of coping with memories of her experiences. Soon thereafter, the other co-worker and Ruth decided that the client we'd watched perform that night wasn't worthwhile and dropped her from agency representation. This was unfathomable to me and one more indication that I needed to find another job.
To assist with typing and special projects, Ruth usually preferred actresses that had worked in stage roles with Mickey and whom he liked. I remember once, Barbara from New York complained about dating men because of their sexual advances. Once when she came to work uncharacteristically angry, she explained how a man had promised her in advance that he wouldn't expect anything to happen after taking her out for the evening. Nonetheless, on the way home he suddenly said "I know I can satisfy you" and Barbara was still livid about the predicament the next morning. At least with Barbara, I didn't need to worry about what might happen between her and Mickey.
There were some intriguing synchronicities to my career with some of the creative people who became my friends or whom I encountered as acquaintances. One example is that the assistant with the gift eventually became the girlfriend of a famous actor, who gave her a gift as well — a brand new luxury car. And I personally interacted with the same actor when he played a major role in a Paramount movie. Another example involves a client who often visited me at the office, comedy actress Dody Goodman whom I'd once watched in the late night TV show "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." She was too nervous to attend the cast screening of the comedy in which she co-starred "Private Resort" and sent me in her place to report about to her about the movie. I didn't mention that a few scenes of gratuitous nudity had made the otherwise okay comedy into something a little tawdry. I'd invited a casting director to watch the movie with me and afterward, we encountered the two young male stars of the movie, one of whom was Johnny Depp. It wasn't a stand-out role yet the way the casting director was so excited to see Johnny again aroused my curiosity. Later when I was working at Paramount, the actor's movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "Nick of Time" were among my assignments (although the latter was during my 'working from my home office period' when my contributions to publicity campaigns were more limited). Another example synchronicity is that when agency client Julie Newmar played a starring role in "Streetwalkin," another lead role in the movie was played by Dale Midkiff. The actor also starred in the Paramount movie "Pet Sematary" while I was working at the studio.
I'm now fascinated to consider the tremendous number of actors whom I saw in TV shows and movies during early years in my life and whose path in life crossed mine during my entertainment industry career. For example, at Paramount I worked on press materials for the trilogy of "The Naked Gun" movies starring Leslie Nielsen. One of the movies starring Nielsen that I saw as a child was "Forbidden Planet," among a multiplicity of fictional works with storylines serving figurative warnings about aspects of challenges that are manifestly facing humanity in 2023.
The publicity executives at Paramount kept me so busy with writing and editing assignments that I ended up working late on assignments on the night preceding my expedition to Oklahoma. As mentioned in a previous article — The week of the trip, I dropped by the Paramount publicity department as customary to turn in invoices and pick up copies of completed press kit materials for my file. I turned in drafts for press kit production information for “Vampire In Brooklyn,” “Jade” and “Nick of Time,” so I was planning to be able to give my full attention to preparing for my interview with the family. . . . Following the visit to the studio, I unexpectedly received a call from a director of publicity to write drafts of news releases for two films being announced: “Thinner” and “Night Falls on Manhattan.” I found myself staying up late on Wednesday to complete the assignments, which would be the last I'd ever accept from the studio staff.
What is Hollywood? I mentioned in a previous article — The figurative terrain of Hollywood inspires themes of the interplay of reality and fantasy, conditions of human mentality and ego, and perceptions about how an individual achieves social relevance. Something observed during my years at Paramount was how bad publicity before a movie is released could influence journalists and movie reviewers' perceptions about it upon release. I remember this was the case with the movies "Crazy People" (due to a change of director) and "Funny About Love" (a subplot and famous actress had been edited out).
When one considers the thought processes and synchronicities involved with the giving of names to people and places, the omnipresent spiritual Oneness is always involved. Considering 'wood' as a symbol in the name Hollywood while recalling the Divine nature of innate human creativity or 'imagination,' I now wonder if the potential second crucifixion of The Christ Force is indicated—the wooden crucifix is the biblical metaphor—with betrayal now being demonstrated in the actions of multitudinous human iotas of the all-encompassing Source due to misunderstanding, fear, denial and the illusions of perceived social consciousness.
