Is he just a flake or did he have more problems that I didn't catch? (Like drug problems or something.)
shareI'd like to know too. He tried to sue Joan though, for how the film portrayed him, as always being absent. I never did hear how that ended up.
shareMost people work forty years, they get to retire, their employer is grateful for the years of service, and a they live off their pension. What does Joan do? She fires the guy for taking a little vacation.
Tough, tough lady- one I'm glad I never worked for.
School's for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things.
I got the exact opposite impression: that she treats her employees very well. Beyond what Joan said herself about sending their kids to private school etc., her main assistant had been with her for 15 years. The other staff had also been around for many years. People just don't stay that long in a bad situation.
You could tell how impacted Joan was by the whole situation. I came away from the movie feeling like she's a very loyal person, even if the person isn't always deserving of that loyalty.
Not deserving?? The guy worked for her for forty years! Could she not dig deeper into the situation and find out what is going on with him? Maybe he has issues she isn't aware of ...
In any case, finding him in person and discovering what is going on is the least she could have done for a guy that's been her manager for so long.
If she did indeed do that, then I have to say the documentary was badly mangled in the editing bay. The movie gives the impression that, because no word was heard from him in a while, that that was grounds for termination and- beyond that- disintegration of their long relationship.
Either way, I'd like to know what really happened because I left the film feeling like this woman was so sensitive that she couldn't handle him not being in her life and, rather than deal with that, she just cut him out entirely. I've been around people like that quite a bit- most notably my brother- and he has gone the same exact route.
I find that kind of a response revolting.
School's for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things.
" The movie gives the impression that, because no word was heard from him in a while, that that was grounds for termination and- beyond that- disintegration of their long relationship. "
That's why he was suing her. We don't really know what happened between them. Movies get edited and he claims this film was edited to make him look absent and bad and that that was not the case. Who knows??? We'll never know the whole story. Just whatever Joan says about it. I don't think the case has been settled yet.
I like to think that Joan is actually pretty nice to work for. I agree with the other poster who pointed out some of her other assistants have been with her for years. If a celeb is really a tyrant I've heard they don't stick around very long. Roseanne (Barr) went through many many employees during her sitcom stardom.
"Not deserving?? The guy worked for her for forty years! Could she not dig deeper into the situation and find out what is going on with him? Maybe he has issues she isn't aware of ..."
You seem to be forgetting that this isn't the first time he just disappeared, in fact it was mentioned very early in the documentary that he's never there whenever she really needs him. He must have pulled the same act about 3 or 4 times (if not more) during the filming of the documentary, so for all we know Joan knows exactly what's going on and she didn't delve into it out of respect.
Quite honestly, she seems like a very good employer and as crazy as her demands might end up being, it looks like she goes above and beyond for her employees.
Because sponges never have bad days.
I think Smash is right, I think Joan knows exactly what was going on with Billy but didn't want to say out of respect. I completely got the impression, when Billy spoke, that he was on some kind of drug. Watching this with my friend, we both got the impression that Billy probably goes on binges of some kind. Drugs, sex, both probably. But it didn't seem easy for Joan to fire him, you could tell it really hurt her.
shareI agree that it seems like this guy had some issues, most likely substance abuse problems.
shareHer main assistant knows how to play her like a fiddle - and how to shut up.
I must say, with forebearance like that, she earns every penny of her salary.
Man! There's so much left out of that vanity piece that I don't even know where to start.
He was there through her career that is hallmarked by her failure to take advice, temper tantrums and sprees of destroying property to show her pique and then blaming the people who tried to steer her away from the embarrassment in the first place. How could he not have seen what was coming and had learned to keep his head down? But she sees someone behaving rationally as having deserted her in some way.
Her husband committed suicide to escape it. Her manager merely kept a safe distance and firing wasn't good enough -- she had to trash him publicly and then feel sorry for herself about it.
Whatever.
You're entitled to your opinion but you obviously don't know Joan.
Billy Sammeth talks to The Daily Beast about the suit he’s filed against the resurgent comedienne and why he still loves her despite the whole mess. Plus: Exclusive emails between Rivers and her former manager.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-25/billy-sammeth-and-his-lawsuit-against-joan-rivers/2/
Is there an update on their friendship or the lawsuit? After being friends with someone for that long you'd think they would be able to talk it out. So sad.
cocktailssssss.
It's a missed opportunity that this film didn't give him a chance to defend himself, and the whole thing felt a bit too much like "reality" television to me – much like most of this film.
shareRight before her death, he was supposed to be writing a 'tell-all' book about his employment with her, and under Cher as well. Apparently, he was fired by both women at different times.
I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand
Interesting. That should be a fascinating memoir.
share