Beverly Hills Confidential


Book Description

The very name Beverly Hills conjures images of glamour, wealth and success; in reality, the place has more than its share of malice, mayhem and even murder. In the breathtaking and sometimes macabre pages of Beverly Hills Confidential, the underbelly of the tummy-tucked gets exposed. Investigative reporter Barbara Schroeder and BHPD CSI inspector Clark Fogg re-examine the sensational stories of the past century, such as the Charlie Chaplin paternity trial and the mystery surrounding the death of Jean Harlow's MGM mogul husband.




SEX, DRUGS, DEATH in BEVERLY HILLS


Book Description

This book focuses on the life, adventures, tragedies and the plight of one teenager growing up in Beverly Hills during the early 70's drug atmosphere and lifestyle. Book I, is about one teenager's courage and willpower to overcome enormous obstacles in her life, amongst a death sentence from the fledgling Neurological profession in that era. The book also takes a look at the young psychiatric system and it's neophyte facilities; it also explains the archaic use of these facilities available at that time. Life in Beverly Hills during the 60's and 70's could truly be called "surviving "Beverly Hills." Regardless of money or power during the era of freedom, "rock and roll," sex and the "Hippy" mentality still affects generation's to this day. Even saying that you grew up in Beverly Hills still carries a heavy stigma today.




A Death in California


Book Description

A troubled Los Angeles socialite is both terrorized and tempted by a killer in this “brilliantly written” true story by the author of A Death in Canaan (Ann Rule). Hope Masters lived in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Beverly Hills—but was entitled to food stamps. Pretty, petite, and privileged, she was recovering from two failed marriages and a string of poor decisions. But when Hope met and fell in love with a handsome advertising executive, she believed her life was finally back on track—until the morning she woke up to find the barrel of a gun in her mouth. Hope’s fiancé lay dead in the next room. His killer was a new acquaintance who’d been visiting the couple in a remote ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He claimed to be a journalist, but his real identity was as mysterious as his motivations. Even more bizarre, however, was what happened at the end of the long, nightmarish weekend in which Hope saw everything she cared about destroyed: She began to fall in love with her tormenter. A fascinating and frightening portrait of the power of evil to lead the most innocent of victims down the darkest of paths, A Death in California is “a first-rate piece of reporting” (Kirkus Reviews) on “one of the strangest cases in the annals of American crime” (The New York Times).




The Battle for Beverly Hills


Book Description

Presents the untold history of Beverly Hills, examining the glamour, fame, gossip and politics of a city that the stars fought to keep from the clutches of an avaricious Los Angeles, building the foundation for celebrity influence and political power.




Beverly Hills


Book Description

Paula Hope arrives in Los Angeles, penniless and on the run from a violent and tragic past. Her great taste and style catch the eye of an international interior designer--and her career and life seemed touched by the gods when she is asked to help redecorate the fabled Sunset Hotel. Then she finds a deep and passionate love with the owner of the hotel, superstar Robert Hartford--but happiness like this can't last forever. And there are those in Beverly Hills who threaten their love AND endanger their lives. The whole town is consumed in an epic battle to win the Sunset Hotel, while an ancient vow of revenge, a paranoid jealousy, and an act of betrayal cast a shadow over the happiness Paula has sworn will be her destiny. "[Pat Booth] roars down Rodeo Drive in a sex-fueled tale of movie stars, new age mystics and a battle to control one of the world's great hotels." USA TODAY "From the Paperback edition.




Beverly Hills


Book Description

The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was the preeminent nightclub of the lower Midwest for decades. After struggling financially into the1960s, the club was purchased by new owners in 1969. Over the next several years, the new owners completed numerous improvements, renovations, and additions, creating what they hoped would be the "showplace of the nation." On the evening of May 28, 1977, the lavish club burned to the ground, killing 165 people in the second worst nightclub fire in United States history. Robert Lawson's meticulous study makes clear that the tragedy flowed from the fact that the building had become over time a true firetrap. The renovations and additions completed since 1969 were dominated by multiple fire code violations and very significant design failures for a building that was destined to be occupied by huge crowds of people. Undoubtedly, a more complete compliance with state laws on fire safety would have averted the disaster. No single individual was responsible for the building's shortcomings.The firetrap in the nightclub, which ultimately resulted in the tragic death of 165 people, was clearly created by a combination of personal, professional, and legal failures by owners of the facility, local and state fire officials and inspectors, and others. Looking back, which is always easier than looking forward, it is clear that the real tragedy at Beverly Hills is that very little additional care and caution was needed to prevent some if not all of the deaths that occurred there. Beverly Hills: Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire was intended by the author to be an accurate historical account of the whole tragedy and not a sensational description of the event nor a polemic indictment of responsibility. It lays out in careful and complete detail every incremental step in the creation of the firetrap, describes the start and spread of the fire and evacuation efforts, and concludes with a description of the important legal proceedings that followed the fire.