While working as a publicist at Paramount, I was aware of the appeal of movies to the human mentality as an individual seeks a new experience or some unfamiliar novelty of life through a movie. Something that I've reflected about is how movies truly are more hype than reality and seldom fulfill a viewer's expectations upon considerate reflection. During my 'paranormal initiation' in 1995, I realized that my livelihood as movie publicity writer/editor had made me a 'carpenter in the Hollywood dream factory' within the corporate principality of Paramount Pictures. (previous articles about Hollywood include 1, 2, 3, 4) Considering 'Divine Creativity,' I also realized how movies come together derives from a large variety of contributors so the entire process can be influenced by subconscious perceptions in the mentalities of each individual filmmaker and cast member. Individual talents or 'styles' in the cinema (sinema?) can be considered by one who's metaphysically astute as an aspect of human identity that occurs to the collaborating artists and this is also a relevant consideration the Source of inspiration for all art forms associated with 'self-expression
.'
It seemed ironic to receive this award from the Publicists Guild after deciding to devote myself to becoming a metaphysical author helping people to expand their understanding of life instead of instead of engaging in the film publicist's occupation of encouraging people to escape into fantasy. Another Paramount souvenir is shown be
low.
After the case study Testament was published, upon eventually researching paranormal case study books I discovered 'The Michael Pattern' and 'The Bell Pattern' that noticeably interlink famous cases of documented paranormal phenomena, including Nostradamus, John Dee, the Fox Sisters associated with the Spiritualism Movement, Madame Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, Guy and Edna Ballard, Direct Voice medium Leslie Flint, channelers such as JZ Knight and Mark Probert, and the 'Messages from Michael' Ouija Board communication case. (articles about these patterns include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
After receiving a B.A. from USC in 1979, I had originally planned to work in movie development yet my interviews didn't lead to any offer of employment. Once on my way to an exciting New York City job interview, the taxi stalled in traffic and consequentially I was late for what seemed to me as being an ideal opportunity. I'd compiled a list of 25 movie storyline 'Elements' that I shared with the producers who interviewed me to their considerable enthusiasm. Something that seemed undeniable is what I would be unable to avoid noticing as a blatant seldom spoken 'Hollywood rule' among movie industry executives — 'Never hire anyone who may be bright enough and qualified enough to be able to do your job.'
In January 1980 when my employment search resulted with talent agent Ruth Webb and actor Mickey Rooney (birth name: Joe Yule, Jr.) becoming a part of my life, it had seemed like the most random of events when I accepted what was stated in a daily Hollywood trade paper ad to be a part-time position working as an actor's (in-agency) assistant.' The job turned out to be a full-time job from the first day although without basic benefits such as any retirement plan. Mickey was 59 then and once more was at a pinnacle of current renown with the hit Broadway show "Sugar Babies" and he would soon receive an Academy Award nomination for "The Black Stallion."
Mickey was always vivacious and tempestuous during his telephone calls and agency visits, causing me to again and again to consider his psychological state. I decided Ruth's similar mercurial emotionalism was due to her having been a stage actress for many years prior to becoming a talent agent. From my first day at the agency, I was involved in agency business and became a fully franchised AFTRA, SAG and Actors' Equity (stage) agent in January 1983. This was after Ruth's previous sub-agent Joan (an admirable and level-headed presence) left abruptly. I was commuting via car from Pasadena and never relocated because of not being able to completely accept working at the agency as a 'permanent' position due to Ruth's temperament. An indication of the absurdity of my situation is that Ruth would often leave at my desk long notes either in envelopes or stapled shut and I would never read them at all. Joan had told me she'd never read them so I decided to see what would happen with my ignoring them and there was never any repercussion so I realized this was something insane.
