William R. Wilkerson
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William R. Wilkerson | |
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| Born | William Richard Wilkerson September 29, 1890 |
| Died | September 2, 1962 (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, businessman |
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William Richard "Billy" Wilkerson (September 29, 1890 – September 2, 1962) was the founder of The Hollywood Reporter,[1] a real estate developer in Las Vegas and owner of such nightclubs as Ciro's. His series of columns known as "Billy's List" helped to initiate the red scare that led to the Hollywood blacklist. Wilkerson "discovered" Lana Turner.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Wilkerson was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 29, 1890. He began to study medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but when his father died leaving extensive gambling debts, Wilkerson quit school to support himself and his mother. He became a compulsive gambler himself, but quit when his son was born in October 1951.
Wilkerson was in relatively poor health throughout the latter half of the 1950s due to decades of excessive smoking. He continued to head The Hollywood Reporter and write his daily "Tradeviews" column until shortly before his death. Wilkerson died of a heart attack on September 2, 1962, at his Bel-Air home, one day before The Hollywood Reporter's 32nd anniversary. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
Wilkerson was married six times. His wives were:
- Helen Durkin - probably around 1913 or 1914 - probably New York or Fort Lee, New Jersey - Durkin died in the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918.
- Edith Gwynn Goldenhorn - June 22, 1927 - Los Angeles, CA - August 7, 1935 - Cd. Juárez, Mexico
- Rita Ann Seward - September 30, 1935 - Las Vegas - May 9, 1938 - Los Angeles, CA
- Estelle Jackson Brown - December 12, 1939 - Las Vegas, NV - August 13, 1942 - Reno, NV
- Vivian DuBois - May 9, 1946 - Las Vegas, NV - March 14, 1950 - Los Angeles, CA
- Beatrice Ruby Noble - February 23, 1951 - Phoenix, AZ - His death
Career
[edit]When a friend won a Fort Lee, New Jersey movie theater in a bet, Wilkerson agreed to manage it in exchange for half the profits. Expanding his work in the movie industry, he became district manager at Universal Pictures under Carl Laemmle.
The Hollywood Reporter
[edit]Wilkerson published the first issue of The Hollywood Reporter on September 3, 1930.[3] He began each issue with a self-penned editorial entitled "Tradeviews", which proved highly influential.
In 1946, he began a series of columns in The Hollywood Reporter, listing suspected Communist sympathizers; "Billy's List" helped to initiate the "red scare" that led to the Hollywood blacklist.[4]
Business ventures
[edit]
Wilkerson opened a series of social nightspots on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip. Seeing opportunities in Las Vegas, he made key investments there as well.
Restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels that Wilkerson started:
- Vendome Wine & Spirits Co. (1933)
- Cafe Trocadero (1934)
- Sunset House (1936) (haberdashery & barbershop)
- The Arrowhead Springs Hotel (1939)
- Ciro's (1940)[5]
- Restaurant La Rue (Sunset Strip) (1944)[5]
- The Flamingo Hotel (1945) Wilkerson named the hotel, then began development and building of the property, but ran low of money. Bugsy Siegel soon moved in to help finish the hotel casino with mob financing, and Wilkerson eventually sold out his share to Siegel.[6]
- L'Aiglon (1947)
- Club LaRue (of Las Vegas) (December 1950)[7][8][9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Hollywood Reporter". Archived from the original on October 4, 2007.
- ^ Wilkerson, W. R. III (1 July 1995). "Writing the End to a True-to-Life Cinderella Story : Remembrance: The facts of Lana Turner's discovery at a soda fountain have changed through the years, but the legend remains". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Paper". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
- ^ Baum, Gary; Miller, Daniel (November 30, 2012). "Blacklist: THR Addresses Role After 65 Years". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ a b Rasmussen, Cecilia (7 December 1997). "The Man Behind the Sunset Strip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ McCracken, Robert D. (1997). Las Vegas: The Great American Playground. University of Nevada Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780874173017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Goertler, Pam (Fall 2007). "The Las Vegas Strip: The Early Years" (PDF). Casino Chip and Token News. pp. 33–37. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ "LaRue (Sands), Mack Kufferman". Reno Gazette-Journal. 15 April 1952. p. 5.
- ^ "Sands History". At the Sands. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Casino Lit: In times like these, we can all use a vacation at the Sands". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- W.R. Wilkerson III The Man Who Invented Las Vegas (Ciro's Books Publishing, 2000 ISBN 0-9676643-0-6)
- W.R. Wilkerson III Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson 2018 OCLC 1078535136 ISBN 1613736606
- "Los Angeles Review of Books". 11 November 2018.
- "Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- Nesteroff, Kliph (3 November 2015). The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy. Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 978-0-8021-9086-4.
Further reading
[edit]- Rasmussen, Cecilia (1998). "The Dawn of the Sunset Strip". L.A. Unconventional: The Men and Women Who Did L.A. Their Way. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-1-883792-23-7. OCLC 40701771.
External links
[edit]- William Wilkerson at Find A Grave
- Early Vegas
- Vegas and the Mob Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
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