Why would Lew Hayward be doomed?

Question

In the beginning of Scrooged, we see the ghost of Lew Hayward come and give Frank Cross a warning on how Frank was living his life and treating people.

Lew: Don't waste your life as I did.

Frank: Waste? You're a legend in this business - you invented the mini-series.

Lew: Mankind should have been my business. Charity, mercy, kindness - that should've been my business. Don't wait. Get yourself involved. It's too late for me, but not for you.

We see Lew on two separate occasions when Frank is visited by the Ghost of Christmas past. Both times, Lew appears to be kind and generous to his employees. He even takes the time to invite Frank and Claire to dinner on Christmas Eve.

Lew appears to be far more kind to people than Frank is. What is the purpose of portraying Lew in this way? It just doesn't appear that he was that bad of a guy to be doomed for all eternity. Are there deleted scenes depicting Lew acting more like Frank?

Answer 1

Lew's presented character traits aside, it is as if this needs to appear in the film.

Lew Hayward represents Jacob Marley of "A Christmas Carol" - and as noted in this Scrooged trivia excerpt from IMDB, Lew placed himself in his current state due to his actions while alive as did his Dickens counterpart.

Lew Hayward says the line because Jacob Marley says nearly the exact same line. This may be viewed as a plot device to save time and help the viewer understand how Lew ended up the way he did without adding extra explanatory scenes.

Lew may appear to be kind and generous, but nevertheless, he is Jacob Marley.