Murder of an Elvis Girl


Book Description

It's one of the most brutal unsolved murders in the Elvis Presley universe - the 1981 slaying of his beautiful "Blue Hawaii" co-star, Jenny Maxwell. It was reported at the time that the murder was part of a botched robbery in Beverly Hills, but that's not at all what happened. Forty years after the murder, thanks to this book, it's finally been solved. Who killed Jenny Maxwell, and why? For the first time, the truth is revealed in "Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case," And the truth is incredible.Jenny Maxwell was one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood in the early 1960s, and she became best known as an Elvis Girl, playing the bratty Ellie Corbett in Elvis Presley's classic 1961 film, "Blue Hawaii." The performance made her one of the most memorable Elvis Girls ever and endeared her to generations of the King's fans. She appeared in dozens of TV shows, as well - everything from "Bonanza" and "My Three Sons" to "Father Knows Best" and "The Twilight Zone." In the 1960s, Jenny Maxwell's career was red-hot. She was friends with Sharon Tate and Peggy Lipton and dated a slew of young Hollywood stars.Off the screen, though, her personal life was a mess. She married film director Paul Rapp when she was just seventeen and became a mom at nineteen. Her marriage and her motherhood fell apart thanks to a lifestyle of Hollywood parties, drugs and sex. In an effort to win back her son, she quit Hollywood altogether in 1968 and married Ervin "Tip" Roeder, a high-powered and mobbed-up Los Angeles divorce attorney who was twenty years her senior. Their marriage was a rocky one, and by the time 1981 came around, they were separated and heading for divorce. Tip Roeder was at Jenny's side that fateful day in Beverly Hills, as they were both gunned down by the assassin outside her condo."Murder of an Elvis Girl" tells the amazing Hollywood life story of a true Elvis legend. Jenny Maxwell shared the screen with the likes of Jimmy Stewart, Robert Conrad, Joey Bishop. Bob Hope and Joan Crawford. She rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra and Sandra Dee. And biggest of all, she was an Elvis Girl.The story of how this book came about is just as incredible. "Murder of an Elvis Girl" is written by Buddy Moorehouse, a longtime journalist from Michigan who is actually Jenny's first cousin, once removed (his grandfather and her father were brothers). The family had always been told that Jenny's murder was part of a botched robbery, but they never quite believed that, so Buddy embarked on a journey in 2019 to learn the truth of what really happened to their famous cousin. He eventually struck pay dirt when he found the detective who had investigated - and solved - the murder.This is the untold story of a long-forgotten Hollywood legend - how she lived, how she loved, and how she died.




A Death in Canaan


Book Description

A “riveting” true crime classic: The trial of Connecticut teen Peter Reilly, accused of killing his mother, and the community that defended him (People). In the sleepy hamlet of Canaan, Connecticut, Barbara Gibbons stood out. She and her eighteen-year-old son, Peter Reilly, lived in a drab one-bedroom house on a desolate stretch of road. An intelligent, lively woman with a wicked sense of humor, Barbara also had dark moods and drank too much. She fought loudly with neighbors and her son, and appeared to have a messy, complicated love life. When Peter came home from the Teen Center one night to discover his mother lying naked on the bedroom floor with her throat slashed, the police made him their prime suspect. After eight hours of interrogation and a polygraph test, Peter confessed. Investigators were convinced they had an open-and-shut case, but the townspeople disagreed. They couldn’t believe that the naïve teenager was capable of such a gruesome crime, and blamed detectives for taking advantage of the boy’s trust. With the help of celebrities including Mike Nichols and William Styron, who contributes an eloquent and persuasive introduction to Joan Barthel’s account of the case, the community of Canaan rallied to Peter’s defense. A gripping murder mystery and an intimate portrait of the loyalties, resentments, and secrets lurking beneath the placid surface of quiet towns across America, A Death in Canaan is a masterpiece of “first-class journalism” (The New York Times).




The Menendez Murders


Book Description

Discover the definitive book on the Menendez case—and the primary source material for NBC's Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. A successful entertainment executive making $2 million a year. His former beauty queen wife. Their two sons on the fast track to success. But it was all a façade. The Menendez saga has captivated the American public since 1989. The killing of José and Kitty Menendez on a quiet Sunday evening in Beverly Hills didn't make the cover of People magazine until the arrest of their sons seven months later, and the case developed an intense cult following. When the first Menendez trial began in July 1993, the public was convinced that Lyle and Erik were a pair of greedy rich kids who had killed loving, devoted parents. But the real story remained buried beneath years of dark secrets. Until now. Journalist Robert Rand, who originally reported on the case for the Miami Herald and Playboy, has followed the Menendez murders from the beginning and has continued investigating and interviewing key sources for 28 years. Rand is the only reporter who covered the original investigation as well as both trials. With unparalleled access to the Menendez family and their history, including interviews with both brothers before and after their arrest, Rand has uncovered extraordinary details that certainly would have changed the fate of the brothers' first-degree murder conviction and sentencing to life without parole. In The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of the Menedez Family and the Killings That Stunned the Nation, Rand shares these intimate, never-before-revealed findings, including a deeply disturbing history of child abuse and sexual molestation in the Menendez family going back generations, and the shocking admission O.J. Simpson made to one of the Menendez brothers when they were inmates at the L.A. County Men's Central Jail.




We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills


Book Description

Ned Wynn is the son of film actor Keenan Wynn, and the grandson of immortal movie and radio comedian Ed Wynn. He was doted on in his childhood by the likes of Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, and Tyrone Power. In this lively, poignant memoir, Wynn recounts growing up in Hollywood's privileged inner circle. 28 photographs.