It was astonishing to see the range of movie and television celebrities who were associated with Ruth. There were numerous agency clients interacting with the agency in person or via telephone who I'd once watched in movies and TV shows while growing up, including (for example) Edie Adams, Robert Alda, Jim Bailey, Gene Barry, Vivian Blaine, Sonny Bono, John Carradine, Michael Cole, Johnny Crawford, Yvonne De Carlo, Gloria De Haven, James Drury, Barry Gordon, Nancy Kulp, Dorothy Lamour, Al Lewis, Peter Lupus, Virginia Mayo, Eddie Mekka, Terry Moore, Jaye P. Morgan, Julie Newmar, Virginia O'Brien, Martha Raye, Penny Singleton, Alan Sues, Russ Tamblyn, Rudy Vallée, Mamie Van Doren, Dawn Wells, Johnny Whitaker, and Alan Young. The people who came by to visit Ruth was often surprising; some I still remember are Buddy Ebsen, Betty Garrett, Regis Philbin, Barry Robins, and Cesar Romero.
One of the complications of my relationship with Ruth was the fact that her common law husband Jamie seemed to continuously influence her to make some decisions that I considered absurd. He was much younger than her and while they were emotionally dependent upon one another, I witnessed that they had an 'open relationship' regarding sexual relationships with the opposite sex. I remember once when Jamie suddenly demanded me to sign an affidavit about my relationship with the agency regarding the nature of my employment that simply wasn't true. I refused and the matter was dropped yet there were many other complications. I was shocked when another agency coworker, Lois, clued me in to the fact that Ruth had technically engineered a way to eavesdrop during all of my agency business telephone conversations. I learned that there was only one telephone line to which she didn't have access so this became the one used for my personal conversations with Mickey's sensible wife Jan or during any other sensitive conversation. A previous clue about the phone system had occurred when I'd booked actress Kathryn Grayson in a local production of the comedy play "Noises Off." When I told Ruth, she replied "I know" with a big smile. She considered Kathryn as one of her 'special projects' back then. Another former MGM star like Mickey, Kathryn was a sweet woman who lived in Santa Monica with Sally, a fan-turned-companion for the grande dame.
Among the aging movie stars with whom I became well-acquainted were Yvonne DeCarlo and John Carradine. Yvonne reminded me of my mother in some ways and didn't mind looking her age. John was very frail in his 70s yet eager to continue his profession in any way he could. He wasn't able to get up from a couch unless you helped him. I was happily surprised when he won a daytime Emmy for a "Young People's Special" entitled "Umbrella Jack and his manager informed me how delighted he was to be honored in this way. When he acted in "Peggy Sue Got Married," he couldn't remember his lines for his role of a Masonic elder so I thought it was wise of director Francis Ford Coppola to suggest that he read aloud from a book of rituals. Following my 'paranormal initiation' and thinking back about my years as agent, the irony wasn't lost on me about Yvonne and John having costarred in "The Ten Commandments" in 1956, the year I was born. In 1997, the second news release for my book was headlined "'God Has Channeled Three New Commandments Through Me,' Announces Mark Russell Bell, Transcriber of TESTAMENT."
Although there are exceptions like Mickey, being a talent agent made me aware of how difficult it is for most actors to find roles after either becoming associated with a television series character or growing older. Some agency clients were having a difficult time economically and desperately wanted to find opportunities. As Ruth was renowned as a stage agent, some clients were represented only in this capacity.
During my first year at the agency, I was shocked when Swoosie Kurtz contacted Ruth for representation and Ruth turned down the opportunity. Ruth simply hadn't known about Swoosie's recent success after appearing in "The World According to Garp" and could only think of her from the former New York City agency days. While I was Ruth's sub-agent, once Jamie convinced her that if we represented more clients, agency commissions would go higher. I had no say in the matter and it eventually became realized that this was another unreasoned scheme. While the number of daily agency casting submissions increased, it was still a rarity when casting directors selected less-established thespians for interviewing. I doubt there would be any aspiring actors whatsoever if young people contemplated the scope of competition for each and every role. Today SAG-AFTRA reportedly represents more that 160,000 people.
