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{{Short description|American film personality and publisher}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
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| death_date = September 2, 1962 (aged 71)
| death_date = September 2, 1962 (aged 71)
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]]
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]]
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
| resting_place = Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
| resting_place_coordinates =
| known_for =
| education =
| employer =
| occupation =Publisher, businessman
| occupation =Publisher, businessman
| title =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* Helen Durkin
<!-- | salary = -->
* Edith Gwynn Goldenhorn
| networth =
* Rita Ann Seward
| term =
* Estelle Jackson Brown
| predecessor =
* Vivian DuBois
| successor =
* Beatrice Ruby Noble
| party =
}}
| boards =
| spouse =Helen Durkin<br/>Edith Gwynn Goldenhorn<br/>Rita Ann Seward<br/>Estelle Jackson Brown<br/>Vivian DuBois<br/>Beatrice Ruby Noble
| children =
| children =
| parents =
| parents =
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}}
}}


'''William Richard "Billy" Wilkerson''' (September 29, 1890 &ndash; September 2, 1962) was the founder of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845239 |title=The Hollywood Reporter |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004235107/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845239 |archivedate=October 4, 2007 }}</ref> 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 [[McCarthyism|red scare]] that led to the [[Hollywood blacklist]].
'''William Richard''' "'''Billy'''" '''Wilkerson''' (September 29, 1890 &ndash; September 2, 1962) was the founder of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845239 |title=The Hollywood Reporter |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004235107/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845239 |archivedate=October 4, 2007 }}</ref> 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 [[McCarthyism|red scare]] that led to the [[Hollywood blacklist]]. Wilkerson "discovered" [[Lana Turner]].<ref name="latimes/1995-07-01-ca-19119">{{cite news |last1=Wilkerson |first1=W. R. III |title=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. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-01-ca-19119-story.html |access-date=21 July 2023 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1 July 1995}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
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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 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, Los Angeles, California|Bel-Air]] home, one day before ''The Hollywood Reporter''′s 32nd anniversary. He is interred at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in Culver City.
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, Los Angeles, California|Bel-Air]] home, one day before ''The Hollywood Reporter''{{'}}s 32nd anniversary. He is interred at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in Culver City.


Wilkerson was married six times. His wives were:
Wilkerson was married six times. His wives were:
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===Business ventures===
===Business ventures===
[[Image:Folsom Check For Flamingo Hotel Land 1945.JPG|thumb|Partial payment to Margaret M. Folsom for the Flamingo land signed by William R. Wilkerson, March 5, 1945]]
[[Image:Folsom Check For Flamingo Hotel Land 1945.JPG|thumb|Partial payment to Margaret M. Folsom for the Flamingo land signed by William R. Wilkerson, March 5, 1945]]
Wilkerson opened a series of social nightspots on Los Angeles' [[Sunset Strip]]. Seeing opportunities in Las Vegas, he made key investments there as well.
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:
Restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels that Wilkerson started:
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* [[Ciro's]] (1940)<ref name="latimes-61610"/>
* [[Ciro's]] (1940)<ref name="latimes-61610"/>
* Restaurant La Rue ([[Sunset Strip]]) (1944)<ref name="latimes-61610">{{cite news |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Cecilia |title=The Man Behind the Sunset Strip |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-07-me-61610-story.html |access-date=31 January 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=7 December 1997}}</ref>
* Restaurant La Rue ([[Sunset Strip]]) (1944)<ref name="latimes-61610">{{cite news |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Cecilia |title=The Man Behind the Sunset Strip |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-07-me-61610-story.html |access-date=31 January 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=7 December 1997}}</ref>
* 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.<ref name="McCracken">{{cite book |last1=McCracken |first1=Robert D. |title=Las Vegas: The Great American Playground |date=1997 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=9780874173017 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnV2tPNbK6QC&q=wilkerson+flamingo+hotel&pg=PA60 |language=en}}</ref>
* 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.<ref name="McCracken">{{cite book |last1=McCracken |first1=Robert D. |title=Las Vegas: The Great American Playground |date=1997 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=9780874173017 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnV2tPNbK6QC&q=wilkerson+flamingo+hotel&pg=PA60 |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* L'Aiglon (1947)
* L'Aiglon (1947)
* [[Sands Hotel and Casino#Early history|Club LaRue]] (of [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]]) (December 1950)<ref name="Goertler">{{cite web|author=Goertler, Pam|url=http://www.ccgtcc-ccn.com/LV%20Strip%20The%20Early%20Years.pdf|title=The Las Vegas Strip: The Early Years|publisher=Casino Chip and Token News|pages=33–37|date=Fall 2007|access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LaRue (Sands), Mack Kufferman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9760007/larue-sands-mack-kufferman/ |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=15 April 1952 |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sands History |url=https://atthesands.com/atlantic-city-timeline/ |website=At the Sands |access-date=31 January 2022 |date=22 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Casino Lit: In times like these, we can all use a vacation at the Sands |url=https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/commentaries/casino-lit-in-times-like-these-we-can-all-use-a-vacation-at-the-sands/ |website=CDC Gaming Reports |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref>
* [[Sands Hotel and Casino#Early history|Club LaRue]] (of [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]]) (December 1950)<ref name="Goertler">{{cite web|author=Goertler, Pam|url=http://www.ccgtcc-ccn.com/LV%20Strip%20The%20Early%20Years.pdf|title=The Las Vegas Strip: The Early Years|publisher=Casino Chip and Token News|pages=33–37|date=Fall 2007|access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LaRue (Sands), Mack Kufferman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9760007/larue-sands-mack-kufferman/ |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=15 April 1952 |pages=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sands History |url=https://atthesands.com/atlantic-city-timeline/ |website=At the Sands |access-date=31 January 2022 |date=22 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Casino Lit: In times like these, we can all use a vacation at the Sands |url=https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/commentaries/casino-lit-in-times-like-these-we-can-all-use-a-vacation-at-the-sands/ |website=CDC Gaming Reports |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref>
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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* W.R. Wilkerson III ''The Man Who Invented Las Vegas'' (Ciro's Books Publishing, 2000 {{ISBN|0-9676643-0-6}})
* 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}} <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-most-powerful-person-in-hollywood-without-a-studio/|title = Los Angeles Review of Books|date = 11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollywood-godfather-wr-wilkerson-iii/1126059967 |website=Barnes & Noble |access-date=31 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
* W.R. Wilkerson III ''Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson'' 2018 {{oclc|1078535136}} {{ISBN|1613736606}}
** {{Cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-most-powerful-person-in-hollywood-without-a-studio/|title = Los Angeles Review of Books|date = 11 November 2018}}
** {{cite web |title=Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollywood-godfather-wr-wilkerson-iii/1126059967 |website=Barnes & Noble |access-date=31 January 2022 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nesteroff |first1=Kliph |author1-link=Kliph Nesteroff |title=The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy |date=3 November 2015 |publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic |isbn=978-0-8021-9086-4}}


