Indecent Exposure: A True Story of Hollywood and Wall Street – The Classic David Begelman Scandal of Forgery, Fraud, and Ruthless Corporate Power

by David McClintick

When the head of Columbia Pictures, David Begelman, got caught forging Cliff Robertson's name on a $10,000 check, it seemed, at first, like a simple case of embezzlement. It wasn't. The incident was the tip of the iceberg, the first hint of a scandal that shook Hollywood and rattled Wall Street. Soon powerful studio executives were engulfed in controversy; careers derailed; reputations died; and a ruthless, take-no-prisoners corporate power struggle for the world-famous Hollywood dream factory began.

First published in 1982, this now classic story of greed and lies in Tinseltown appears here with a stunning final chapter on Begelman's post-Columbia career as he continued to dazzle and defraud . . . until his last hours in a Hollywood hotel room, where his story dramatically and poignantly would end.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Film, True Crime, Crime, History, Finance

576 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1982

Reviews

[Warren Bobrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written about

[Ashish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read. It is a must read for "Senior Management wanna-be"s as it will give them a very good perspective on the kind of politics that exist in the top-most echelons of most large corporations and how one can navigate through them. It might also help disillusion many of them as to what they think a top corporate job entails (performance, challenging job profiles and administrative skills) as against what it actually does entail (a significant flair for relationship management, management of political issues with sophistication and navigate politico-legal storms). The book definitely provides definitive insight into the corporate side of Show Business and startlingly provides a very distinct contrast to the glamorous side of show business that is showcased in almost all literary pieces dealing with this high profile industry.

All in all a masterpiece and duly acknowledged by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar as the template on which they based "Barbarians at the Gate". The only thing that startles me is no movie was ever made based on this book (or rather I did not come across any when I tried to Y! it!!)

[Robbie Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible work of long-form journalism by a former WSJ investigative reporter that takes you inside the connection between Hollywood and Wall Street via the lens of a late-70s embezzling scandal at Columbia Pictures (then owned by private equity firm Allen Partners). The scandal unfolds in Tom Wolfe-ian detail and narrative and alternates between damage-control meetings at the Beverly Hills hotel and boardrooms and steak houses in midtown Manhattan and wraps in actors, producers, studio heads, captains of industry, investors, even rock musicians. It's a fascinating glimpse into how the corporate conglomerate model used to work, how Hollywood used to work, and a really tragic story of human weakness. Definitely where James Stewart learned a lot of his tricks for "Den of Thieves"

[Michael Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious story about Hollywood agent and studio executive embezzler, David Begelman. As is often the case, Begelman suffered less for his crimes than did the man who blew the whistle on him, actor Cliff Robertson, who had trouble finding work for several years after the scandal broke.

[Stephanie Stenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. My jaw was on the floor the entire time. The board of Columbia Pictures did what?!?! Corporate intrigue and Hollywood. What could be better.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film The Other Guys , Will Ferrell's character is the butt of jokes for his focus on forensic accounting until he investigates a scaffolding permit violation leading to a significant plot development. This is the boring forensic accounting without accounting or development.

Irwin H. Kramer, an investment banker, is quoted here as saying "This industry is full of selfish, spoiled, overpaid people. Most of them are replaceable." That rings true when reading of these till-skimming capers of less than $100K while films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are making millions.

Also, compared to the focus of The Me Too (or #MeToo) movement following the exposure of the widespread sexual-abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein in early October 2017, this is pretty weak tea and the title seems like a waste of words.


544 pages to learn: In 1978, David Begelman was suspended for having embezzled money from Columbia. Alan J. Hirschfield was forced out for his refusal to reinstate him. Begelman later resigned and was replaced by Daniel Melnick in June 1978. Fay Vincent was hired to replace Hirschfield. Unless the back story and back-stabbing around Hirschfield's downfall is a really compelling topic to you, I say skip it.

What I really want to know is more on the person that stole over three times what Begelman took from Television subsidiary Screen Gems: Audrey Lisner with the mob ex-hubby and on the run!

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A whole lotta book about a whole lotta nothin'.

Everyone keeps talking about a Bob Fosse picture with the cringe title of "Dancin'". Can you imagine telling someone that you were going to see "Dancin'"? How would you say it? Yuck.

[vard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the three or four best books about business I have ever read. It is riveting.

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some writers who can make even the most boring story of minor check forgery seem fascinating. I wish one of those writers had written this.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a five star book that my four star brain just barely kept up with. It was such a fascinating deep dive into Hollywood, money and the usually unseen hands of the few in control of the institution. An incredibly thorough account of a complex subject, its characters are just as compelling.l as its location. Jaw dropping at times, Indecent Exposure gives a very interesting glimpse into a world that was corrupt long before Weinstein. Recommend!