Knowing that Ruth could be listening to my phone conversations at any moment made my life extremely complicated. I remember feeling especially nervous once when actor Abe Vigoda telephone me and with a distraught voice informed me that the producer of the Broadway play he was co-starring in had alerted him to the fact that upon calling Ruth to hire Abe, she'd suggested that he hire another agency client instead, John Carradine.
When Jamie acquired the use of a Malibu beachfront apartment, there were times when Ruth insisted that I work there regardless of my reluctance. I was worried about potentially missed telephone calls from producers and casting directors while also not having full access to my rolodex and files.
a photo of myself in the Malibu apartment
One odd quirk that happened at the agency was that on the days when I attended an evening meeting at the house with "Sugar Babies" producers or whomever, Ruth would bring me a large glass of Vodka as she deemed this a necessary refreshment for me. She seemed unconcerned with the consideration of my nighttime drive home to Pasadena. I would always pour out the unhealthy liquor at the sink.
To be necessarily frank, I'll divulge that Mickey once spoke to Ruth about a sex toy in my presence and this highly shocked me at the time. It was the first clue during what became my slowly dawning realization that apparently Ruth felt she had to keep her main client pleased with his agency representation by helping him to find extramarital 'dates.' I usually remained quiet and intimidated around Mickey unless he specifically asked me something.
Some years ago, I was aghast to learn that a reporter once formed the impression that his wife Jan had been abusive for a kick under the table to keep Mickey focused during an interview. What the reporter apparently didn't understand was that Mickey was likely to exaggerate a situation if it would bring him more sympathy or attention and the kicking under the table cues could only have been something Jan learned from Mickey many years earlier. Many of the reason's for Mickey's unusual bigger-than-life personality was the great adulation continuously professed to him by people around him whenever he was 'in public.' Unless you've witnessed the way people feel like they know a famous person due to having seen their movies, the psychological dynamics of 'Hollywood'-style celebrity/egotism may not be fully comprehended.
I found this photocopy keepsake among my files: a letter from Ronald Reagan to Mickey.
I remember one incident where a 'crank caller' told Mickey he'd experienced a vision of the actor being killed on stage and federal agents became involved with the resulting investigation. Ruth's middle name was Thea and her home agency was located not far from Mount Olympus Drive. Ironically, Jamie's middle name was Aristides. My slowly dawning realization of the sad aspects concerning Ruth and Mickey's relationship was what finally led me to resign with a couple weeks notice during a time when a potential suitable successor was working as an office assistant.
There had been other horrible situations that also had seemed entirely unnecessary, such as Ruth insisting that I not allow messenger service delivery people to enter the office and use the telephone to check in with their companies. This was considered a common courtesy and it was infuriating that Ruth's eavesdropping on telephone calls is obviously what had inspired this tirade. Another example of Ruth's explosive demeanor occurred after she'd asked me to get the least expensive airline seats possible for our trip to New York City. She'd approved of there being a connecting flight in Texas yet when confronted with the news that there would be no in-flight movie, her wrath was palpable. While we were changing planes, Jamie chuckled at her frenzied desperation to rush quickly to the other airplane gate to make sure we didn't miss the scheduled flight.
The reason I remained at the talent agency for more than seven years was because the clients were fascinating and cordial people. Also, this seemed an ideal position for me to make contacts to further my planned screenwriting career. To show how different my mentality was during the 1980s in comparison with now, a list of my screenplay projects is shown below. (This is another keepsake found among my files.)
I had also adapted a variety of novels as screenplays for potential production. For example, I had selected the Robert Silverberg novel To Live Again as a potential movie to reteam Paul Newman and Robert Redford after "The Sting" after a producer (who was the brother of an agency client) told me that this was what he wanted to find. I reimagined the novel as a big-budget action thriller/social satire as the two lead characters seemed ideal for the two actors. I described the storyline — A 'soul bank sting.' In the future, people have the 'personas' of the dead implanted in their minds to gain many advantages. And then there are the disadvantages . . .
