Priest's death leaves void in Hollywood

Christian Century, Oct 18, 2000

The death of Ellwood "Bud" Kieser, a Catholic priest-producer who gained influence in Hollywood by working with--rather than lambasting--the entertainment industry, has silenced a dynamic voice for Christian humanism, according to friends and admirers in television productions.

"He was an important force ... from the Catholic standpoint, but when he talked about values and human relationships to God he was also espousing what mainline Protestants would have," said Jack Shea, a founder of Catholics in Media who is in his second term as president of the Directors Guild of America.

The National Council of Churches has not had an official representative in Hollywood for decades. Kieser, a tall (6-foot-7) Paulist priest, was by far the best-known envoy in Hollywood for liberal-to-moderate religious perspectives on enriching stories and drama--a spiritually attuned view not as out of place in Hollywood as it once was.

Kieser, 71, appeared in good health in July when he hosted his Humanitas award luncheon for best television and film scripts that, among other things, projected "the insights of the Judaic-Christian vision of man to bear on our contemporary situation." But he was later diagnosed with colon cancer and died September 16 in Los Angeles. Two funeral masses for Kieser were packed with mourners, and a memorial service was held on October 3 at the Writers Guild of America West.

He persuaded countless actors, writers and directors to donate their time for his Insight television dramas that ended a 23-year run in 1983 with a total of six Emmys. Likewise, for his script-writing prizes, awarded annually since 1974, he attracted prominent TV writers and producers, giving out $150,000 in prizes.

Two-time Emmy winner David Milch, who created NYPD Blue with Steven Bochco, wrote in a newspaper tribute that Kieser provided hospitality to the secular realm that is Hollywood. "He was unafraid--if it would get their attention--to embody contradictions for those whom fear had brought up short of faith."

Shea, who directed many episodes of The Jeffersons and other Norman Lear--produced sitcoms, said that more than once he would be sitting with writers bouncing around storylines when someone would say, "You know, that might get a Humanitas nomination."

On questions of Hollywood depictions of violence and depravity, Kieser told the Los Angeles Times last year, "The problem is not with media violence as such but with the superficial, distorted and exploitative way that violence is so often presented." The industry must not only promote nonviolent ways to handle conflict but also explore the dark side of humanity, including the fear, isolation, self-hatred and cowardice of violent people, he said.

Shea, a friend of Kieser and Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, chaired a 25-person "task force on violence and social responsibility" for the Directors Guild of America, which recently broke ranks with the Motion Picture Association of America by calling for a revision of the ratings system.

The DGA task force statement issued September 14 called the NC-17 rating "an abject failure" and said R ratings served neither filmmakers nor audiences. "We advocate a system (or systems) that would give parents and other consumers the most detailed information possible regarding the true nature and content of a film," said the report.

On his own, Kieser produced Romero, a feature film about the slain Salvadoran Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Entertaining Angels, a film about Dorothy Day, cofounder of the Catholic Worker movement. His 1985 TV production The Fourth Wise Man, starring Martin Sheen, Eileen Brennan and Alan Arkin, was added to the Catholic-sponsored Jubilee 2000 Film Festival October 13-14 in Manhattan along with a special tribute to the priest.