Friday, May 22, 2026

Rockettes’ Union Has Big Problem: Several Board Members Like George Burns, Rod McKuen Are Deceased

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The Rockettes are going to have a big problem with this union thing and the inauguration. Several board members of the American Guild of Variety Artists are dead. They include George Burns, Rod McKuen, and Gloria deHaven.

It’s unclear if they had a say overnight in whether the dancers should appear for Trump on January 20th. I don’t know what Burns might say but McKuen was a liberal and deHaven was a woman. I have to think that Gracie Allen would tell George to let the ladies make up their own minds.

So the Rockettes must face a bigger question than the one about the inauguration. And that is, why aren’t any of them on the National Board of AGVA? And why are there dead people on the National Board? Let’s ponder that one.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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