When is a lawyer a painter? When he is I. H. Prinzmetal, the incoming president of the Beverly Bills Bar Association and one of the most complex and interesting people of this community. Prinzmetal. known as Prince to his friends, client. and associates, comes the closest to being the rounded reminiscent of these early founders of this nation. who did many things and did them well.
Prince. who came to California with his family and ailing father from Buffalo, New York in 1913, was in his younger days a professional pianist for his college glee club and for a jazz orchestra. About ten years ago latent interest in art evidenced itself in taking painting courses at UCLA. That interest has grown to a point where he has had three one man exhibitions and participated in a number of showings Prinzmetal has his next one tour, art show this coming .January at the Sabrina Gallery. His work has been sold and ,can be seen to some of California's most prominent homes. His art is of the objective style with expressionistic overtones. Unlike many other modern artists, he does, however, use subject matter.
The Prinzmetal family is as known as its individual members. A forest to Israel is named after Anna Prinzmetal, his mother, and brother Myron also of Beverly hills, is a world famous internist who happens to play the violin.
The Prinzmetal family always emphasized culture. Our home was a center for the appreciation of the arts. My mother and father, both loved music and other good things of life. We grew up to appreciate such things. I don't know whether my brother or I could have made a gainful living from the arts, but we had all of the encouragement if that had been our wish," says Prince.
But Isadore Prinzmetal is more than an artist or an accomplished pianist. He is also a very competent lawyer. For many years he has been legal counsel to prominent people to the motion picture industry and to major film studios. Among his client, were such luminaries as Gary Cooper. He was also house counsel to MGM.
He has some definite opinions as to the state of American movies today. In the old days, the star was the center of everything in the movies. The film story, many times very flimsy, was built around the star. Today that to all changed. The story has to be good and the direction of first rank in order for a successful picture.
"When the famous 'consent decree' was issued, block booking (ability to cover many film houses at one stroke) was outlawed. This brought on a decline for the movies compounded by the advent of television. Now movies have bigger audiences and bigger budgets for each picture. No one is guaranteed a box office hit, a combination of good cast and good story must be present"
A man with a large family (six children), Prince thinks that the present concentration on morals is often misdirected. Morals are no worse today than they were years ago. We are more aware of them perhaps today. We don't work hard enough at our lives today to make them more productive.
But I certainly do oppose any form of censorship under the guise of solving moral problems. We have a case in point here in Beverly Hills, with a well know painter whose work is brought into question because of his chosen subject matter. Many years ago, both Michelangelo and Leonard Da Vinci were criticized for their use of man's organs in their work. The organs were latter covered up by others.
A serious artist has every right to have his work uncensored by others. Of course we have dirt all around us, but that is no good reason for exercising a boycott on free expression.
The erudite lawyer-painter-musician has some interesting views on California politics and especially the initiative process. The initiative process is a device used to mislead the voters. It forces laymen to make decisions on complex and technical matters of which they could not have any clear understanding. For example, how could I know how many people it required to run a train? The use of clever slogans indicates how this Process is misused, Free TV-Free Choice in Housing-Keep the Tracks clear - all seem like good things that no one can be against. But, in each case, they hide a complex issue that the voter is just not, on the surface, qualified to decide. This is a serious matter that California should repair.
Prinzmetal is a liberal and an outspoken one. But he is also a man of reason and understanding. He contends that the best weapon against extremism is exposure. If the seemingly obscure extremists element in Germany in pre Hitler days had been exposed, perhaps the dark period would not have taken place. Anyone who lived in the Hitler era cannot afford to ignore any form of extremism, no matter in what disguise. They represent danger signs for all free men.
The Beverly Hills attorney has associated with some of the most important people of our time,. including John F. Kennedy. He tells an interesting story about the late President. When Mrs. Prinzmetal was pregnant with their sixth child, the couple met President Kennedy at a dinner in Beverly Hills one-half years ago. The President's wife Jacqueline was also expecting at the same time, both children due in the same month.
Latter on, after an exchange over the coincidence, Kennedy wrote a note wishing "good luck next August." A similar note was sent to the President from Prince. The Prinzmetal's had a little boy, their first after five girls, and of course the Kennedy child was stillborn.
It is a remarkable reflection of the President. Prince comments- "who made everyone who came in contact with him important. He took time for people. He was a fine and a decent person as well as a great American."
This week, Isadore Prinzmetal becomes President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the largest local Bar in the State of California. Prince made it clear that the Beverly Hills Bar is not a rich mans association. Our own survey shows that our member, fees and incomes are modest and in many cases lower than in other parts t the State.
Even though lawyers can't advertise, Prinzmetal is a fairly good advertisement for his profession. He is a man highly respected by his colleagues and even slight acquaintances.
One of the leading figures of this area's Jewish community, Prince is on about every major group serving Jewish charities and philanthropic programs. He finds these associations particularly fruitful. 'My life would be lacking if I didn't have the benefit of sharing the beauty of Jewish culture and heritage. It is for me a great fulfillment. If doing something worthwhile with my life'.
Here is a citizen of which we can all be proud. His exceptional qualities not only make him a Renaissance men but one who fits into the exceptional town of which he is so much a part.