Comments on: CSIDU

By: David A. Rooney

David A. Rooney — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:49:16 +0000

I’ve always loved that phrase “lifestyle to which s/he has become accustomed”. If you can become accustomed to wealth, you can become accustomed to poverty. A lot of people have had to in this economy.

By: Keera

Keera — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:57:38 +0000

Dammit, Bill, you made me go check out the gossip. Anyway, Marg is not only demanding spousal support but is also asking that her husband not be allowed to ask for any from her. It could very well be a Doris Day type of situation.

By: Lost in A**2

Lost in A**2 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:08:07 +0000

From what I’ve heard, Miss Day was married three times.
The last ended in death: she was widowed, not divorced.

She sued her husband’s business partner because the two
of them had worked together to wipe her out. She won,
too.

By: Jer

Jer — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:41:55 +0000

I’d go with solarrhino here - from what I’ve seen, if the divorce is going to be acrimonious and the couple hasn’t already worked out a division of property before talking to lawyers (it happens - some people actually can be adults about splitting up), then the smart lawyers ask for the sun and the moon and the stars even if they don’t expect to get them. Because they know that the other guy is going to ask for the sun and the moon and the stars too. If you’re both starting out at the same absurd place it’s easier to negotiate down to “reasonable expectations”. If you start out reasonable and the other guy starts out at the extreme, you’re probably going to get screwed. That’s true of any negotiation, but probably even more true of something as emotional as an acrimonious divorce.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:32:06 +0000

Doris Day was the main wage-earner in her marriage. When she and her husband split up, she asked for spousal support because her husband had thrown away everything she had earned on bad investments, leaving her penniless. And of course she was laughed at when she asked for alimony; she was the star, the court said; why wasn’t she supporting him?

The same thing happened to Shirley Jones, Hope Lange, and quite a few other big female stars (and, interestingly, only female stars). Don’t ignore the possibility.

By: solarrhino

solarrhino — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:34:05 +0000

Negotiating tactic? May even a preemptive strike, if she thinks he’ll seek the same thing from her.

By: Cidu Bill

Cidu Bill — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:43:04 +0000

If she contributed to his success, she seemed to have done a mighty poor job of it, given the whole “no steady work in five years” thing. She certainly didn’t put her own career on hold for the sake of his.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:37:18 +0000

The idea behind spousal support is that, while they were married, Marg Heldnegrebuerwhatever contributed to her husband’s success by their marriage. Therefore she’s entitled to ask for some of his earnings. Doesn’t mean she’s going to get it, especially if she makes more than him.

By: Cidu Bill

Cidu Bill — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:38:17 +0000

Her husband hasn’t had steady work in five years. I doubt anything he does or doesn’t give her will make any dent in her present or future lifestyle.

The request does, however, make her appear to be a bitch.

By: Arvy

Arvy — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:40:19 +0000

To elaborate on what Norm said, Hellenberger may be making an obscene amount of money now, but as a female actor of a certain age, she is, based on Hollywood trends, most likely in the last major role of her career. Her husband, as a male and as president of the SAG has a greater potential for steady earnings for a longer period of time. So presumably she is protecting herself against an inevitable steep decline in future income.

Of course, all she needs to do is bank a fraction of what she’s earning per episode now and she could live to age 110 more comfortably than most of us. But as Norm and WW said, what she asking for is not necessarily what she deserves or will get.