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Longtime Heimlich Institute publicist Melinda Zemper wrote me that she's personal friends with Jason Schmidt, who's making a documentary about my father -- she helped fund Schmidt's project and sent out a press release to help with his fundraising.

In my previous item, I explained my principal reason for refusing to be interviewed for The Maneuver: The Inside Story of Dr. Henry Heimlich. 

That's the title of a documentary about my father that freelance video editor Jason Schmidt is trying to get off the ground via Media Schmedia LLC, his New York City-based company.

When Schmidt first approached me in April, I bailed pronto after he e-mailed me that he had no problem accepting funding from my father or his "sympathetic associates." He even invited me to steer donors to him:

I imagine you're dancing around the question of whether or not this project is funded by your father or sympathetic associates? If that's the case, you can be assured that no such money has been offered or accepted. Perhaps that will change...and likewise, if you know of any deep-pocketed patrons/benefactors interested in supporting a great project, I'm all ears.

Clearly he's not bothered with pesky concerns like maintaining the appearance of objectivity. 

The part he wrote about "no such money has been offered or accepted. Perhaps that will change"?

In fact, that changed just a few months later, via the project's Kickstarter campaign, which raised about $32,000.

Via Kickstarter, here's one of the backers:


As Sidebar readers know, Melinda Zemper is longtime press agent for my father's nonprofit Heimlich Institute.

Here's a screen shot from Documentary film on Dr. Henry Heimlich in works, Zemper's June 4, 2014 press release hyping the project:


In other words, the Heimlich Institute's press agent funded Schmidt's project via Kickstarter and issued a press release hyping the project in which she steered potential donors to the project.

On June 28, I sent Zemper these questions:

1) I presume you sent out the press release on behalf of your clients, the Heimlich Institute and Deaconess Associations, and that Media Schmedia is not your client, correct?

2) How much money did you contribute via Kickstarter?

3) Do you have any other financial interest in the film?

4) Is your funding of the film your own money or are you being reimbursed by your clients?

Here's her complete reply, dated June 30.

Hello Mr. Heimlich,

You are making wrong assumptions in your email below.

1) I submitted a press release supporting MediaSchmedia [sic] based on a personal friendship I have with Jason Schmidt, not on behalf of any client.

2) How much money I contribute to a Kickstarter campaign is none of your business and not of interest to media you copied on this email. It was a personal donation that is rather small in comparison to his actual needs, but the donation was intended to encourage Schmidt’s first foray into creating independent films. Jason Schmidt is an ethical, competent journalist who has won a variety of awards for his film work. Please view his website: www.jasonschmidt.com

3) No, I do not.

4) The donation is personal; there are no clients involved in my donation to Schmidt’s documentary film on Dr. Heimlich. The film is an independent journalistic endeavor and not underwritten by the Heimlichs. That is why Schmidt implemented a Kickstarter campaign. Oak Tree Communications helped Dr. Heimlich obtain media coverage for his memoir. That project has since been completed and I am not working with Dr. Heimlich at this time.

Melinda Zemper
Oak Tree Communications

Some things I'd like to know.

Does "an ethical, competent journalist" making an ostensibly objective documentary about Henry Heimlich accept funding from Henry Heimlich's publicist?

Does "an ethical, competent journalist" allow Henry Heimlich's publicist to issue a press release hyping the film and encouraging donations?

Wouldn't "an ethical, competent journalist" be aware that these conflicts make him appear to be compromised?

And exactly how did Schmidt and Zemper get to be pals? 

Here's another of my father's "sympathetic associates" from whom Schmidt accepted funding via Kickstarter:


My sister Janet has been one of my father's most ardent defenders in the media, she edited his recently-published memoir, and she appears in this fund raising trailer for Schmidt's documentary. 



Part III: A Problematic "Heimlich Artwork" Kickstarter Premium and My Father's Relationships with Narco Docs

Part IV: Other problems with the film's Kickstarter fund raising campaign

Part V: Jason Schmidt refuses to answer my questions about false and/or problematic claims in his project's Kickstarter funding campaign 

Jason Schmidt and Cincinnati Red's player Todd Frazier, who made headlines a couple years ago for performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man in a Pittsburgh restaurant (source)

I've always thought my father's bizarre career along with his twisted personal life would make a terrific documentary.

Perhaps not surprisingly, as his (very) unauthorized amateur biographer and most outspoken critic, I've been approached over the years by a handful of filmmakers who had the same idea.

One recent contender is Jason Schmidt, who, per his website, "is a veteran freelance video editor based in New York City."

Since last year, he's been trying to get a project off the ground called The Maneuver: The Inside Story of Dr. Henry Heimlich as his directorial debut.

This past April he contacted me and invited me to be interviewed.

He didn't impress me in the least, so I politely declined.

I also requested that if anyone asked if I was participating in his project, that they be informed that I wasn't.

Since then, a few articles and press releases have appeared about his project and in July a Kickstarter campaign raised close to $32,000 in funding.

Friends have asked why I gave him a thumbs-down, plus I've got some editorial and fund raising concerns about the project, hence this item.

I prefer to keep my posts short, so here's Part I.

Photo by Wesley Mann for The Hollywood Reporter

In initial e-mails, Schmidt informed me he'd already conducted a round of interviews in Cincinnati, including a lengthy interview with my then 93-year-old father at the retirement community where he's lived in recent years.