It was hard to understand the compulsion for Mickey's highly speculative and costly non-acting franchise and business enterprises. Although actors such as Laurence Olivier professed admiration for his acting talent, all his life Mickey concentrated on his performing career to an extent that may have interfered with having a more diverse orientation to life. Something that I've recognized is that people can be hampered by their own success when it comes to continuing their education and expanding their avenues of knowledge about life in a meaningful way. Furthermore, there are a wide variety of entertainment options to distract them. During the period in Mickey's life when I knew him, it was obvious to me that his mentality would be considered in variance in some ways with what might be considered usual or expected behavior or social interaction.
My years associated with Mickey now seems a glaring instance of 'the Michael pattern' in my life. One of Ruth's sons was named Mike. While I found the activities of being a talent agent engrossing, Ruth's personality was too tempestuous and unpredictable for my peace of mi
nd.
I humorously recalled this agency logo upon hearing the Coldplay song "Trouble": "Oh no, what's this? A spider web and I'm caught in the middle . . . They spun a web for me." Below are shown some images from the music video for the song — the wheels of eternity keep turning . . . yet toward what? Will there be a worldwide environmental catastrophe of nuclear war resulting from the military indoctrinated consciousnesses now dominating American government interactions with representatives of other paperwork principalities; or will we help one another realize the flaws in contemporary thinking—including military indoctrination and materialistic assumed imperatives about dominating international commerce—to achieve the salvation of metaphysical and spiritual understanding that people living in other geographical nations have intrinsically the same needs as you or me. Engaging in metaphysically and spiritually conscious diplomacy and trade is the way for us individually to each manifest love and respect for All That Is. Saving our world begins with you personally accepting these challenges and dedicating yourself to helping resolve them. The results will reflect everyone's actions collectively in relation to how love is manifested in ou
r world.
images from the music video for "Trouble" performed by Coldplay (2000)
I certainly feel no need to "tell all" about my years with Ruth and Mickey but I do think it is important to "tell it like
it is."
Another big success for the agency was Gene Barry being cast in the Broadway show "La Cage Aux Folles." Here Mickey and Gene Barry are seen in their Broadway stage roles on the cover of a talent agency newsletter distributed to stage producers. As a child I'd seen their movies such as "Boys Town," "National Velvet," "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (Mickey) and "The War of the Worlds" (Gene). I remember once attending a party at the Beverly Hills home disco of the musical's producer Alan Carr. When Alan called me to hire Gene while Ruth was out of town, he was so intent on confidentiality that he wouldn't speak to me until the other person on the line hung up. He said he's heard a telltale click that I hadn't noticed. While he waited on the line, I went to the upstairs office and told the assistant to hang up. It seems Ruth may have needlessly instructed her to keep an eye on me during her vacation.
I still have a microcassette audio tape that I recorded one afternoon when Mickey was brainstorming ideas while developing one of his comedic screenplays with his friend actor Henry Gibson offering suggestions. The storyline of "Introducing Suzie" involved a lonely older man who begins a relationship with Suzie, a blow up doll that arrives in the mail. Mickey would describe scenes he was imagining and then be unable to suppress his guffaws, sometimes asking me to read back what he'd just said.
This is how the audio tape begins:
Mickey: A deserted city street. It is obviously a Sunday morning. The city is Anywhere, USA. In the background, coming towards the camera we can see a — an ice cream truck. The bells intermittently jangle out — what is it, honey?
Jan: I'm going to leave to take the dog to the — to get clipped? I'll be back in less than five minutes. If — if the automobile club comes, hand him this card because they're going to fix the . . .
Mickey: They're there now.
Jan: Oh are they? Okay.
Mickey: . . . what? The bell — the — the . . .
Me: "The bells intermittently jangle out."
Mickey: His — his — his — what? His — his —
Me: Ice cream truck?
Mickey: No, his — his neighbor-calling bells —
Me: Okay.
Mickey: — jangle their merry tune intermittently. His truck slowly comes towards our high shot as we cut to a low shot as his truck grows closer to our camera view . . .
