No Hollywood script can examine to the phobia of the 37 true tales in OF MOBSTERS AND MOVIE STARS: The Bloody “Golden Age” of Hollywood!
On this gripping historic account, skilled crime historian Joan Renner explores the shadowy world of fame and crime throughout Hollywood’s most glamorous period. As Los Angeles remodeled into the epicenter of movie, it additionally turned a haven for infamous criminals and mobsters, weaving a fancy tapestry of attract and hazard that’s certain to intrigue.
Renner brings to life tales which might be extra thrilling than fiction, together with harrowing LAPD showdowns, darkish dealings behind the studio gates, and tragic fates of luminaries whose off-screen lives had been as dramatic as their on-screen personas. She delves into notorious episodes, such because the surprising case of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, accused of “by chance” crushing to dying a younger actress beneath his huge weight as he raped her, and different lesser-known, however equally hair-raising tales of actors introduced down by scandal and corruption.
OF MOBSTERS AND MOVIE STARS presents a profound and enlightening have a look at Hollywood’s twin nature, illustrating how its seductive glitter was deeply entangled with its sinister impulses. This e-book is crucial for anybody fascinated by how America’s “Metropolis of Desires” turned a stage for a number of the most gripping dramas of the 20th century.
Step into the Prohibition Period with Joan Renner as she reveals the hidden crimes and timeless ambition behind Hollywood’s shimmering façade.
FROM THE BOOK
Excerpted from Honeymoon from Hell
A college instructor from Los Angeles, Cora B. Withington, and a world touring journalist, Crombie Allen, noticed Tugboat Annie at Loew’s State Theater on August sixteenth. Mates for years, Cora talked Crombie into instructing her to drive his new Chevrolet coupe. She bought behind the wheel and maneuvered down 3rd Avenue to Lafayette Place. A automobile with a horny blonde on the wheel got here close to them. The blonde pressured Cora to the curb. Then, in line with Crombie, “A person all of the sudden stepped from the automobile and waved a revolver at us.” The person, standing subsequent to the operating board on the driving force’s aspect, mentioned, “Shell out, sweetheart. And that goes for you, too, Bo.” Crombie thought the person was joking till he yanked off Cora’s wristwatch and pulled the rings from her fingers. Cora reached below the seat for her purse. The bandit assumed she was reaching for a weapon and fired.
Cora screamed and fell ahead over the steering wheel. The bullet grazed Crombie’s neck. Wounded, he bought out of the automobile and watched the bandit and his blonde driver roar off. He pulled Cora into the passenger seat and drove her to St. Vincent’s Hospital. There, she obtained devastating information. The bullet that ripped by means of her left eye, and injured Crombie, left her blinded for all times.
Bandits, regarded as Cora and Crombie’s assailants, launched a sequence of robberies that terrorized the town. Angelenos, fearful, offended, and pissed off with the current crime wave, demanded police motion. Newspaper headlines screamed, “Crime Runs Rampant in Los Angeles,” which did nothing to place residents comfy. LAPD Chief Davis added officers to patrol models, however they got here up empty. Till September fifth.
Excerpted from The Torso Homicide
William Pettibone, Ray Seegar, Floyd Waterstreet, and Glen Druer explored the muddy river financial institution for hidden treasures on Could 18, 1929. The boys seen one thing that regarded like a turtle shell or unusual prehistoric fish 150 ft from the bridge within the metropolis of Bell. One boy took a stick and poked it into an finish of the bony construction and held it aloft for the others to gape at. The boys spent a couple of minutes earlier than realizing their treasure was a human cranium.
With the top impaled on a stick, the boy ran as much as the roadway. He waved it round till a feminine motorist stopped. The horrified girl saved it collectively lengthy sufficient to drive to a public phone the place she referred to as Bell’s Chief of Police. Chief Smith and Motor Officer Steele met the girl and the group of boys close to the river. The lady declined to provide her identify. Smith’s officers advised Captain Vivid concerning the grisly discover. Vivid accompanied Deputies Allen, Brewster, and Gompert to the scene. Whereas deputies searched the world, an infinite crowd of curious on-lookers gathered.
The preliminary post-mortem yielded nothing which may establish the deceased. At the very least the cranium nonetheless had a number of extant enamel, which made an identification doable. Native newspapers printed the images and drawings of the enamel and distributed them to dentists.
With restricted stays, the consultants wanted to carry out a miracle. Amazingly, they did simply that.
FROM THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOAN RENNER is a famend creator and investigative historian who makes a speciality of Twentieth-century true crime. She delves into the homicide, mayhem, and scandal that occurred in historic Los Angeles by means of her widespread weblog, Deranged L.A. Crimes. Renner is a revered speaker on crime in Los Angeles and has been invited to talk at seminars by the California Affiliation of Criminalists. She has additionally been featured as a criminal offense skilled in numerous TV reveals reminiscent of “Lethal Girls,” “Evil Kin,” and “Horror on the Cecil Resort.” Renner’s contributions to the “Hollywood and Crime” podcast additional showcase her deep understanding of L.A.’s infamous prison historical past and captivate audiences with tales of the town’s darkish previous.
