According to producer Mark Speigler, as you read this, Herschel "The Hersch" Savage is being served with legal papers by Speigler who intends to drag The Hersch into Van Nuys Municipal Court, December 12. Speigler says The Hersch owes him great amounts of money going back over a year. As you'll recall, the Speigler debt was one of the bones of contention between Metro's Quasarman and The Hersch during the Mexican Hayride.
Speigler: "I lent him [The Hersch] money a year ago, but I didn't know he had a gambling problem. He's been slow in paying that back. He also owed David [Christopher] money. He was paying him a thousand a month for three months without interest and then he quit doing that. Now, he hasn't come up with any money. I knew he was going to Mexico, and when I said how about coming up with that money, he said, 'No, I owe money to people who don't lose me work.' I haven't used him with David for awhile."
Speigler says he lent The Hersch about seven grand of which he paid back about three. "The principal that he owes me is about four-plus. I've filed suit for five." Speigler claims he warned Savage before he went to Mexico that this was going to happen. "To me it's not the money, it's the principle," Speigler said. "Whether I get the money or not, I don't care."
This is what the Hersch had to say.
Savage: "I definitely owe him money. There's not a question about that. He lent me $5,000, I paid him some back. Then I was going through some tough times. That's all. There were certain cost of living needs that needed to be taken care of first. The year had not been that great. It was a very slow summer, and that was the bottom line. I will honor the debt. I fully intend to pay him. If he wants to take it to court, that's fine. I'm not looking to renege on the debt. Not that I need my dirty laundry hung out to dry. There's been rumors of gambling. I don't gamble anymore. That's the truth. I stopped. I threw away too much fucking money. There's too many degenerate gamblers around, and I didn't want to be another one on the scrap heap.
