G. David Schine

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Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was thrown into the spotlight in his mid-twenties when he directed special government investigations with Roy Cohn for Senator Joseph McCarthy from 1952 to 1953, which led to getting embroiled in a controversy with the U.S. Army, Cohn, and McCarthy. For 36 days in 1954, the Army-McCarthy Hearings were broadcast live using the relatively new medium of television, bringing what would have previously been a closed door event into peoples' homes, making G. David Schine a household name for a generation. The hearings were viewed by an estimated 20 million people, when in 1954 only 55.4% of homes had a television. As the hottest event of the time, it landed Schine on the cover of TIME on March 22, 1954. Schine's involvement in the hearings is depicted in the 1964 documentary film Point of Order!, which edited the 187 hours of kinescope into 93 minutes.

Born in Gloversville, New York, Schine was from a wealthy family in the movie theater, hotel and real estate industries. A graduate of Harvard University, he served first in the Army Transport service then in the U.S. Army. He was a founding member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). Schine Chain Theatres, Inc. v. United States 334 U.S. 110 (1948) concluded in 1959, a landmark anti-trust case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and continues to be studied in law schools and cited in lawsuits, such as the Microsoft anti-trust case. Preserved Schine stock certificates are sold regularly on eBay. Some of the historical Schine Theatres still remain, including the chain's flagship theater, the Glove Theatre in Gloversville and the Auburn Schine Theatre, both in New York. The Auburn location was helped in 2004 by then New York Senator, and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, who was instrumental in securing $250,000 towards its renovation. One of the Schine family's former hotels, the Boca Raton Resort & Club, continues to be one of the best golf resorts in the world. Another of their former hotels, The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, was demolished in 2006, after years of fighting among developers, preservationists, and the Los Angeles Unified School District, who prevailed to build a school campus on the site amid much public outcry, including a campaign by Diane Keaton.

Schine was killed in Los Angeles, California in 1996 as a passenger in a private plane, which experienced an engine failure shortly after take-off, and died with his wife and one son; they were the only three on the plane. Schine was 68 years old, his wife was 62, and their son was 34.

Following his few years in the public eye, Schine would leave politics while still in his twenties, never to return. In 1957, Schine married 1955 Miss Universe, Hillevi Rombin of Sweden, and they had six children together, remaining married for nearly 40 years until their tragic deaths, but living long enough to spend time with four of their grandchildren. Schine declined to comment on the McCarthy episode throughout his life, and only once would he make himself available to the public again, at the age of 40, with a cameo on the television series Batman in 1968, to amuse his six small children, whose favorite show was Batman.

He would spend the majority of his life in the private sector as a businessman and entrepreneur, working in the hotel, film, music, and high technology industries. Schine was Executive Producer of the Academy Award winning film The French Connection in 1971, with eight nominations, taking Oscars for picture, director, actor, editing, and writing. Shortly afterwards, Schine was involved with chart topping music that achieved Billboard gold and platinum and Cash Box #1, by The DeFranco Family. Schine's music company would also provide songs to Lou Rawls and Bobby Sherman, among others. A musician himself, Schine had music he had written published and at one point guest conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for Arthur Fiedler. Schine's post production video house in Hollywood handled clients such as HBO, Disney, Orion, and MGM/UA. Later, his publicly traded research and development company for years endeavored to bring high definition to broadcast television.

The Schine Student Center at Syracuse University in New York was dedicated in the name of Schine's mother and father, Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine.