Nick TV Movie Violates Child Actor Work Rules

California's child labor laws were violated on Nickelodeon's "Maniac McGee" last week when a child actor was allowed to work after legal hours on a stunt shot after the production's studio teacher had been sent home.

The state's strict laws governing child actors say that no child can work on a film or TV show after 12:30am and that a studio teacher must be on the set at all times when children are employed.

Studio teachers must be present because they are teachers and are responsible for the welfare of child actors on the set and for making sure that child labor laws are followed.

The production wrapped Friday at 12:30am, but after the teacher left, believing the children were also leaving, the company called a 9 year-old actor back to the set for another stunt shot.

The teacher, who asked not to be identified, was furious when she found out what had happened, and she filed a complaint the next day with the California Labor Commission's office.

"I left at 12:30am after wrapping all the children," the teacher said. "The next day, I heard that (the boy) and his father were in their car when they were called back by the production company to continue doing a stunt. I'll never work for these people again. This was a flagrant violation of the law."

The TV movie's producer, Michael Nolin, acknowledged that the laws had been broken, saying that "appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against those responsible."

Nolin said that the stunt shot wrapped a little after one o'clock Friday morning. "I was surprised we were working that late," he said. "I thought we had gotten some extension, and it wasn't until the next day that I learned that the teacher may not have been present."

The stunt called for the boy to dangle from a second-story balcony that had been constructed for the show. Several stuntmen were on hand to ensure the boy was not hurt, and two large air mattresses were placed beneath him for added protection.

"The people who did this did it because they were running out of time, not because it was a stunt shot," Nolin said. "It was a stupid decision, but it wasn't to hide a stunt shot."

The film's first-aid man quit the next day, after getting into a heated argument with the film's unit production manager about the violations. "We shot green screen (a step in process photography) the next day," Nolin said. The (boy's) mother had been talked to by the teacher and was very upset. (The first-aid man) also wanted to talk to the mother about the violations the night before, but the (unit production manager) went out to talk to him about not talking to her. They got into a heated discussion about it. He was so pissed off at the (unit production manager) that he quit. I asked him to stay, but he wouldn't. He was still really pissed about this argument. He cursed me and said something about not being allowed to do his job."

The first-aid man said he quit because he was outraged that the unit production manager would ask him to be "hush-hush" about the violations. "He approached me about being hush-hush," the first-aid man, who asked not to be identified, said. "I had no intention of blowing this up. The teacher was already doing the proper thing. But how dare he come to me and tell me to be quiet! That really pissed me off."

Despite his anger, the first-aid man said the stunt was safe. "It's not a safety question," he said. "They had a very competent stunt team and safety crew. What pissed me off was the underhandedness of sending the teacher home. There was no one there to stick up for the kid, and that upset me. That's how the 'Twilight Zone' (accident) got started - not having a studio teacher there."

Vic Morrow and two small children were killed on the set of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" in the early-morning hours of July 23, 1982, when a helicopter crashed on top of them. There was no teacher on the set, and the children were working after legal hours. "This is an example of a movie company deliberately violating child labor laws," said Paul Petersen, who chairs AFTRA's Young Performers Committee. "This sort of violation happens far too frequently, and the conspiracy of silence has to end. I'm proud of this first-aid person and the studio teacher for standing up for a child."

---By David Robb of The Hollywood Reporter