[Virginia Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a deep diving investigation. I was amazed by the scope of details McClintick leveraged to bring the story to life. If you're looking for a fast, nailbiting fantasy, look elsewhere. This book is both thorough and dramatic, a good read for someone interested in business strategy and history.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone seems to love this book but I was so bored I stopped reading 2/3 of the way in. Hollywood is so annoying and Hollywood + Wall Street was too annoying to handle.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story. I've read this at least 3x, my PB copy is worn out.
On The Hollywood Reporter 100 Greatest list - #29.
Read it.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

[Steven Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book did have a decent story behind it overall the main incident that this book was about was so small that it seems absurd. While it tells a lot about David Begelman and Alan Hirschbeck it seems like the story at the end was still lacking. Maybe there wasn't much information at the time about Herbert Allen and some of the other board members this would be a better story with some of the details from their perspective. At the end of the day I can tell that there are things lacking and the point at the end when all of the main issues have been addressed we just move along and what happens when the inevitable happens between Allen and Hirschbeck I could use some more detail about what happens in the aftermath and not just a cursory overview and moving on. This book had potential and it gets bogged down in some weird areas for me. Barbarians at the gate is a better tale of business intrigue and maneuvering.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of David Beagleman and his attempt to embezzle thousands of dollars from Columbia Pictures. Well, that's not quite correct. It's actually the story of Alan Hirschfield and the Columbia Picture's board of directors attempt to undermine Hirschfield from doing his job, part of which, was to fire David Beagleman. Unbelievably, the board tried to block Hirschfield from firing Beagleman and ended up firing Hirschfield, I guess as some kind of scapegoat. A really interesting book, but so frustrating to listen to how these people operate in their castles in the sky.

I listened to this book. It was very long, but engaging, and the narration was acceptable so at least for a long book, the narrator isn't annoying, not to me anyway. I did find that some of the same information got repeated a lot, so I wonder if the content couldn't have been pared down a little.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite go to books on the often insane politics and corruption of Hollywood. This was the either the third, or likely fourth time I've read it, and each time I absorb some details I've overlooked previously.
It's very well written --- much of reads like a non-fiction thriller --- although the large cast of characters and biographical background occasionally bogs us down in a bit too much detail to keep the pace at light speed throughout.
Ultimately it's astonishing that the activity described within happened at an established well-known public company instead of a garage start-up.
Actually, given subsequent events of the last 40 years, it's not.

[Venatici · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept rerading bits of this over the course of a year. Couldn't really get in to it for long as its an extremely dry and minutely detailed account of chronic forger David Begelman and the incredible fallout and ruthless power struggle at Columbia Studios. Exhaustive detail and exhausting reading.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1982. Fascinating book about Hollywood and Wall Street.

[Dee Ohliger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having worked in the entertainment business when this was happening I was familiar with the majority of the people mentioned in here. For that reason I enjoyed this book immensely .

[Wendy Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and depressing- more greed than is imaginable

[A Cesspool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best forensic-accounting exposé of the [showbiz] industry; Eclipsing counterparts: Fatal Subtraction: The Inside Story of Buchwald V. Paramount , The Fatty Arbuckle Case, or Steve Wick's exhaustive Bad Company , imo.

The Columbia Pictures board of directors [mid/late-1970s] were absolutely negligent, plainly deceptive, churlishly incompetent star-fckers; And majority-stockholder, Herbert Allen Jr., was their luddite-supreme!
And You Know This.

required reading:

　　　Final Exposure by David McClintick | November, 1995 (aka McClintick's source Afterword)

　　　 Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland [ specifically, Part VI: Leopold and Loeb á la Begelman & Freddie Fields (Chapter 41 through finale) ]

and ...more worthy-acknowledgment (than further, "required" reading)... lastly:
　　　Harris Katleman's needless memoir, You Can't Fall Off the Floor ; specifically, Chapter covering Begelman's earliest known fraud in the entertainment industry, while agenting [neé: embezzling] Lew Wasserman's MCA.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written business thriller, Indecent Exposure held my attention primarily because of the deep Williams College connections of a number of its central characters: Herb Allen, Bob Stone, and Fay Vincent. Were it not for those ties, my interest might have waned prior to finishing this 500-page book. It nicely illuminates Hollywood, Wall Street, and their relationship, but the amount of detail the author provides is greater than the average reader will want, especially 30 years after the events described took place. Nonetheless, I did read through to the end, where a dramatic conclusion worthy of a TV movie awaits.

[adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood runs afoul of Wall Street, and vice versa. Absolutely insane business tale of the power struggle between Herbert Allen and Alan Hirschfield at Columbia Pictures in the wake of David Begelman's check forgery scandal in the 70's. Backstabbing a-plenty, vicious stuff, this.

[Sean Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars only because this is such an old story. Still a very fun read. This was first recommended to me about 15 years ago and I finally got around to reading it. This is non-fiction but reads like a comedic detective novel.

[Brendan Chard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting story of corruption in the entertainment industry. My favourite aspect was the coverage of the power struggle between the CEO and the Board of Columbia and the relationships surrounding the battles. Recommend.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated: A

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent epic business narration.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The corruption is insane and sort of delightful.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written but not a lot happens. This book could have been half the size.