Writer Profile: Sportswriter Maury Allen is Burning to act

As a sportswriter for the New York Post, Maury Allen had a front row seat for the tumultuous 1977 baseball season. The Yankees were in turmoil; the city was mired in social and economic woes that came to national attention when disastrous blackout struck; and a serial killer was on the loose. Jonathan Mahler brought these events together in his 2006 best-seller Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning, which recently completed its run as an ESPN miniseries.

As a movie buff, Allen was thrilled to be involved as a consultant on the project, which focused on the relationships between George Steinbrenner, the team’s principal owner; Billy Martin, the hot-headed manager; and Reggie Jackson , the sensitive superstar.

A producer for the program contacted Allen earlier in January to seek his expertise, along with Phil Pepe and Stan Jacobson, two other New York sportswriters of the period. “They didn’t pay us anything, they just thought we’d do it out of the kindness of our hearts, which we did,” said Allen . “About every two or three weeks I’d get a call from one of the actors or one of the writers and give them information. [They’d ask}’Did Billy do this? Did you do that?’”

In April , Allen , a resident of Cedar Grove, was invited to the set in New Haven, Conn. to meet Louis Mustillo , the veteran character actor who portrayed him in the series.

Shortly thereafter, the producers decided to actually put Allen , Pepe, and Jacobson into the series’ final scene, which takes place in the Yankees locker room after they clinched the World Series. “They have the old sportswriters represented by us today and the younger sportswriters represented by the actors [who played us]. For that we got paid, by the way.”

Allen said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the experience. He assessed John Tutorro ’s portrayal of Martin as “dead on. He is terrific. I though he had [ Martin ’s] speech down, his neuroses.” The only knock: although the real Martin ’s ears were quite prominent, “they made [Tuturro] look like Dumbo. It was a little overdone.”

Allen also gave kudos to Erik Jansen , who portrayed Thurman Munson . “He absolutely looks like Thurman,” said Allen , “he’s got his growl down.”

“That was the most unique team I’ve ever been around, from a standpoint of personalities, and the dynamics of what was going on.” Allen recalled. “There were three of the highest profiles in the history of sports. Nobody was bigger than Reggie , nobody was bigger than Steinbrenner as an owner, and nobody was bigger than Billy Martin as a manager. So when you put those three volatile guys together, it was a very combustible environment. One of them would be popping off every day. You never lacked for big stories.”

As for Mustillo, whose credits include Seinfeld, The Sopranos, and dozens of other television and film roles, Allen said, “He was never a leading actor, but always a working actor. I talked to him quite a lot and he was pretty accurate about the whole thing. He’s a big baseball fan so he knew the whole history about the Yankees in’77 and he knew about Reggie , George , and Billy and that whole conflict.” But Allen also noted, “He doesn’t actually look like me. He’s the same age now as I was that year, 44. He’s a little shorter than I am, a little heavier than I am. But he really captured the idea of a working reporter.”

Allen appreciated Mustillo’s efforts; he didn’t think the actors portraying Pepe and Jacobson were as believable, those actors didn’t spend as much time talking with their counterparts, he said.

Participating in the production set gave him a new appreciation for the profession. “It’s a grueling job,” he said. “I had to be there at six o’clock in the morning and I didn’t get finished until nine o’clock at night.” On the other hand, “the food was good.”

After spending the day among fellow thespians, Allen observed that, like athletes, actors can be a little insecure. “When the guy says, ‘That’s a wrap,’ they’re out of work. They’re always worried about the next job.”