Four For Friday - The Tiebreaker - Part Two - Old Hollywood - Mr. X

So the film starring the singer/actress you all know opens and it’s a hit among critics and audiences. The premiere in Hollywood, which was one of the first to be broadcast on live TV, was a who’s who list of 1950s Hollywood, The star, her husband/manager and the mogul all were smiles and pats on the back before the cameras but behind the scenes he was already plotting his next move. First off, he had the movie (which was promoted as a roadshow attraction) severely edited after a group of theater owners complained of its length. That pissed off the actress and her husband. Still holding a grudge against the husband taking furniture/paintings out of the prop department without his knowledge and for the actress sending the film’s budget skyrocketing due to her personal problems causing delays, he hatched a plan. 

Knowing that the movie was getting major Oscar buzz, the mogul did the usual For Your Consideration ads in the trade papers but it was lukewarm compared to what other studios were putting out for their films. Sure enough, the film got several nominations including for Best Actress. As the ceremonies approached, the mogul pulled one of his flunkies aside and handed him a $100 bill. Hearing rumors that there might be a tie, he told his flunkie (who was not an AMPAS member) to pose as an Academy member and cast the tie-breaking vote against the actress… and don’t let anyone know about it. The deed was done and the actress lost. Most if not all of the celebrities attending the Oscars had no idea either, and many who were close friends of the actress were baffled. 

Somehow word got to the husband/manager about the rigged vote, and he hit the ceiling. Not wanting upset his wife, who was going through severe postpartum depression after giving birth to their son, he never told her. He first wanted to threaten the mogul by showing up to his office and threatening him with a pistol, but then he would get arrested and his name all over the papers. So he called up a friend of his, who happened to be head of the west coast mob, to get payback on the mogul. The mobster had the bright idea of sending a pig’s head from a local butcher shop in a hatbox right to the doorstep of the mogul’s mansion. In the pig’s mouth was a note that read “To the schvantz, we know what you did…” As for the flunkie who cast the tiebreaker vote, he “disappeared”.