Nov. 14, 1963 - George C. Scott, star of CBS-TV’s “East Side/West Side,” said today he had received about 1,000 letters so far in response to an advertisement he placed in seven newspapers Monday. The unusual ad, which he composed and paid for himself, called attention to that evening’s episode, “Go Fight City Hall.” Mr. Scott’s ad asked viewers to write and state their opinions of the episode, which dealt with the problems of urban renewal. The actor said he would read every letter and listed his address as the Biograph Studios in the Bronx. “The point of the whole thing was to find out whether people are interested in this kind of problem being explored on television,” Mr. Scott said today. “There are so many middle men in this business that it is hard to find out what the people out there are thinking. I want to establish a first-hand knowledge and communicate with the audience. The wants and desires of the audience could be an influence of what I do on television. And it might help actors to have some control over advertising agencies, sponsors, and networks. They admit they are not creative. That’s why they hire someone like me.” Mr. Scott’s ad ran in newspapers in New York, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, and Los Angeles. He said it cost him about $1,500.
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