The Jazz.com Blog
November 23, 2008 · 4 comments
Still No Oscar for Russ Garcia
Regular readers of this column will be aware of the scandal surrounding Russ Garcia's denied Oscar. Those who don't know about this sad affair can find the details here and here.
Here is the story in a nutshell. Garcia (now 92 years old) played a key role in composing and arranging music for Charlie Chaplin's film Limelight (1952). Yet because the Oscar for this score was not awarded until almost twenty years had passed, the honor was given—probably due to confusion over names—to the late Larry Russell, who apparently had no involvement with the music.
Marc Myers broke this story at his JazzWax blog back in September, and I followed up with a report a few weeks later. I urged readers to contact the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which can be done here). In my article, I wondered why no one in the print media had covered this story. (I am still wondering.)
I should note that Russ Garcia himself prefers to make no stir about this. He has commented: "I'm a Baha'i. It's part of my faith never to be the source of grief to anyone." But that prohibition does not apply to journalists, who should be guided by a sense of fairness and a desire to report on subjects as important and newsworthy as this one.
Today jazz.com is running a feature on Mr. Garcia, as part of arnold jay smith's OctoJAZZarians series, and this provides an opportunity to revisit the subject of the missing Oscar.
Here is an update . . . although not the update I would like to be giving. The Academy has not responded to any of my repeated requests. They seem content to stonewall, and wait for this issue to go away on its own.
Perhaps I should have expected this. But I am even more surprised by the dead silence from the jazz media and mainstream media. I tried to interest the arts editor of the nation's paper of record (yes, that one) in this story, but with no success. Not a single media outlet (as far as I know) has covered this matter.
Yet jazz fans are outraged. I know because I hear from them.
What is going on here? Why isn't this story—which is both important and newsworthy—on anyone's radar screen? Do Sid Ganis and his colleagues at the Academy have more clout than I realize? Are print journalists just reluctant to cover a story that was first broken by a blogger? Is jazz coverage in the mainstream media so decimated and marginalized that editors just block out the whole art form?
I know that if (heaven forbid!) there were a miscount in the American Idol voting, it would be all over the news. Yet an unassuming 92-year-old jazz pioneer has his Oscar denied him for several decades, and this doesn't even get a whisper in the press. Or even in the jazz press!
If any one out there has any answers or can cast some light on what is going on here, please let me know.
This blog article posted by Ted Gioia.
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Russ himself is raising no ruckus, and may not be on the Academy's list of "those who matter" (no matter what we Jazz fans think). You and one or two other letterwriters don't swing enough weight either. The indifference of broader press is shameful but again typical; after all, this neglect of Garcia's role and rightful claim dates from twenty to nearly fifty years ago. One small suggestion: does Gary Giddins care? Maybe he could get a Garcia portrait done for The New Yorker, which would put some culture-class pressure on the Academy.
This is a thorny issue. Mr. Garcia himself put a cap on your previous blog with his request: "PLEASE forget this whole thing. It happened 60 years ago. I don't want or need this award. Awards are for school kids to put on the refrigerator. There are so many award shows, there should be an award for the best award show."
You note that Garcia considers it an article of his religious faith "never to be the source of grief to anyone." But, you counter, "that prohibition does not apply to journalists, who should be guided by a sense of fairness and a desire to report on subjects as important and newsworthy as this one."
In this case, however, shouldn't that same sense of fairness extend to Mr. Garcia himself? He has implored us to forget the whole thing. At this point, the finest tribute to Russell Garcia would not be awarding him an Oscar that he doesn't want, but to respect the man's faith-based humility by practicing some of it ourselves.
Newsworthiness by itself does not justify invading a person's privacy. Let's leave that phony rationale to the tabloids and paparazzi.
I will always wonder why folks fear controversy. Though I think Garcia seems friendly enough, why not just revoke the award and pass it over? Is that so hard?
This is why I no longer give a damn about the Oscars. They've always been political, and many people who should have won did not. It warms my heart that Mr. Garcia, a fantastic musician who should be far greater known for his music and his books on composing and arranging, is taking the high road and asking people not to bother on his behalf. Should we listen to him? I am mixed. We should honor his feelings, but we should not let some high-profile organization screw him either.