The former president of Columbia Studios, David Begelman had a checkered but colorful career that was sharply curtailed when he was implicated in the 1978 check-forging scandal that shook Hollywood to its core and inspired author/journalist David McClintick (who originally broke the story in The Wall Street Journal) to write the best-selling novel Indecent Exposure in 1982. In 1973, when Begelman left Creative Management Associates (CMA) and his business partner Freddie Fields to take over at the floundering Columbia Studios, he became among the first Tinseltown agents to cross-over and rise to the top of the studio system. He remained there until the scandal broke in 1978. A closer examination of Begleman's life before and after the scandal proves that he was no stranger to shady dealings. For example, though he claimed to be a 1947 Yale graduate and graduate of the Yale Law School, the prestigious institution has no record of Begelman's ever having been enrolled at either place. Still, he managed to find work with the Music Corporation of America (MCA). He remained there for over 11 years and rose to the position of vice president of special projects. He left in 1960 to co-found CMA with Fields. Their clients included Judy Garland and…  » Read more