Alec Baldwin in portrait – panorama

Halyna Hutchins. That is the name of the camerawoman who was shooting the film on Thursday Rust has been killed. #Sayhername is now called for on social media; she was the victim, so one should say her name, report about her. That’s right: very often the name of the victim does not appear in the headings – instead the name of the person who fired the pistol: Alec Baldwin. The excitement and public interest are so huge because Baldwin is “Hollywood Royalty”, he belongs to the nobility of the film industry.

But: isn’t Baldwin also a victim of this tragedy? He’ll have to live with killing Hutchins. “There are no words to express my shock and sadness at the tragic accident that killed Halyna Hutchins – wife, mother, deeply admired colleague,” wrote Baldwin on Twitter: “My heart is broken for her husband, her son and everyone who knew and loved Halyna. “

From Studio 54 to Hollywood

Alexander Ray Baldwin III. was born 63 years ago in New York State, the second oldest of six children of activist Carol Newcomb and football coach Alexander Baldwin. A talented football player, he worked as a temporary worker at the legendary Studio 54 nightclub before studying at George Washington University. Like his younger brothers Daniel, William and Stephen, he became an actor. There is a documentary about the four called “The Baldwin Brothers”, in the Oscar-winning Oliver Stone film “Born on the Fourth of July” all stars except Alec.

Alec Baldwin at the 2017 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles – his Trump imitation on “Saturday Night Live” is one of the highlights of his career.

(Photo: Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

His career began on Broadway, and in 1992 he was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in “Endstation Sehnsucht”. He came to television through the soap opera “The Doctors”, in 2002 he was nominated for an Emmy for best supporting actor in the film “Path to War” about the Vietnam War. He has also been in the cinema since 1987, and in 2003 he received an Oscar nomination for his role in “The Cooler – Alles auf Liebe”.

From 1993 to 2002 he was married to his colleague Kim Basinger and they have a daughter together. The couple’s breakup was a mess, with Baldwin later claiming to have paid a million dollars to lawyers. In 2007, Baldwin left a message for Basinger on their answering machine, in which he insulted his then eleven-year-old daughter as an “insolent and inconsiderate pig” – after this became known, the public scourging was so great that Baldwin apparently had suicidal thoughts. He processed this in a book about divorce and fatherhood. He has been married to his second wife, yoga teacher Hilaria, since 2012, and the couple have six children together.

Trump’s anger: arguably the greatest possible praise for Baldwin

The mud fight with Basinger caused a kink in Baldwin’s career until Tina Fey hired him in 2006 for the series “30 Rock” – for which he won the Emmy in 2008 and 2009. Since then, Baldwin has hosted the 2010 Oscars, advertising character, the guest presenter with the most appearances (17) on the satirical show “Saturday Night Live” – ​​for which he won the next Emmy in 2017. He satirized the then US President Donald Trump so well that he was regularly upset about how badly Baldwin satirized him – which was probably the greatest possible praise.

The actor has repeatedly criticized Trump heavily and advocated stricter gun laws in the United States. Right-wing conservative commentators now seem to be seizing the opportunity to return the favor: In response to the fatal shots on the set of “Rust”, they created the hashtag #AlecforPrison (Alec goes to jail) on Twitter. The fact that this is obviously about settling bills from Trump’s time is also shown by a quote by the author Candace Owens: “Not one thing that Alec Baldwin said about Donald Trump and his supporters has turned out to be correct.” However, she also demands that the US must invade Australia to liberate the alleged Covid police state.

Others write that Baldwin is responsible for the gun in his hand and therefore has to go to jail. The majority of Twitter users, however, absolve him of guilt and rather express compassion for someone who now has to live with having killed someone.

Were there any concerns about safety on set before the shooting?

the New York Times and the AP news agency quoted police as saying that the assistant director shouted the words “cold gun” before handing Baldwin the weapon of death – an assurance that the gun was not loaded. Before that, the 24-year-old armorer would have placed three weapons she had prepared in an open car on the set. “We concentrate on what type of projectile was in the weapon and how it got there,” said police spokesman Juan Rios, as of now there is no evidence that Baldwin could have known about the load of the weapon. There are currently no allegations against him. “He’s a free man,” said Rios.

However: Baldwin was not only involved in “Rust” as an actor, but also as a producer. He shares responsibility for what happened while filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch, New Mexico, and there have been reports of prop weapon guns that should not have come loose and concerns before Thursday’s tragedy because of the safety precautions there. On the other hand, just a few hours before the shooting, a couple of cameramen and their helpers (the killed camerawoman Hutchins was not one of them) are said to be on strike because of the working conditions and later to leave the set. The role of producer Baldwin could therefore be judged differently than that of actor Baldwin.

He wants to help clear up the tragedy, writes Baldwin himself on Twitter, and he wants to support the family of the camerawoman whose name should be written at the beginning and end of every report: Halyna Hutchins.

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