As Mickey continued, he intensely gave his concentration to every word of the scenario he was devising. It seemed unusual that Mickey was continuously including camera angles during the scenes he was imagining as these are not usually included to such an extent in film scripts. Mickey occasionally attempted to suppress his laughter at the comic moments he envisioned, including farting, transvestite and mother-in-law jokes. Something unusual about my relationship with Mickey is that he always almost seemed to regard me as one of his family members and there were a few times when he became upset with me. One example of one of these occasions is when Roger Corman had funding for a movie starring Mickey and the wacky script written by Mickey was judged completely unacceptable. I wrote a screenplay eventually entitled "Sonny Skies" that would have been a vehicle for him; however, Mickey was incensed that his own screenplay would not be used so no production ever ensued.
After I left the agency and began working in public relations, I received a call from Ruth inviting me to her annual Christmas party. I was happy to accept the invitation and see again some of my former acquaintances. When I told Jamie that I'd just accepted an offer to work at Paramount as a publicist, he shut his eyes and grimaced so I realized that they'd been hoping I'd return. As chronicled in Testament, one day she called me with what turned out to be another festive invitation. This time when I was reacquainted with her, agency clients included Joey Buttafuoco and other 'scandal' pseudo-celebrities. Once Ruth declared to me about my years working with her: "I didn't know how good I had it
. . ."
After I left the talent agency Ruth evolved to attract news media attention as a 'scandal queen' with a specialty of representing people who'd achieved notoriety in scandalous ways. (article)
After more than a decade, I devoted my time to publishing and attempting to publicize Testament in the customary ways. During this period, I also was guided to volunteer part time in the capacity of telephone 'listener' for the Southern California HIV/AIDS Hotline. I prepared for this position by learning about HIV and other viruses, STDs, etc., in an APLA evening class. I later volunteered as a clerk distributing food to clients at the Geffen Center food pantry. While living in Santa Monica, I also was a volunteer docent for the California Heritage Museum. Eventually needing to resume making a living, I worked in temporary and long-term temporary assignments until 2002.
The temporary positions encompassed a wide range of skills including data entry, customer service, filing, Dictaphone transcribing, audit work, and receptionist duties. I worked for such companies as a Santa Monica family-owned scholastic publishing company, The Beverly Hilton Hotel Catering Dept. (article), TeleTech/USPS, a Calabasas landscaping company, a nursing Healthcare company, and the Boy Scouts of America. I experienced some astonishing examples of company mismanagement and even 'abuse' of temporary workers. At a Glendale company where many temp workers were engaged in data entry, a supervisor brazenly declared that whoever did the least amount of work wouldn't be back tomorrow. Considering the atmosphere there, I decided to end the assignment. Once in a similar situation in Chatsworth, I noticed that temp data entry workers weren't taking breaks. I also noticed that they weren't following the instructions regarding the forms needing to be recorded in the computer system 'from the top of the stack.' There were long forms and short forms so the workers were avoiding the long ones. Following instructions one day, I was comfortable keying in all long forms. The next day after I began working, a supervisor told me: "Take your things and leave. You're costing us money." While the worker seated next to me gave a sympathetic expression, I was delighted that this assignment was now over.
After being an outstanding employee in a large room of temp workers giving postal rates and zip code information, one of the young supervisors suddenly informed me that I was doing something wrong by telling callers about the alternative less expensive Media Mail rate for books as it was not allowed to give them this information. Because of my moral and spiritual understanding, I didn't see any reason to continue working in a job where I'd be providing incorrect information to the public. In addition to my ending the assignment, I was a caller during the "Coast to Coast AM" national radio show broadcast and gave the details of this new personally experienced 'government cover-up.' (article) That assignment had resulted with some other startling moments in relation to my witnessing some of the behavior of other workers. One female seemed to 'go postal' from the repetition of job duties and started screaming out loud while dealing with a frustrating caller. Even more startling was an incident when a male temp worker while seated at his work station in the row in front of mine began sexually arousing himself. A female worker sitting in the adjacent station became shocked upon noticing what was happening.
