Joyce Haber died in August 1993. In 1968, the 'Los Angeles Times' named Joyce Haber as a successor to Hedda Hopper, who had died in 1966. Louella Parsons had retired in 1965. In hiring Joyce Haber, then associate editor of the 'Times', Jim Bellows, made the argument, "She wrote an extremely well-read column day after day. She was a hot ticket for many years." In those days, 'Women's Wear Daily' hailed Joyce Haber "one of the most powerful American women in the media."
In 2002, Jim Bellows wrote his memoirs, 'The Last Editor' and revealed in 1970 the FBI with J. Edgar Hoover's approval used Joyce Haber's column to plant a story suggesting Jean Seberg (of 'Joan of Arc', 1957) was pregnant with Ray (Masai) Hewitt's child. At the time, the FBI was carrying out Counterintelligence Program, or Cointelpro. Jean Seberg had donated $10,500 to the black revolution.
Raymond (Masai) Hewitt was the minister of education for the Black Panther Party from 1969 to 1971. He died in March 1988 of a heart attack. Jean Seberg was 40 when died in 1979 in Paris. Her last husband Ahmed Hasmi told the press she was last seen carrying a bottle of barbiturates prescribed by her doctor. In 1986, Raymond (Masai) Hewitt reportedly "helped to organize a 20th-anniversary reunion of the Black Panthers in Oakland. Hewitt had hoped that the anniversary would be the first step toward getting the former revolutionaries to analyze the successes and failures of the party."
Former member Bobby Bowen told the 'Los Angeles Times' in 1988, "He (Masai) did not like to dwell on the past but he always said that there were some important lessons to be learned from history." Since the fall of the Black Panthers, Bobby Bowen was understood to have "enrolled in a trade school studying to be an electrician." Bobby Bowen recounted, "I put in three years of my life in the party. We took militancy to the ultimate. Here we came with guns and black leather jackets.
"We didn't realize that you can't get people to understand what you are saying by waving guns in their faces. We were angry militants who heard a call for revolution so what we did was run and pick up guns." Bobby Bowen contributed the downfall of the Black Panther Party "to the increasing use of drugs by some of those in the party's leadership, particularly former party Chairman Huey P. Newton, who was not invited to Hewitt's funeral."
In 1976, Joyce Haber wrote her best-selling novel, 'The Users' about Hollywood's pecking order. In its review of the book, 'Time' magazine called Joyce Haber "Hollywood's No. 1 voyeur." Joyce Haber's former husband, Douglas S. Cramer, told Associated Press, "It's a very cynical book and Joyce is a cynical lady. She wrote the book after she was fired as gossip columnist for the 'Los Angeles Times'. I think she learned more from the outside than the inside. She learned more about people. When you have power and lose it, it gives you insight. You quickly learn who your friends are."
As reported, "When the book was published, it set off a guessing game of who was who. The story is based on truth and each character has at least one authentic counterpart. A few characters are composites of several movie celebrities."
In 1978, Aaron Spelling Production adapted Joyce Haber's blockbusting book for television starring Jaclyn Smith and John Forsythe of 'Charlie's Angels'.
Aaron Spelling stated, "It's a combination of real people that will have people guessing." 'The Users' was originally intended to be made into a mini-series. Douglas S. Cramer disclosed, "But it was felt by ABC, that a Hollywood story wouldn't hold that long and that the characters were too unusable. But I think we have characters who are likable, or at least understandable. I think we convey the essence of the book but in good taste."
'The Users' content was sexually explicit - so explicit it was reported two writers initially attempted to write a script from the 400-page book but could not meet the standards set by the censors until Aaron Spelling decided to bring in Robert J Shaw who "finally came up with an acceptable story." Jaclyn Smith, then 31, played a $100-a-night call girl from Arizona who married a fading movie star and became the social queen of Hollywood. Douglas Cramer had described the book as "light pornography." Jaclyn Smith made known, "I don't read dirty books. After 10 pages, they're all boring. I won't be using the language that was in the book."
John Forsythe as multimillionaire Reade Jamieson: But in this town, power and romance seldom mix. This town is a game and the only real thrill is winning and the people here they're like the set on the movie lot. All façade! What's inside is not important, what's appear on the outside is. We're all existed to be used. We think of being useless as dead.
At the time, Aaron Spelling observed television stars such as Henry Winkler and John Travolta had become box office attractions, "They have shown that people will pay money to see them in the movies. I think more than anything else it's the snobbery of the higher echelon of Hollywood that's kept TV stars out of the movies. The reason stars are so anxious to get out is that they feel television is holding back their careers. I think the whole thing was a myth perpetuated by the movie moguls, who always looked down on television. I'm not that interested in movies. I feel movies are a director's medium and TV is a producer's medium. You don't have the creative control. You tell me who produced 'Star Wars' or 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'"
Aaron Spelling was regarded the most successful independent producer in the history of TV, "I guess I hear at least once a day by innuendo that I've got too many shows on the air but that's tough. I know why we're on the air because we get the ratings." As the '70s was near the end, Aaron Spelling made the forecast, "I think the Western will replace the police show because the public wants law and order. It's the old morality play. People like to be reassured that good triumphs over evil. They may be frightened by what's happening in the world, but Kojak and all the other bigger-than-life heroes will make it all right."
At the time, Aaron Spelling observed television stars such as Henry Winkler and John Travolta had become box office attractions, "They have shown that people will pay money to see them in the movies. I think more than anything else it's the snobbery of the higher echelon of Hollywood that's kept TV stars out of the movies. The reason stars are so anxious to get out is that they feel television is holding back their careers. I think the whole thing was a myth perpetuated by the movie moguls, who always looked down on television. I'm not that interested in movies. I feel movies are a director's medium and TV is a producer's medium. You don't have the creative control. You tell me who produced 'Star Wars' or 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'"
Aaron Spelling was regarded the most successful independent producer in the history of TV, "I guess I hear at least once a day by innuendo that I've got too many shows on the air but that's tough. I know why we're on the air because we get the ratings." As the '70s was near the end, Aaron Spelling made the forecast, "I think the Western will replace the police show because the public wants law and order. It's the old morality play. People like to be reassured that good triumphs over evil. They may be frightened by what's happening in the world, but Kojak and all the other bigger-than-life heroes will make it all right."