Putting aside whatever you think of our research, my wife and I probably know more about Henry Heimlich than anyone except Henry Heimlich.

And over the past decade we've accumulated thousands of important documents, some of which were the basis for the scores of print and broadcast reports since 2003 based on our research that helped expose my father as a dangerous charlatan and world-class scammer.

Seth Abramovitch (source)

Here's the most recent, the jaw-dropping August 14 Hollywood Reporter expose by reporter Seth Abramovitch, How Dr. Heimlich Maneuvered Hollywood Into Backing His Dangerous AIDS "Cure," based on documents I shared with the magazine.

My point?

Love me or not, I've got the goods.

Therefore, what kind of documentary maker would conduct an in-depth interview with my father without first trying to pick my brain for possible questions to ask Dr. Maneuver?

But here's where the Schmidt really hit the fan.

In an initial e-mail, I asked him about his funding source for the round of Cincinnati interviews he'd completed.

His reply?

I imagine you're dancing around the question of whether or not this project is funded by your father or sympathetic associates? If that's the case, you can be assured that no such money has been offered or accepted. Perhaps that will change...and likewise, if you know of any deep-pocketed patrons/benefactors interested in supporting a great project, I'm all ears.

Hear that fluttering of wings?

Sounds to me like credibility flying out the window.

First, I'd never participate in a project with anyone willing to accept funds from my father or his associates or from me or anyone I might steer to him.

Second, I'd never participate in a project with anyone so indiscreet and lacking in self-awareness that they'd put such an abysmal admission in writing.

Speaking of abysmal, check out the film's trailer:



Part II: My father's press agent helped fund Jason Schmidt's documentary -- and she says she's personal friends with Schmidt

Part III: A Problematic "Heimlich Artwork" Kickstarter Premium and My Father's Relationships with Narco Docs

Part IV: Other problems with the film's Kickstarter fund raising campaign

Part V: Jason Schmidt refuses to answer my questions about false and/or problematic claims in his project's Kickstarter funding campaign

A Boise TV station has confirmed that firefighter Brent Matthews said he performed the Heimlich maneuver on a near-drowning victim who died a few days later.

It started with this clip from a June 24, 2014 KTVB-TV story by Scott Evans about a dramatic drowning rescue of Martinez, a 56-year-old homeless man, by Boise firefighter Brent Matthews and Boise Police Officer Joe Rivas.



That sounds like a straightforward admission to me, plus in a June 25 e-mail to me, Evans confirmed to me that Mr. Matthews told him he'd performed the Heimlich maneuver on Mr. Martinez.

The first media report about my concerns (which have since been widely-reported) -- a July 16 Boise Weekly story by Harrison Berry -- reported it that way, but later backed off a notch:


Meanwhile, in response to my July 2 letter of concern to Boise Mayor David Bieter, here's how public officials played it.

Via Mayor Bieter's July 18 reply to me:

The Boise Fire Department spoke with the firefighter involved in the rescue of Mr. Martinez, reviewed the written report and checked with others, including supervisors who were on the scene, and has confirmed that the Heimlich maneuver was not performed on the drowning victim.

Via a July 22 e-mail to me from Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg:

I want to let you know that no one performed the Heimlich maneuver on the deceased.

Via a July 23 e-mail to me from Fire Chief Doan in which he refused to further discuss the matter:

(The) Heimlich maneuver was not performed on this rescue...The Boise Fire Department does not, and has never, instructed our dive team, EMT’s or Paramedics to perform theHeimlich Maneuver on drowning vicms, nor do we intend to in the future.

Via the July 16 Boise Weekly:

"It turns out that, sort of contrary to what KTVB reported, and it just may have been a simple misunderstanding, but it appears that the firefighter who pulled Mr. Martinez from the canal did, in fact, not use the Heimlich," said Boise Fire Department Communications Director Lynn Hightower.

Via the July 18 Idaho Statesman:

Did (Brent) Matthews actually use the Heimlich? The Boise Fire Department says no. Spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said other emergency response officials at the scene corroborated Matthews' report, which said he used CPR to bring Martinez back.

But KTVB is standing by their version.

On August 15, the station aired a follow-up report in which reporter Carolyn Holly unequivocally stated:

The firefighter, Brent Matthews, told KTVB he had performed the Heimlich maneuver during the rescue.

Here's the clip:



Via the same story:

The City of Boise's ethics commission determined Thursday it would not look into an alleged cover-up in an investigation involving a firefighter's treatment of a drowning victim...Now, other city leaders will determine if further investigation should be done.

More details from an August 15 e-mail I received from Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Koeckeritz on behalf of the Ethics Commission:

(The) Ethics Commission determined that your allegations fell outside of their jurisdiction...However, Boise City takes these allegations seriously and has asked the Fire Medical Director and Human Resources to perform an independent investigation of these allegations.

A few days ago I shared these concerns in letters to the city's investigators and to the Idaho Attorney General's Criminal Law Division. (Page down to view; click here to download a pdf of both letters.)

1) An inaccurate report of the near-drowning incident may have been filed and false information may have been circulated by public employees.

2) Public employees conducted an inadequate investigation.

3) Mayor Bieter, Coroner Sonnenberg, and Chief Doan may have provided me with false information.

4) Ms. Hightower may have provided false information to the press.