While I had requested to work at nonprofit companies, after a few days doing data entry for the Boy Scouts the amount of military-style indoctrination involving medals and so on, I became uncomfortable. Other dismaying moments during temp jobs included watching an antique store worker become highly disturbed upon being treated irately by a supervisor; and there was one occasion that after performing data during an auction I found myself being asked to continue employment without going through the temp agency. While doing data entry at a Calabasas apparel manufacturing company, it was astonishing to experience incessant disco songs that apparently had the purpose of keeping the warehouse workers at a fast pace. I was working at this company on the day the event occurred that became known as '9/11' (2001). Among the songs, I especially remember the recurring disco song (by Musique) with these lyrics —
Do you like it, do you like it like this, oh
Push, push in the bush
Push, push in the bush
Push, push in the bush
You know I want to get down
There were some security guard positions among the jobs that I experienced, including at two local campuses of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging. One of my guard assignments was a weekend position where I was stationed in a kiosk for greeting drivers of vehicles entering the parking lot. There were large gates that would be raised on the way in and out of the site. When one of the gates began malfunctioning and there was a danger of it striking someone walking past, I reported this to the company. When nothing was done about the problem, I felt there was no choice for me other than to resign.
I'd had enough of temping in 2002 when I engaged in the successful testing of typing and grammar skills for a permanent office position with the local school district. After a few days working as a substitute at an elementary school, I was interviewed and hired for a high school office position close to home and worked in school offices for 17 years altogether, including for 12 years at the same high school — the first eight and last four years after a series of reassignments due to seniority during staffing cutbacks due to funding reductions.
In my own life, incidents of extrasensory perception have made me aware that a process is involved that requires no intense concentration although it is necessary for one to be calm and have a clear mind. During the fall of 2010, after working for nearly eight years as an office technician for a high school’s special education department, I learned that the school district’s budget crisis would result with thousands of layoffs among employees such as myself serving in school administrative positions. Approximately one-third of these staff members’ jobs were being closed out and many of the remaining employees were being transferred to new schools. Upon learning that I would find myself relocated to a new school among hundreds of potential alternative sites throughout an area of hundreds of square miles, I considered what part of the San Fernando Valley or environs that I might be placed. The first thought that came to my mind was an elementary school in North Hollywood. Weeks later, I was notified of my new assignment and the location was indeed an elementary school in North Hollywood.
I and other staff members who received transfer notices to schools that were not in the immediate area submitted requests for changes of assignment back to our previous district. In my case, I was notified that a match had been found at another high school so I accepted the position.
The following summer, there was another reduction of staff and services throughout the school district. A union divulged that in my job classification, after the latest cuts there would be what amounted to a 61.35% loss of positions. I received a letter informing me that my current full-time position would be reduced to a half-time position and my new assignment at a middle school would begin fifty days later. Uncertainties about income and employment compel us to consider how ephemeral, how relative are our individual life circumstances.
During the years of reassignments, it was interesting to work at another high school and compare another approach to administration procedures. After again being reassigned and given a half-day position at a middle school (again due to where my name was located on the seniority list), it was only several days later when via a telephone call from downtown I had to instantaneously choose an elementary school for a full-time assignment. I chose one nearby that I knew had a large English-speaking enrollment. At the end of the year there were more cutbacks and I found myself back in a half-day position. This time the closest of three choices as a high school in Hollywood within walking distance from my past employer, Paramount Pictures. This again turned out to be a brief assignment because I accepted the opportunity to return to a full-time position at an adult school far closer to my home. I worked there in the late shift for more than three years until I accepted an offer to return to my original high school.
I was always very busy in my school office assignments and this was a good way of giving me life experiences beyond being a metaphysical author. I was always glad to implement my writing and editing skills for school projects when asked and once found a glaring typo in the final draft of the principal's introductory letter for the yearbook that hadn't been noticed by anyone else (including all the English teachers). Throughout all the years of being an author including those when I worked at local schools, my news releases about Testament and this blog generated little if any perceptible response from news editors and journalists. These circumstances was opposite to the astonishing degree of news media coverage given to the movies I'd helped to publicize through press kits, articles and news releases during my Paramount years.
