Tragedy In The Twilight Zone: Part 2

A few days after the crash were the funerals. As could be expected, the funerals for Renee Chen and My-Ca Le were emotionally draining. And, an added shock to these goodbyes was the totally unexpected appearance of John Landis, supported by his wife, Deborah, There were cold, hard stares directed at the director, the glares of hatred from the families. Landis broke down at both funerals, as he did later for the memorial service held for Vic Morrow. The Morrow gathering included several show business industry people. Landis, along with George Folsey gave an unexpected, and many thought, inappropriate, eulogies to the fallen actor. Both mentioned how happy Morrow was doing the movie. Both mentioned how Vic Morrow thought it was his finest role. Both were not telling the truth here. In fact, many friends of Morrow's were ready to lynch the director and producer for even having the audacity to show up. Landis and Folsey turned the sad rememberance into a plug for their movie and themselves. No one at the service was fooled by their showing. The public showing of ''respect'' for Vic Morrow had all of the behind the scenes fingerprints of lawyers...... Meanwhile, immediately after the accident, all sorts of investigators descended on the scene to determine what had happened. Every department from the L.A. Police to the FAA to private detectives, all had two objectives: what had happened, and who was responsible....... The investigation would take several months to complete. But, other events were happening. The families of Renee Chen, My-Ca Le, and Vic Morrow all filed lawsuits against Warner Brothers [who was financing the movie] Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and George Folsey. Eventually, all of the lawsuits would be settled out of court. The money was said to be in the millions for each family........ The immediate question hanging over the creative people at the studio was, should they finish the movie? The Landis segment clearly could not continue, even though the segment was pretty much complete, even without the crash scene. After a few weeks, the other three directors, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller, went forward and each shot their segments in just a few weeks. Finally, by late 1982, ''Twilight Zone---The Movie'' was complete. But no one had any joy over it. Gloom and tragedy hung over every aspect of the film....... In early 1983, with his career and freedom hanging in question, John Landis went back to work directing. He chose a safe comedy, ''Trading Places'' as his next assignment. With Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, and Jamie Lee Curtis, it was the exact opposite of the emotional intensity of his last film. The film proved to be very popular with the critics and the public when it was released in the summer of 1983. George Folsey produced the film. As far as Hollywood was concerned, even though these two were damaged goods, they still knew how to make money. And, in Hollywood, the green money in the pocket of an adult trumped the red blood of children in the river..... Right before the release of ''Trading Places'' in June 1983, the Los Angeles grand jury investigating the ''Twilight Zone'' crash sent down a recommendation of indictments for the participants they felt were responsible. John Landis, George Folsey Jr, Dan Allingham, Dorcey Wingo, and Paul Stewart were all charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Vic Morrow and the children, Renee Chen and My-Ca Le. There were also charges of child endangerment and breaking the law of working minors after hours. But, the main charge was the involuntary manslaughter charge. If convicted, prison time would surely follow......... There was also a final explanation, sort of, for why the helicopter crashed that night. According to the FAA and the various safety agencies, debris from the special effects explosions interfered with the helicopter blades, therebye, causing the crash. There also was some vague theory that the heat from the fireballs in the explosions may have melted the rotor blade's outer covering, resulting in the blades coming loose and not working. But, this last bit of information was speculation more on the part of the investigators than solid evidence. So, the crash was blamed on debris...... In the summer of 1983, ''Twilight Zone--The Movie'' was finally released, minus the fateful scene with Vic Morrow and the children. The reviews were mostly poor, with critics saying that the superstar directors, Landis and Spielberg, were eclipsed in quality by the lesser-known directors, Joe Dante and George Miller. John Landis received the biggest lashing from the critics about his segment. One reviewer, noting the Vic Morrow tragedy, said the movie certainly wasn't worth dying for. John Landis and George Folsey Jr. could have the last laugh, though. They were riding the crest of the success of ''Trading Places''......... It wasn't until the fall of 1986, four years after the accident, that the trial of John Landis and his co-defendants finally began. And, it was some show, as this was Hollywood and Hollywood makes big shows. But, this was the dark side of Hollywood, the shameful side that showed that even lives of little children could be trampled on for the sake of making a movie. The defendants, Landis, George Folsey Jr., Dan Allingham, Dorcey Wingo, and Paul Stewart all, at first, presented a united front. This soon changed as sides were taken. Landis, Folsey, and Allingham, with their high-priced attorneys, soon became an unshakeable triumvirate. The lesser powers, Wingo and Stewart, soon bonded. This is understandable because Wingo and Stewart were the weaker powers, capable of making a deal to turn against the other three. Wingo and Stewart were, after all, only were doing their jobs, so their lawyers stated. The Landis team tried to throw the blame on the Wingo team saying, as experts, they should have known the explosions would be dangerous and should have spoken up. Soon, there were charges being thrown at Stewart alone by the other four attorneys that he set off too much power in the explosions. And, Stewart's team joined the Landis team in saying that Wingo should have refused to fly that copter at all. Round and round it went, a typical trial......... But, nothing compared to when prosecutor Lea D'Agostino got rolling. A bulldog in the courtroom, she went after the Hollywood people with a vengeance, stomping over the evidence against them and putting on a show for the viewing public. Instead of picking apart the defense--- which was experiencing a lot of in-fighting--- she went for the jugular over and over until she turned off the jury. She sneered at Landis when he testified and he started weeping on the witness stand. Although her questions were pertinent to the overall case, she dropped the ball repeatedly. She contended that she would show that Wingo and Stewart knew the high degree of hazard involved but proved no evidence to support it. She went after Landis, especially, with personal attacks that soon sank her case....... After seven months, the jury came back with a not guilty verdict across the board. All five defendants walked. After the court adjourned, the jurors were interviewed by the media. Most said that they thought in their guts that the five were guilty in various ways but there was no solid concrete evidence presented by the prosecution to warrant a guilty verdict....... John Landis would go on to direct ''Coming To America'', a huge hit, with George Folsey Jr. producing. But, by the early 90's, he seemed to lose his magic touch at making successful comedies. He would direct an occasional movie. None proved as successful as his earlier work. He is still active in Hollywood but with a dark cloud always hanging over him. Some still embrace him. Many shun him. He has expressed his sorrow at what happened that July night in 1982. But, he still refuses to take the blame. The fault of the accident, he says, lies with others........ Dan Allingham would distance himself from Landis/Folsey. He would continue to work. Always behind the scenes........ Dorcey Wingo went to work for Western Helicoptors..... Paul Stewart continued his career in special effects. He claims that he is blackballed in the industry because of the accident........ That final scene in the movie, the tragedy scene never used, had a final piece of dialogue to it had things not turned so tragic. It turned out to be sadly prophetic. Vic Morrow, after saving the kids from the deadly battle fire, was to utter the lines, ''Don't worry, kids. I will take care of you''.......