HOLLYWOOD — Last month, close to 1,000 members of the Writers Guild of America, all of them over 40, filed claims for their share of a $4.5-million age discrimination settlement fund.
A class complaint had been issued by WGA members who claimed that a pair of leading talent agencies discriminated against those of a certain age when it came to representation and job referrals.
It was just one of a number of parallel lawsuits filed against other agencies, TV studios and networks by fortysomething Guild members who were no longer feeling the love.
That the entertainment industry was found guilty of ageism really comes as no surprise in a youth-centric town that has long placed a premium on pretty young things.
But in the interest of putting things in perspective, we've got two words for you: Betty White.
Last night, the 88-year-old, five-foot, four-inch dynamo earned her place in the record books as the oldest-ever host of Saturday Night Live.
It was just the latest triumph in a white-hot year for the game show queen turned national treasure, who co-starred in two of the best-loved sitcoms of all time.
White was in her 50s when she joined the cast of Mary Tyler Moore as Sue Ann Nivens; and well into her 60s when she took on the role of Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls.
Then there have been the past 12 months, which, in addition to SNL, have included a hit movie (The Proposal), lifetime achievement honours from the Screen Actors Guild and, of course, that Snickers commercial, which was one of the best Super Bowl ads in eons.
Coming up, Betty's got a regular gig in Hot in Cleveland, a new summer sitcom that begins airing in June and turns up in movie theatres this fall in the comedy, You Again.
Of course, you could argue that White's a notable, happy exception to the going, under-40 bias, but consider the following:
The average age of an American Idol judge is 48.
Tom Bergeron, the host of that other top-rated TV show, Dancing With the Stars, is 55.
Where scripted drama is concerned, the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stars 51-year-old Marg Helgenberger, 43-year-old George Eads and 48-year-old Laurence Fishburne.
Among last fall's big Emmy winners were 63-year-old Glenn Close (for Damages), 54-year-old Bryan Cranston (for Breaking Bad) and 53-year-old Alec Baldwin (for 30 Rock).
Meanwhile, over at the Oscars, you had 60-year-old best actor Jeff Bridges and 45-year-old best actress Sandra Bullock, and best picture Hurt Locker's best director, 58-year-old Kathryn Bigelow.
And then you've got Avatar, the highest-grossing movie ever, directed by 55-year-old James Cameron; and Alice in Wonderland, 2010's top movie so far, directed by 51-year-old Tim Burton and starring 46-year-old Johnny Depp and 43-year-old Helena Bonham Carter.
So, despite its long-standing preoccupation with youth and the pursuit of keeping up the illusion of retaining it, is Hollywood actually starting to put a value on maturity?
Let's not kid ourselves.
But in our sub zero-sized, cosmetic surgery crazed culture, it's still nice to see, especially where movie audiences and TV viewers are concerned, some respect for our elders.
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