Considering the current system of nationally based economic conditions and debts, it is impossible to ignore that institutionalized military/defense industry expenditures have a profound impact upon people’s living conditions and energy sources worldwide. Citizenry that is disenfranchised or feels that they lack an adequate quality of life is a basis for crime. When one realizes that the formal institutions in the world today are the result of historical leadership hierarchies and accustomed socialization and traditions, there is the opportunity for human beings to recognize what is the most sensible and intelligent course of evolution and progress for contemporary society and leadership structures.
It seems reasonable that services provided by people to others in all capacities should be a fundamental basis for the creation of wealth in what conceptually would be a potentially achievable unlimited globally unified worldwide economy where geographical areas that are now considered nations would be comprehended as what they essentially are -- paperwork principalities resulting from the events of past epochs where there wasn't access for all people to the data making possible metaphysical and spiritual understanding of the evidence for Divine Dispensations throughout the centuries.
The awareness of a Higher Consciousness shows the practicality of an unlimited economy for mankind, as the Source of all things is unlimited. Such an understanding hopefully will motivate us to value peace and let our spiritual awareness guide diplomacy as we each in our own way contribute to making the world a better place. The "Star Trek" movies I helped publicize involve a 'United Federation of Planets.' Although this federation was depicted in ways indicative of contemporary 'military programming' perceptions about human nature, an earth system of government where metaphysically and spiritually aware national leaders from around the world all work together as a consolidated organization seems like a more rational and sustainable alternative to the current paradigm where military thinking and indoctrination has dominated international bureaucracies on a path that can only end in cataclysmic war and collapse of the planetary ecosystem. The first step to improving conditions is for there to be greater global knowledge of the subjects involving 'Divine Dispensations' profiled in articles at this blog.
As mentioned in previous blog articles (incl. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), the lore of ancient Sumer and Egypt has always interested me and there are some associations that are known and others that may be estimated concerning these ancient civilizations. Ancient Sumer is today associated with the geographical area later known as Babylonia. In the 1980s I read books by Zecharia Sitchin, who presented his analysis of what could be learned from artifacts of ancient civilizations. In 1995 when my 'Mark Russell Bell' pseudonym was channeled to me through a surprised friend, soon thereafter I again considered some of Sitchen's information about the individual who is today known as 'Bel-Marduk.' Clay tablets about Bel-Marduk found in the ruins of Ashur and Nineveh had been transcribed and translated by Heinrich Zimmern. Sitchin wrote in The Wars of Gods and Men (1985) about "Marduk or Bel . . . being confined in The Mountain . . ." I noticed parallels with events in my own life as I had been employed by Paramount Pictures—the corporate entertainment company with the Mountain logo—prior to realizing the necessity of becoming a metaphysical author. The possibility of having lived a previous life as Bel-Marduk seemed to be confirmed when I found an Egyptian-style pendant presenting a profile view of someone who looked just like me as I appeared during my younger years.
Sitchin reported about Marduk: "Mesopotamian texts relate that he went into exile; in Egypt Ra acquired the epithet Amen, 'The Hidden One.'" Similar to this epithet, the publication of Testament was not reported throughout the mainstream news media. Zecharia Sitchin includes his perspective of a "great Disaster" that Marduk wasn't able to prevent. The Wars of Gods and Men deals in great depth with what the author believed to have been an ancient nuclear holocaust. This has been one of the main considerations for sharing my experiences with others throughout the last 26 years.
★ Some Steps to Expanded Consciousness ★
★ Some Steps to Expanded Consciousness ★
"Monsters From the Id" YouTube film clip
This scene from "Forbidden Planet' involves esoteric metaphysical conditions of human mentality and is an example of the innate human creativity and insights possible for an artist whatever is one's selected medium. Each person's mind is interlinked with an all-knowing omnipresent Divine Mind. Compare the scene with what lessons about 'the Holy Spirit' may be learned in the half hour YouTube video shown below that offers a documentary example of phenomena manifesting at a 'Faith Movement' event. (article)
"Move of the Holy Spirit" YouTube video
Posted 17th April 2023 by Mark Russell Bell
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