Dear Editor: Greed and self-love appear to be the principal ingredients in sports and the theatre where no amount of money seems adequate to satisfy the avaricious appetites of the participants.
In baseball, football, basketball and hockey, the players have reached a state of gluttony which has them rejecting salaries which, many times, are higher than the lifetime earnings of many citizens but this does not deter them from demanding even more.
The contemporary theatre finds itself in a similar position with stars insisting on fees for each play or movie which, heretofore, would represent the income of the entire cast. As in sports, the theatrical performer will shop around until some gullible owner or corporate chieftain will comply. The executive level is equally at fault but from the public’s perspective, the performer is the more visible entity.
Interestingly enough, the actor or athlete is forever proclaiming appreciation for the loyalty of the public but is not reluctant to watch the cost of taking a small family to a game or performance spiral out of sight. The actor or diva who professes to love his or her fans is perfectly content to see these recipients of love priced out of the stadium or theatre.
One would think, at this juncture, that all is lost, but these insatiable celebrities do not represent, thankfully, all of the entertainment field, for there was a ballplayer, Lyman Bostock, and a genuine move star, Audrey Hepburn, who possessed the necessary attributes, loftiness of purpose and self-sacrifice.
Lyman Bostock, a baseball player, was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the California Angels on the basis of a very productive batting season in his final year with the Twins and was paid an exceedingly high salary by the Angels who hoped that his success would continue. However, when he played poorly for the Angels, he reasoned that he was undeserving of the huge raise and offered to settle for a lower salary, an offer which was declined by management.
Audrey Hepburn, an Academy Award winner of great renown, became interested in the plight of sick and poverty-stricken children throughout the world and, far from restricting herself to an occasional appearance on a telethon which many of her colleagues considered a badge of honor, became actively involved with the United Nations Children’s Drive. She visited many foreign areas inspiring hope for these unhappy children until she was forced to return home because of ill health which soon resulted in her death.
So let us hope, Lyman and Audrey, that your lives might serve as a standard of principle and compassion for those whose vision is directed toward materialism.
Howard Lawson