Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | 647.9579 WIL | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Billy Wilkerson was the most powerful man in Hollywood during the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. He was owner and publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, the film industry newspaper that became known as "Hollywood's bible," and he built the Café Trocadero and other legendary nightspots of the Sunset Strip. In thirty years as Tinseltown's premier behind-the-scenes power broker, Wilkerson introduced Clark Gable and Lana Turner to the world, brought the Mafia to Hollywood, engineered the shakedown of the Hollywood studios by Willie Bioff and his mob-run unions, helped invent Las Vegas, tangled with Bugsy Siegel (and possibly was involved with his murder), touched off the Hollywood blacklist, and conspired to cripple the studio system.
Perhaps nobody in Hollywood history has ever ruined so many careers or done so much to reshape the movie industry as Billy Wilkerson, yet there has never been a solid biography of the man. Billy's son, William R. Wilkerson III, has done tremendous research on his father, interviewing over decades everyone who knew him best, and portrays him beautifully--and damningly--in this book.
Author Notes
W. R. Wilkerson III is a Hollywood historian who has lectured widely, made numerous radio and TV appearances, contributed to publications including the Los Angeles Times, the Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, the Herald Examiner, and the LA Weekly, and written several books.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
A cleareyed portrait of an irascible Hollywood power broker.Drawing on scores of candid interviews, journalist and movie historian Wilkerson (One Person, One Vote, 2008, etc.) vividly recounts the life and career of his father, a powerful and controversial figure in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1950s. Publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, William Wilkerson (1890-1962) could make or break reputations with one of his pointed editorials. With ties to organized crime, a lifelong addiction to gambling, and a mercurial temper, he was a man to be feared. He treated his six wives poorly, mercilessly mocked gay men, and repeatedly fired (and often impulsively rehired) his staff. Throughout his life, he "came to have three deep-seated hatreds: drunks, Communists, and people who stole from him." Added to that list were studio moguls: "The studios could guarantee that their films would be screened, but before long Wilkerson had the power to dissuade audiences from seeing them." Not content with being merely a publisher and editor, Billy was a restless entrepreneur, energized by challenges. "All his life Billy was in love with the impossible," a friend of his noted. His projects included several restaurantsbeginning with the Vendome, which became the place to go for a power lunchand the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, which got him entangled with Bugsy Siegel. When Siegel was on trial for murder, he had Billy's elegant club, Ciro's, deliver gourmet meals to his jail cell; but their relationship soured. Billy also became known as one of LA's prominent "purveyors of vice," owning a stake in supper clubs that hosted gambling casinos and kept prostitutes "on standby" for guests. In the late 1940s, Billy embarked on a zealous campaign to rout out communist influence in Hollywood. His "scathing editorials," writes the author, inspired the House Un-American Activities Committee "to take dramatic action," issuing subpoenas to scores of prominent Hollywood figures. A 300-car cortege assembled for Billy's funeral in 1962; his many enemies pointedly stayed away.An entertaining history of the movie industry's tumultuous past. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Hollywood powerbroker William R. "Billy" Wilkerson (1890-1962) led a life that reads like a blockbuster movie script, full of cutthroat competition, glitz, glamour, and stars, not only of Hollywood but also of the underworld. The owner and publisher of the Hollywood Reporter during the 1930s through the 1950s, he also built the Café Trocadero and other L.A. hot spots and was known as "the mentor of Sunset Strip." He worked closely with mob figures, building the Flamingo Hotel in Vegas and bringing the Mafia to Hollywood. For the first time, his life is chronicled here-by his son. Author Wilkerson (The Man Who Invented Las Vegas) tells an intriguing tale of a dual-natured figure: a driven, organized businessman who lost vast sums of money to gambling addiction; a patron of the church involved with the mob; a club owner who imported fine European dining to a burgeoning Hollywood who drank only Coca Cola. Billy Wilkerson was a man who had the golden touch for creating success but never seemed capable of holding interest once he'd achieved it. The writing style is dramatic at turns but not at odds with the scale of this Hollywood personality. VERDICT An interesting read for those who are looking to learn about the underbelly of golden-age Hollywood.-Jennifer Thompson, Richland Lib., Columbia, SC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface: Discovering My Father | p. 1 |
| 1 The Corpse | p. 13 |
| 2 Rosebud | p. 18 |
| 3 Lubinville | p. 26 |
| 4 The Crash | p. 50 |
| 5 Life in the West | p. 55 |
| 6 The Bet | p. 64 |
| 7 Vendôme | p. 71 |
| 8 The Cut | p. 75 |
| 9 Café Trocadero | p. 81 |
| 10 The Shakedown | p. 90 |
| 11 The Breakup | p. 96 |
| 12 Sunday Night at the Troc | p. 103 |
| 13 The Gambler | p. 110 |
| 14 Hollywood's Bible | p. 116 |
| 15 The London Reporter to Sunset House | p. 121 |
| 16 Daily Life at the Reporter | p. 130 |
| 17 Friends and Allies | p. 138 |
| 18 The Starmaker and Lana Turner | p. 151 |
| 19 "He'll Bring Us All Down" | p. 157 |
| 20 Women and Marriage | p. 164 |
| 21 Joe Schenck and the Arrowhead Springs Hotel | p. 168 |
| 22 Ciro's | p. 175 |
| 23 Trials | p. 180 |
| 24 Restaurant LaRue | p. 186 |
| 25 The Flamingo | p. 193 |
| 26 Bugsy Siegel | p. 206 |
| 27 The Crusade | p. 214 |
| 28 Exile | p. 227 |
| 29 The Blacklist | p. 245 |
| 30 L'Aiglon | p. 250 |
| 31 United States v. Paramount Pictures | p. 254 |
| 32 "That Was Who He Was" | p. 259 |
| 33 Club LaRue | p. 265 |
| 34 The Next Chapter | p. 270 |
| 35 The Partnership | p. 274 |
| 36 The Shadow | p. 280 |
| 37 The Old Days | p. 290 |
| 38 Curtain Call | p. 298 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 309 |
| Appendix: Billy Wilkerson's Businesses | p. 311 |
| Notes | p. 315 |
| Selected Bibliography | p. 325 |
| Index | p. 329 |
