A message from Acting President Norman Bryn...

 

By now I assume most of Local 798 has received news of President Kelly Gleason's untimely passing on Thanksgiving Day. Few tragedies in life rank with being cut down in one's prime; Kelly was only 41 years old with everything to live for. I knew Kelly personally as an intimate friend and co-worker since our days together at SNL in the early nineties. Later, we both worked for each other on various projects. It is a gross understatement to say there was nobody else like her --on so many levels. She was a complex mix of sweetness and toughness, and she was more prone to lead than to follow. Professionally, she was among the most versatile makeup artists I have ever worked with. She was well known for a mastery of prosthetics and F/X--succeeding at that end of our craft which is too often associated with makeup MEN--yet her artist's eye produced top-notch beauty and period styling for men and women as well. Though she could certainly afford to be arrogant about her abilities, Kelly always asked "Is it OK?" after doing a makeup job for me. I checked--only because she DID ask--but there was really never any need; I always took it for granted Kelly would deliver EVERY TIME...anything to the contrary literally never occurred to me.

Now that Kelly has left us, I would like to clarify some facts for the membership and put some of the rumors to rest. Kelly first began to feel poorly early in 2006. Digestive problems suggested she might have picked up a parasite of some sort in India the previous summer while completing a film called "The Namesake," on which I was her second. It didn't help that later on that same summer, while riding her bike to Steiner Studios for "The Hoax," Kelly was struck by a car and was hospitalized with a concussion for several days. As 2006 wore on and Kelly combined her duties as our union president with her exhaustive feature film schedule, she began to experience chronic fatigue which she refused to let slow her down. Late in the year it was apparent she was growing steadily weaker, and it was time to begin a barrage of medical tests. It was discovered she had a cancer unique to women, which was treatable through surgery. Kelly, extremely empowered individual that she was, embarked on a fact-finding mission, consulting with a number of surgeons, holistic practitioners, oncologists and nutritionists to discover all options open to her before choosing a treatment program. I accompanied Kelly to a number of these consultations, taking notes, asking questions, and referring to all the online research we had collated together. You learn a great deal about The Medical Establishment in the course of such inquiries--their attitude towards informed patients runs the gamut, believe me. The arrogance and the greed that forms much of The Business of Cancer made us both wary to say the least. There were also one or two doctors who were actually terrific, and Kelly did opt for surgery late in 2006 which made a huge difference. She was up and about with renewed energy, working on pilots and features as usual as well as putting much time and effort into union affairs. You all saw her at that time, presiding over General Membership Meetings with gusto, though it was apparent she'd lost some weight.

Though the immediate threat to Kelly's health was staved off through surgery, secondary tumors were found to have formed in her liver. There were many--too many to operate safely--though Kelly's liver function remained remarkably unimpaired for many months during 2007. Kelly took the holistic approach, using nutrition and vitamin therapy to buoy her liver function while investigating alternative treatment options other than chemotherapy, which usually results in a liver transplant operation that Kelly wished to avoid at all costs. Again, we conferred with various specialists and--again--encountered some scary, callous attitudes and a good deal of maddening medical bureaucracy. Kelly's confidence in traditional Western Medicine was dimming, and she continued various alternative therapies while finally taking a much needed break from work after completing extensive makeup chores on "The Brave One" with Jodie Foster. She was less available--physically--to the Executive Board at this time, though she contributed to all issues and debates via email. It was left to me as vice president to preside over meetings when Kelly couldn't make it into town, or Joe Cuervo if work kept me away from the E-Board table. Even so, Kelly did find the strength to appear as a Trustee at a Pension & Welfare meeting and preside over a General Membership Meeting once in a while. On one such occasion--a Sunday morning--she excused herself from the meeting and I took over; after the membership departed I found her lying on the floor in our front office. Her back hurt so badly from the swelling of her liver, Kelly had been unable to sit up any longer in front of the membership. But still, she showed up, determined to TRY and see it through.

We did not see much of Kelly at the 798 office after that episode, though she continued holistic treatments and functioned as president through emails constantly. To my astonishment, Kelly informed me during August she had taken a job--three weeks in Paris for exterior shots on "Pink Panther 2," then on to Boston for interiors through early November. "Why are you risking it?" I asked. Kelly replied she was "bored to death sitting around thinking about cancer." Her doctors OK'd the trip and provided medicines for her stay in Paris, and she phoned me one afternoon lamenting that everything in France shuts down during August! We had a good laugh about it and she sounded very healthy. Then, in early September, Kelly phoned me from Boston. She needed help on "Pink Panther 2" because so many of the locals were employed on other films. She also needed me because standing up had become extremely difficult in her condition. Her doctors required her back in New Jersey for continued treatment--they would no longer send her the medication--so Kelly knew she'd have to quit the picture. I stayed the week, working with the extras in an upscale party scene--but also with several principals since Kelly no longer had the stamina to remain on set. We did have one lovely Saturday afternoon together with Key Hairstylist Jerry Decarlo, who took in a showing of "The Brave One" with us then drove us around Boston for a bit of a tour. It was the last time I would ever see Kelly; she was tired and anxious to return to New Jersey on September 17th to resume her treatments. I remember at this time she had been speculating about the cause of her cancer. Kelly wondered if she was in fact yet another victim of 9/11; many of those who were in the toxic vicinity of the World Trade Center for days and weeks after the attack have since fallen ill with deadly cancers and respiratory diseases. Kelly's former workshop--where many of you readers took classes at one time or another--was located very close indeed to Ground Zero. We'll never know, of course, but it was on Kelly's mind.

Kelly continued emailing the Executive Board right through October 24th--the last internet communication from her in my mailbox. She was fulfilling her duties as part of the Membership Committee--just four weeks ago--urging the rest of us to complete our review of some sixty applicant's resumes by the imposed November first deadline. Less than two weeks ago, I phoned Kelly in New Jersey about other E-Board business and to inquire about her condition. For the first time, her voice was hoarse and strained; she had acquired some kind of massive infection during the course of her treatment, and the doctors were pumping her full of antibiotics. It was yet another medical annoyance to endure, but she told me she had decided to go ahead with chemotherapy after all and opt for that liver transplant since there no longer seemed to be any alternative. She still wanted very much to live, still had very strong opinions about the union issues we were discussing, and she still had a sense of humor. Typically, the very last thing she did was to give me a job referall for a movie which had just been offered to her.

Why do I offer all of the above instead of a simple, schmaltzy tribute? I think the way Kelly handled her own crisis is a tribute in itself. But, Kelly really needs no tribute as those who truly knew her would attest. Her actions spoke for her--it was always a matter of deeds rather than mere words. She was among the first 798 members to phone me in 2004 to enlist my aid for the Concerned Members reform movement which paved the way for the restoration of our local. She was never afraid to speak out against Vincent Callaghan and the former Executive Board which failed us so badly. Why? Because Kelly could AFFORD to speak bluntly --everything she had she got on her own; she needed no crumbs from anybody's table to succeed in our business. It was Kelly's talent and drive--above all--which built her career and made her the feisty leader who found it difficult to take a back seat within any endeavor to which she gave her time. Some people find that level of application intimidating, but Kelly's character was such that she refused to modify that intensity just to win friends and influence people. When you got Kelly you got one hundred percent Kelly, and acknowledging the fact of it is to my mind the most viable, sincere tribute to her memory.

Norman Bryn