johnny got his gun_variety 1978 re-release

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CGTfrIITG UP FOR TIllE THIRD TIIfrEBy iilIM HABWOOD

In the gilded environs of Hollywood *- andBeverly Hills especially - it is always a chal-lenge to figrrre out who has any money" Every-body looks rieh. So that's no help.

TVice now, for example, Elruce Carnpbell haslooked extremely wealthy:and wound up work-irg aS.a houseboy. Now tiers corning arorind fora third time, looking good in a srnall butfashionable hsme in Benedict Canyon.

Elut he's sold the house to raise money for &n-other try at reissuing his "Johnny Got [IisGun," the Dalton T?umbo film which receivedgood reviews, many awards and little boxofficein 1971.

This is the second home Campbell has sold toraise money for "Johnny," which he calls a"two-house" picture.

Son of the late George Campbell, one ofMCA's earliest exex, who was with the com-pany nearly 40 years, Bruce made his firstsplash in San Francisco in 1963 with Inde-pendent Produetions Associates. Operating outof a swank office, he was all over town for a fewmonths in various deals, including someinvolvement with Marlon Brando. But some-thing went wrong and Campbell hitchhiked toL.A.

He found a job as a houseboy in a homerecently occupied by Brando. Fortunately,Brando no longer lived there so Campbell'sembarrassment wasn't as bad as it might havebeen.

MCA gave him a job finally "with a sec-retary, a salary and nothing to do" but thatdidn't pan out so he went back to housekeepingwhile trying to sell an idea for a kid show.

This brought him into contact with Roy Silverand Bill Cosby. In 1966, the trio formed Camp-beli-Silver-Cosby, which by 1969 was one of thehottest production-management shops in Bev-Hills, billing $10,000,000 a year. Its offices werea showplace, with antique furniture and otherelegant appointments.

C-S-C was even about to go public with a stoeksale, whieh rnight have rna.Ee Campbelt.rlah l

fo'rever.,But tr0hbles. developed and ilS.C col"lapsed short of the stock issuance. "I was 10m.inutes away from being a millionaire,'nCampbell reealls ruefully. '. ,

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Taking the "Johnny" property frsrn , theruins, Campbell spent three years with T?urnboraising the production money. But the film'sheavy antiwar theme couldn't tap & widemarket and failed to break even.

Carnpbell was bankrupt for the pecon{ time.The judgp wanted to know how one m&fi:couldget $?52,000 into the red. The better questionwas how he could get dovrn that far with a $40,-000 bankruptcy previously.

But Campbell keeps coming back, raisingnew money for various :proj€cts, including anov,el plan to take the "Johnny Get Your GunIi:xperience" on the road in a truck. His idea isto hit college communities with a big promo-tion and a percentage deal with the exhibitor,combining the screening with a lecture twiee anight for $2 to $4. '

The truck, with its side painted with B,n €r.dorsement from Jimmy Carter, wiII be parkedoutside of the theatre with an exhibit of Tfumbomemorabilia.

When prospective investors visit Campbell'shome, they encounter an ineredible sight:Every inch is plastered with props, stills,posters, scripts and what-not related to hiscareer. Hundreds of pholos and souveniersdangle from the ceiling by string.

An old moose eostume lie$ casually in thecorner.

Campbell gives a three-hour sales pitch cor-n-plete with film, tape and slides. When the fate-ful moment arrives to sisl the checks, themoose gets up and walks out, commenting,"You've got to be kidding."

But he isn't.