Feedback “I feel bad for the little broken hearts…”

Thanks for the Tip

DAMN GOOD STORY! [“GLAM SCAM,” MARCH 2000]. I used to model for a well-known agency, and I am glad that someone is trying to do something to stop these frauds from taking advantage of our youths.

RAFIQ COOPER

via e-mail



IT UNNERVES ME THAT PEOPLE LIKE [O’BRIEN Rottman] capitalize on the opportunity to prey on the gullible. Frankly. I think that one or more involved have a “not right” obsession with children. I’d like to see them exposed and run out of town. O’Brien Rottman is undoubtedly into children-and not in the same way as Aunt Edna.

JAMES RICHIE FARRIS

Dallas



Thank you for this article. On Dec 26, 1999. my kids went to Dallas and went through the whole hoopla. When I saw this article, I could not believe what I read. Thanks for enlightening the public.

DEBRA BILLINGSLEY

Tyler



I was so pleased to see D MAGAZINE EXPOSE the O’Brien Rottman rip-off artists. My daughter has been involved in modeling and acting for several years, and a couple of people have asked me about O’Brien Rottman. Of course, I strongly discouraged them from pursuing this scam, but it is hard to put down a company that has told a person their child has special talent, looks, and the ability to be a star.

From now on, when any parent asks me about O’Brien Rottman or others like them. I intend to show them your article.

DENISE HARRIS

Plane



THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFORMATIVE STORY about O’Brien Rottman. I am one of the lucky ones whose children have been successful in this business. People ask me constantly how my children “gotstarted.” In the past three months, three ladies have asked me about OR. I’ve tried to steer them away.

We in Dallas are also fortunate to have some very good talent agencies, acting schools, and coaches. Thanks for the story. I’m sure it will help many.

EVELYN ACOSTA

McKinney



THANKS TO YOUR ARTICLE, “GLAM SCAM,” my Sunday afternoon was saved. These people are still in the malls looking for cute kids and naive parents.

TRACEY HILL

via e-mail



I THINK IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT Texans against scams like this. It makes me sick to hear about it. I never took my children there, but I know a few that did-after reading this story. I feel for them. If [O’Brien Rottman) is still doing these major mailings, I’m sure there are hundreds of people who don’t get this magazine and aren’t so fortunate.

RHONDA MILES

via e-mail



YOU ARE SO RIGHT. WE ALMOST FELL FOR THIS scam. After reading your article, I am breathing a huge sigh of relief. We saved our daughter from this .shamble.

MIKE BEBB

Plano



VERY WELL DONE. THERE ARE MANY OF THESE “agencies” out there that prey not only on parents and their children, but also on novice ad tills seeking the fame and money generally associated with the modeling and acting profession. Bottom line is, if they want money before they gel you a job and represent themselves as an “agent,” they’re fakes. Thanks again for a great inside look at the unscrupulous side of the business.

MICHAEL RAY DAVIS

Carrollton



Thank you for setting us straight! My children have been studying with Linda Seto since 1995. When we started hearing about these scam artists, we started spreading the word. Unfortunately some people refused to listen. Maybe now they will.

SUSAN KLOOSTER

via e-mail



We were approached in February by an O’Brien Rottman talent scout. I now realize thai the scout was no more than a con artist. I hope this agency is run out of town before they damage any more wallets and hearts.

TONYA BLANKS

Grand Prairie



I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO FELL FOR THE O’Brien Rotlman scam. I should have gone with my gut feeling, but instead foolishly handed over a small fortune.

Thank you for pulling the word out there. Maybe now someone else won’t have to go through what we have because of this scam.

CINDY RICHARDS

via e-mail



WONDERFUL! BOTH JULI AND I HAVE BEEN acting, directing, and teaching kids and adults the business for 40 years. We have suffered through dozens of so-called “agencies.” Thanks for a well-researched article.

GRANT JAMES AND JULI ERICKSON

Richardson



MY WIFE IS A LICENSED AGENT HERE IN TEXAS, and we often receive inquiries about operations that we feel are scams. O’Brien Rottman smelled from the very beginning.

STEVE AND LINDA MCALISTER

via e-mail



Scam Slam

Your article is great at exposing this scam to the public. However, The Pazzo Mente showcase is alive and well after eight years of helping Dallas talent for free. Please get your facts straight on the good side like you do on the bad side.

BOB CAWLEY

via e-mail



I WENT TO O’BRIEN ROTTMAN STUDIOS AND took classes. I also went to model clothes for them. They’re not a scam; they changed my life. I’m surprised they don’t sue you!

DONNA HOVIS

via e-mail

Not the Only Scam in Town

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR STORY ON THESE scam artists. I was taken in by a similar operation by the name of John Robert Powers in Fort Worth. It sounds just I ike the same scam. As you may know, the Dallas office closed down overnight and left people that paid good money without anything. The Fort Worth office is an A-3 scam operation.

Thanks again for informing the public about this. If you are interested in a good story about John Robert Powers, count me in.

CAROLYN LEVERETT

Fort Worth



YOUR ARTICLE, THOUGH INSIGHTFUL AND informative, chronicled the experience of a child who, at the very least, received his “training.”! would I ike to shed light on a situation of deeper concern and interest: While it may he legal tor an “agency” to operate in such a manner, il is not legal for an agency to make a promise of the service and immediately shut down, taking all proceeds along with it. This is the true meaning of fraud where these “agencies” are concerned. This happened to hundreds who were under contract with John Rohert Powers. I would have hoped that in reporting on the subject, this recent event would have at least been mentioned. Surely this deserves public attention and is more than newsworthy. I speak from my own anger, personal experience, and financial loss. I was a client.

JEANETTE FRASER

via e-mail



I WISH I HAD READ THIS ARTICLE A YEAR AND a half ago before John Rohert Powers in Fort Worth scammed me. They are even worse than O’Brien Rotlman. There is just not enough information to keep parents from falling for these scams.

SANDRA JORDAN

Cleburne



In Defense of the Holocaust Center

AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the Dallas Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies. I read with interest your article on the legal dispute we had with the estate of a deceased member [“Who Owns Memory?” March 2000]. I am sorry you felt it necessary to give the impression that the Dallas Holocaust Center is all about money-nothing could be further from the truth. The Holocaust Center is a museum honoring the memory of those who suffered and died in the Holocaust during World War II.

Your brief mention that each year 60.000 teenage students, church groups, and others tour our facility to learn what haired and prejudice can rum into is lost hecause the article chose to focus on one unfortunate incident that developed when a member ol’ this organization led an ambiguous will.

Perhaps D Magazine would serve its readers better by writing about the message of hope portrayed in the real-life stories of Holocaust survivors instead of the “he said/she said” stories of a disgruntled few.

JEREMY SCHARF

via e-mail



THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DALLAS Holocaust Center made by Damon Oran and Leo Laufer in this article is entirely inaccurate, and implications made by the writer are unfair and mean-spirited.

The Dallas Holocaust Center has touched approximately 400,000 people, the vast majority of them non-Jewish teenagers, with its message of respect for minorities and the need to treat all people with dignity, no matter their race, religion, or ethnicity.

By exposing our community to the horrors inflicted upon Jews during the Holocaust, we are bringing to light a watershed event in human history, and having a tremendous impact on human relations in our society.

We call upon D Magazine to check the facts before it prints an article and. when any allegations are made against an organization, to seek a response to those allegations from of spokesperson for that organization.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dallas Holocaust Center