Who was G. David Schine? Everything You Need to Know

G. David Schine was born Gerard David Schine, on September 11, 1927, in Gloversville, New York City, to Hildegarde Feldman and Junius Myer Schine. He grew up with a sister named Renee Schine Crown.

Following his high-school graduation, he attended the ‘Phillips Academy’ in Massachusetts. He then joined ‘Harvard University’ in the summer of 1945.

He claimed to be a highly patriotic man and believed that America stood strongly on capitalism. Like any other conservative nationalist American, he abhorred communism.

He took a leave of absence from ‘Harvard’ in 1946 and returned in 1947. Meanwhile, he worked for the ‘Army Transport’ as the assistant purser. It was a normal civilian position, but he lied on his re-admittance form, claiming he was an army lieutenant.

There were many students at ‘Harvard’ who were actual army veterans from the Second World War. They resented when Schine projected himself as one.

At the university, he was a drum major and took charge of conducting the university band. He also behaved like a spoilt young man. When the university did not allow him to use his dorm room as his office with a private female secretary, he moved into a private accommodation. During the era of the Gold Coast, wealthy students deemed themselves better than other students and refused to live in the dormitories. They also usually ended up renting or buying private accommodations.

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Life

Over time, Schine’s anti-communist stance strengthened. In 1952, he published a pamphlet called the ‘Definition of Communism.’ He printed many similar pamphlets and began spreading them around. He placed copies of the pamphlets in every room of every hotel that his family owned. Despite the fact that the pamphlet had many errors, the move was appreciated by the American media. ‘Time’ called it “remarkably succinct.”

This move also exhibited Schine’s political ambitions. It caught the attention of many influential people from the American political arena. One such man was George Sokolsky. He was a famous newspaper columnist. He reached out to Schine, and a friendship developed between the two. Through him, Schine met Roy Cohn. Roy was an anti-communist lawyer and the chief counsel of U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy.

Schine developed a close personal bond with Roy. Roy then introduced Schine to McCarthy, and he was soon made the chief consultant of McCarthy. Schine insisted on working without receiving any payment in return.

Back then, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locking horns over the spread of communism. Many opponents of communism sought to eradicate everything that they considered pro-communist. In 1953, Schine and Roy even went to Europe to seek out pro-communist books from the ‘United States Information Agency.’ This move of theirs was heavily criticized, as it was too aggressive.

In November 1953, Schine entered the ‘United States Army’ as a private. However, being a privileged young man, he was not used to the hardships that he was subjected to in the army. His friend Cohn came to his rescue, and began a campaign to provide special privileges to Schine.

Using his influence of being the chief counsel of a U.S. senator, he called everyone, from Schine’s commander to the Secretary of the Army. He also met them in person and ordered them to offer special privileges to Schine.

Cohn further demanded that Schine should be given a regular commission along with light duties. The army refused to give Schine a commission, as he was not qualified enough to earn it. Cohn also asked for extra leaves for Schine and requested that he be given no foreign operations. When the army officials refused to meet his demands, Cohn threatened them and said that he would destroy the army.

The army had enough from Cohn, and in 1954, a case was filed against him. Both Cohn and Senator McCarthy were accused by the army of interfering in issues regarding national security and influencing the army. Cohn’s lawyer argued that Schine had been held hostage by the army to impact McCarthy’s investigations on communists in the army.

The entire case was televised in the country, and as Schine was at the center of the case, his reputation was maligned. Ultimately, the case closed, with Cohn being held guilty of all charges against him. McCarthy was freed of all charges. Cohn resigned from McCarthy’s staff shortly after the case closed.

Following the case, which was known as “Army–McCarthy Hearings,” Schine continued his career as an entrepreneur. He worked in the hotel, film, and music industries.

As an executive producer, he produced the film titled ‘The French Connection,’ which won five ‘Academy Awards.’ He also produced and directed the documentary film titled ‘That’s Action’ in 1977. The movie talked about old action films of Hollywood.

In 1957, his father named him the head of ‘Schine Enterprises.’

Family, Personal Life & Death

G. David Schine married former ‘Miss Universe’ Hillevi Rombin in 1957. They had six children together.

Schine passed away on June 19, 1996, following a private airplane crash in Burbank, California. His wife also died in the crash, along with his son Berndt, who was piloting the plane on that fateful day.

G. David Schine Biography