== References ==
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Rasmussen |first=Cecilia |title=L.A. Unconventional: The Men and Women Who Did L.A. Their Way |date=1998 |chapter=The Dawn of the Sunset Strip |pages=136–137 |publisher=Los Angeles Times |isbn=978-1-883792-23-7 |location=Los Angeles |oclc=40701771}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Wilkerson&GScid=8035&GRid=8586& William Wilkerson] at [[Find A Grave]]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Wilkerson&GScid=8035&GRid=8586& William Wilkerson] at [[Find A Grave]]
*[http://www.earlyvegas.com/las_vegas_history_contents.html Early Vegas]
*[http://www.earlyvegas.com/las_vegas_history_contents.html Early Vegas]
*[http://www.casinoconnectionnevada.com/articles/Vegas_and_the_Mob Vegas and the Mob]
*[http://www.casinoconnectionnevada.com/articles/Vegas_and_the_Mob Vegas and the Mob] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907212740/http://www.casinoconnectionnevada.com/articles/Vegas_and_the_Mob |date=2008-09-07 }}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

Latest revision as of 15:05, 22 August 2024

William R. Wilkerson
Born
William Richard Wilkerson

September 29, 1890
Nashville, Tennessee
DiedSeptember 2, 1962 (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
Occupation(s)Publisher, businessman
Spouses
  • Helen Durkin
  • Edith Gwynn Goldenhorn
  • Rita Ann Seward
  • Estelle Jackson Brown
  • Vivian DuBois
  • Beatrice Ruby Noble

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:

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]
Partial payment to Margaret M. Folsom for the Flamingo land signed by William R. Wilkerson, March 5, 1945

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:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Hollywood Reporter". Archived from the original on October 4, 2007.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Paper". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
  4. ^ Baum, Gary; Miller, Daniel (November 30, 2012). "Blacklist: THR Addresses Role After 65 Years". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b Rasmussen, Cecilia (7 December 1997). "The Man Behind the Sunset Strip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  6. ^ McCracken, Robert D. (1997). Las Vegas: The Great American Playground. University of Nevada Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780874173017.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Goertler, Pam (Fall 2007). "The Las Vegas Strip: The Early Years" (PDF). Casino Chip and Token News. pp. 33–37. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  8. ^ "LaRue (Sands), Mack Kufferman". Reno Gazette-Journal. 15 April 1952. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Sands History". At the Sands. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. ^ "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]

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.
[edit]
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