Michael Douglas, do you know where your money is?
Twenty-five million dollars. That’s the sum the Screen Actors Guild says it owes you, and thousands of your fellow actors. In answer to questions from Waxword, the guild acknowledged last week that it is holding millions of dollars in unclaimed residual payments owed to actors, both members and non-members of the union.
While noting that this is a large sum, a lawyer for SAG said that the guild has been unable to locate performers who have moved, or are unable to pay actors whose financial affairs may be in dispute.
“When performers move or change professional representation, they may fail to inform SAG of the new contact information,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, general counsel for the guild. “For others there may be legal disputes over their residuals, including business disputes or family law issues.”
But few would imagine that there are thousands, indeed tens of thousands, of actors on the guild’s list who cannot be found or whose affairs are in dispute. A visit to the union’s web-site, www.sag.org, reveals that this $25,136,877 belongs to 66,848 actors. (The number can be tallied by clicking on each letter of the alphabet and adding up the figures. Membership in SAG is required to access the website.)
Here is a partial list of some of the more famous names on the list
Here is an image of how the site appears when searched under 'unclaimed residuals'
The sum came to light when Waxword queried the guild about the unclaimed residuals, brought to a reporter’s attention by a SAG member, Eric Hughes. Hughes has challenged the guilds over allegedly missing foreign levy payments, and has been involved in resulting lawsuits filed against SAG and other guilds. Crabtree-Ireland said the residual money is held in a trust separate from the guild’s other finances. A spokeswoman could not confirm the total number of actors who are owed residuals. They did not comment on what happens to the annual interest on this unclaimed sum.
Among the vast list of actors who have not claimed residual payments are some of Hollywood’s most famous figures, both living and deceased.
Among deceased actors are: Natalie Wood, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Deborah Kerr, Lana Turner, Simone Signoret, Frank Sinatra, Robert Taylor, Tallulah Bankhead, Jayne Mansfield, Alan Ladd, Roy Rogers, Joseph Cotten and even the former president of SAG, Charlton Heston.
The also include comedy stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They include Judy Garland, Myrna Loy and Clark Gable.
Two political titans are on the list: John F. Kennedy, who appeared in a documentary called “Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment,” and his brother, Ted Kennedy.
Among the actors who are alive are many boldface names, whose whereabouts are common knowledge in Hollywood, and who have business managers and agents prominent in the industry.
