Boyar v. Krech

LANGDON, J.

This action was brought for a declaration of rights under an agency contract.

In Í931, defendant, an actor on the New York legitimate stage, was desirous of entering moving pictures. On March

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14, 1931, he entered into a contract with plaintiff, a theatrical agent, by the terms of which defendant engaged plaintiff to act as his manager and personal representative. The agreed compensation was 10 per cent of money received by the actor for any engagements during the term of the agreement. The specified term was one year, but an additional provision read as follows:

“It is further agreed between the parties hereto that should the Artist be under contract to a motion picture company, as a result of options accruing from an original contract and such options or contractual periods extend beyond the life of this contract, that all the terms of this contract shall be in force through all such optional or contractual periods.”

On March 12, 1931, two days prior to the execution of the said agency contract, plaintiff had secured an engagement for defendant with Warner Bros. Pictures Corporation. In his previous stage work, defendant had been earning a salary of about $650 per week; under the Warner contract, in the standard form of motion picture contract, his salary commenced at $750 per week for an original period of 26 weeks, commencing March 23, 1931, with a number of options in the studio to extend the employment for additional 26-week periods at increased compensation. Defendant’s first pictures were unsuccessful, and’ the first option was not exercised at the stipulated rate of $1,000 per week, but an agreed reduction to $850 per week was adopted. Other options were eventually exercised until some time in 1933.

In the early part of 1932, however, defendant was dissatisfied with his compensation. Plaintiff’s activities in California were conducted through the William Morris Agency, his western representative, and defendant took up the matter of modification of the Warner contract with Mr. Feil of this agency. He was advised that because of depressed conditions the action was not desirable. In March, 1933, shortly after the national bank holiday, the motion picture studios proposed a general waiver of one-half salary to their employees, and defendant signed a waiver agreement in accordance with the terms of the “Emergency Bulletin” of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This agreement was dated March 14, 1933, and provided for waiver during an eight weeks' period beginning March 6, 1933, and ending April 30, 1933. Warner Bros, studio paid salaries at the reduced rate,