Jack Weston Fights False Flag Desecration Charge

Mar. 13, 1965 - The case of actor Jack Weston, which for weeks has been the subject of whispers and innuendoes, was brought to public attention last week by a well-known Hollywood attorney, Rexford Eagen, who charged publicly that his client, Weston, was unjustly “losing employment” in Hollywood as a result of a bizarre accusation that had been refuted in the courts.

The case of Jack Weston goes back to a weird incident last Oct. 14 when the actor met a friend for lunch in Beverly Hills. Weston recalls he was putting a coin in a parking meter when he felt something leaning against his shoulder. He looked up to find that an American flag had toppled from its standard on the sidewalk and was resting against his back.

The flat was in front of Goldwater for President headquarters. Weston picked up the flag and was trying to decide what to do with it when two elderly women came running out from Goldwater headquarters and started to berate him for grabbing the flag. Weston tried to explain that the flag had toppled over, but this explanation was not acceptable to his accusers. Weston believes his credibility was not enhanced in their eyes by the fact that his car was plastered with Johnson-Humphrey stickers.

After a lengthy hassle with the ladies, Weston became incensed, told them to “go to hell,” and drove off. The ladies, meanwhile, had recorded his license plate number. 

Three days after the incident, Weston was arrested by two Beverly Hills detectives on a charge of desecrating the American flag. He was booked and released on $500 bail. At the police station, reporters and T.V. cameramen were on hand to record the proceedings. 

At first, Weston regarded the incident with wry amusement — until he saw newspaper headlines the next morning heralding “Actor Arrested for Defiling Flag.” Since the press had decided to play up the story, Weston felt his only alternative was to fight the charges in open court in order to clear his reputation.

Meanwhile, awaiting trial, Weston found his job openings were fast disappearing. “Some of the several contracts he had for movie and T.V. roles were quickly canceled after the initial publicity following his arrest,” his attorney recalled. A role on the Dr. Kildare show was withdrawn, and several opportunities for roles in T.V. pilots disappeared. 

The trial in Beverly Hills Municipal Court lasted eight hours. The ladies presented their case and contradicted themselves at various points of their testimony. Weston repeated the explanation he had offered the ladies.

Municipal Court Judge Jacques Leslie dismissed the charges, noting: “It is inconceivable to me that Mr. Weston, who fought for this flag as a combat machine gunner through the battle of Cassino, through the near tragedy of the Anzio beachhead, and on through the campaign of the Po Valley, could by any stretch of the imagination treat or allow the flag to be treated in any manner but with the honor to which it is due.” The judge levied a $50 fine against Weston, however, for telling the two ladies to go to hell — a violation of a Beverly Hills ordinance.

Unfortunately for Weston, the acquittal did not arouse the same interest on the part of the press as did the initial charges. In fact, it received no attention at all. Weston remained the “controversial” actor who was accused of defiling the flag. Meanwhile, Weston continues to receive a variety of hate literature and letters asking him, “Why did you do it, Jack?”

A reticent man, Weston is loath to discuss the weird flag incident or its impact on his career, and he longs for the time when the whole incident will be forgotten. Though T.V. roles are still few and far between, he has recently completed a part in the movie “The Cincinnati Kid” and hopes that before long, life may be back to normal.

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s