The 1976 Casting Allegation: Sam Spiegel, Theresa Russell, and the Threat of a Hollywood Blacklist

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The 1976 Casting Allegation: Sam Spiegel, Theresa Russell, and the Threat of a Hollywood Blacklist

Sam Spiegel and Theresa Russell / The Last Tycoon / 1970s

During casting for Sam Spiegel’s 1976 production The Last Tycoon, actress Theresa Russell later alleged that the powerful producer sexually propositioned her when she was only 16 and still living at home. In a subsequent interview, Russell recalled that Spiegel took her to the Bistro and attempted to force a kiss on her, saying he tried to “stick his tongue down my throat.” She refused to sign a contract with him, and according to Russell’s account, the confrontation did not end with the failed casting opportunity: Spiegel allegedly excluded her from The Last Tycoon’s publicity and threatened to prevent her from working again in Hollywood. The episode fits the darker side of the independent producer’s reputation described in accounts of his career—a cultivated, sophisticated figure whose control over financing, casting, publicity, and industry relationships could become an instrument of intimidation. The source records Russell’s allegations but does not describe a court ruling or other definitive legal resolution, so the claims remain allegations rather than an adjudicated finding.