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RON RANDELL BARRED I
FROM U.S. LEAD J
Austrälian Associated Press 1
MEW YORK, Thurs.-Australian actor Ron Randell is 1
incensed over the action of American Equity in I
preventing him from playing the lead in a new produc- I
tion, "The Enchanted," on Broadway. I
JANDELL told A.A.P.: "They
- have made a martyr of me. It
is a horrible thing and a backward
step for the United States, which
always has been a forward country
as far as Equity is concerned.
"It is the first time I knew any
American organisation did not wel-
come competition.
"This new part was going to be
the big break for me. It would havp
meant a very great deal to my car-
eer. Now I am forced to go with-
out a job for six months, and I
can't afford that."
Randell said from "inside infor-
mation" he believed Equity had "got
at" George Kaufman, producer of
the play, through him.
Kaufman recently married an
English actress who thus became an
American citizen and therefore ceas-
ed to be affected by Equity bans on
foreigners.
Randell said he did not think
Equity would change its decision,
but he was seeing the Australian
Consul-General (Mr. E. K. Smart)
to ascertain whether he or other
Australian Government represen-
tatives could intervene.
Equity's decision is based on the
union's rule that foreign actors must
wait six months from the end of one
engagement before taking another
Randell said the rule was rarely j
invoked, and quoted the example :
of English actress Bertha Bellmore, \
now in the same production as he is.
She is being allowed to take another Í
role immediately.
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