Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency

by James Andrew Miller

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: They built a wall that was supposed to be an outdoor wall to look like I was walking across a building, but they built it sort of at building height. I took a look at it and said, “I’m not going to do that!” And they kept on telling me to do it, so I threw my shoes at the producer and said, “Fuck you, I’m not doing that.” Then I called Ron and said, “I know, I’m an asshole, but what the fuck?!” And he was real calm and said, “Okay, I will take care of this.” I needed to be protected not only from myself, but from the craziness that was moviemaking in those days. I hadn’t been spoken to the way people were speaking to people. I was black, but I also thought that I was an actor, because that’s what I’d always been. And suddenly people were touching my hair, saying, “What are we going to do with it?” Ron would say, “Listen, these people don’t know any black people who aren’t working for them. They just don’t know any better. You can’t just hit people because they grab your hair and say stuff.” Because I would punch people and say, “Get out! What are you doing? Who are you talking to?” My head would explode. But what I came to understand is that they didn’t know any better. Ron really kept me from getting into too much crazy trouble. Fundamentally Ron’s a street kid and I’m a street kid. So he understood that there are many ways to deal with stuff. He would be able to say to people, “Relax. Leave her alone so she can do what she needs to do and she’ll be fine....