Hollywood And The Underworld

Gangster films were very popular during the thirties. And Hollywood had many dealings with the underworld in that period. The studios paid protection money to prevent sabotage of the theaters. There was more to it than that. The gangsters became involved in supplying the studios with different things, not all of them legal. Some of the studio bosses liked to gamble with the gangsters. Some stars frequented the speakeasies and gambling joints in the area that were controlled by the underworld. Some of the girls in comedies were somehow linked to gangsters.



Thelma Todd had trouble with gangsters. There were extortion notes ( some were said to be the work of a crazy fan, but later ones might not have been ) and problems related to the Sidewalk Café. They thought that the gangsters might have killed her. But they don't seem to have said much of anything about the gangsters at the time. Later writers attributed the problems to Lucky Luciano, but some more recent writers have cast doubt on that story.

What about Lucky Luciano? Was he actually involved? Could Thelma Todd have been connected to him in some way?


Here we see Pat DeCicco, Gene Malin, Thelma Todd, and Lois Wilson at the club New York in Hollywood in 1932.

In New York, Gene Malin had worked at the Club Abbey, a queer joint that was run by Dutch Schultz.  Dutch Schultz was involved with Lucky Luciano, but eventually Luciano had him killed... as has been said, the authorities watched Luciano after that, and he was not in California with Thelma Todd. But because of Gene Malin, Thelma Todd was linked to Luciano, if only indirectly.

Gene Malin's wife was involved with prostitution, like DeCicco, which could be another connection.* But Patsy Kelly was more closely associated with Gene Malin than Thelma Todd and Pat DeCicco. She was with Malin when he accidently drove his car off a pier into the ocean and drowned in 1933.




Geneva Mitchell was in NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS ( 1935 ) with Pat DiCicco, 

Pat DiCicco as Perseus in the rear at left, Geneva Mitchell as Hebe at center in front.

Today she is probably best known as the dance instructor in the Three Stooges comedy HOI POLLOI. History also tells us that she had some complaints about the underworld.

In 1932 she gave testimony in court that gangsters had kidnapped her brother. 

Kidnapping was in the news that year as the son of Lindbergh had been kidnapped. A number of movie stars received kidnap threats in the thirties. Thelma Todd and Mae West were both the recipients of kidnap threats that were said to have been the work of lone individuals rather than members of a gang. Bebe Daniels and her family went to live in England to escape this threat.

Doris Houk also worked with the Three Stooges. Today she is probably best known as the brunette who tried to pressure Shemp into marrying her in BRIDELESS GROOMS.

Reblogged from https://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.com/2016/02/brideless-groom-three-stooges-1947.html

 She married Fred Otash, a Los Angeles detective alleged to have underworld connections who was involved in a number of scandals. He was also associated with CONFIDENTIAL magazine, a publication that was noted for being scandalous.


June Brewster of the "Blondes and the Redheads" series at RKO married Guy McAfee, who was head of the vice squad. While in that position he owned brothels and gambling joints in Los Angeles.** Later he relocated to Los Vegas, where that stuff was legal, and she went with him.

Reblogged from http://derangedlacrimes.com/?tag=guy-mcafee - which has June Brewster confused with McAfee's previous wife, who had been a Los Angeles madam.

June Lang was in BONNIE SCOTLAND ( 1935 ) with Laurel and Hardy, and later made ZENOBIA with Harry Langdon and Oliver Hardy. 

In 1940 she married mobster Johnny Roselli, who was involved in the Chicago mob's extortion of millions of dollars from the motion picture industry. Roselli had also dated Lina Basquette, who was one of Thelma Todd's friends.


Lona Andre ( left ) and Iris Ardian ( right ) with Laurel and Hardy in OUR RELATIONS ( 1936 ).

Iris Adrian mentioned having been around Lucky Luciano in the 1930's. Although that was when she was in New York. She mentioned Stan Laurel being in New York during that period, too.

Here we see Dorothy Appleby and Barbara Pepper with George Raft and Edgar G. Robinson in MANPOWER ( 1943 ). Dorothy Appleby and Barbara Pepper appeared in many comedies. Dorothy Appleby was engaged for a time to a lawyer named Sidney Korshak who was linked to gangsters. George Raft had underworld connections and is frequently mentioned in connection with Pat DeCicco. Raft was also associated with gangster Bugsy Siegel, who he knew from New York. Bugsy Siegel and George Raft Bugsy Siegel was associated with Lucky Luciano, who is said to have sent him out west. Some people have thought Siegel was around Thelma Todd. He was in Hollywood during the last years of her life, and was around some of the same people. Thelma Todd made her last public appearance at the Trocadero, a Hollywood night club owned by William Wilkerson. William Wilkerson later became involved with Bugsy Siegel in building the Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas. Bugsy Siegel is frequently mentioned in connection with Jean Harlow, who appeared in Laurel and Hardy comedies before she was a star.                      Stan Laurel, Jean Harlow, and Oliver Hardy in DOUBLE WHOOPEE ( 1929 ) Frequently their association is said to have been friendly, but there were also stories of a less pleasant nature. Some people said that he was extorting money from her. Evidently Siegel had a habit of "borrowing" large sums from people which they were afraid to ask him to pay back. Virginia Hill was another woman who was associated with Bugsy Siegel. Reblogged from https://www.al.com/expo/news/erry-2018/07/c0bffcff0d2972/virginia_hill_went_from_lipsco.html She wasn't a movie star, but people sometimes thought that she was. She hung out with the stars. She was considered to be something of a celebrity herself.

 Included in the photo are- Ava Gardner, Mickey Rooney, Groucho Marx, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Hill (yes the mob queen) in Hollywood.

The story is that Virginia Hill was introduced to Bugsy Siegel by Pat DiCicco. And Bugsy Siegel was associated with Lucky Luciano. Although Luciano was in prison by the time that DeCicco made the introduction.

Luciano allegedly had Bugsy Siegel killed, just as he'd allegedly had Dutch Schultz eliminated. They said it had something to do with the Flamingo Hotel, on which Siegel had spent vast sums of money after taking the project away from William Wilkerson. Like many other stories about Luciano it was never really proven, but accepted as fact nonetheless.


*Luciano eventually controlled all the prostitution in New York, which was also what he was convicted of, and imprisoned for, in 1936.

**Guy McAfee ran the Clover Club, a Sunset Strip gambling casino that Thelma Todd is known to have gone to.



Iris Adrian:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0012441/


Dorothy Appleby:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/08/dorothy-appleby.html

The Man Who Kept The Secrets ( Sidney Korshak ) - Dorothy Appleby mention
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/1997/04/The-Man-Who-Kept-The-Secrets

Newspaper article announcing engagement:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19350918&id=H5NOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y7UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6675,1660600



June Brewster:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2014/09/june-brewster.html


Pat DeCicco:
https://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2018/08/pat-decicco-and-his-pals.html


Gangsters' extortion of money from the studios:
http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made


Jean Harlow ( Official site ):
https://www.jeanharlow.com/


Doris Houck:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0171723/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2014/06/doris-houck.html



Laurel And Hardy:
http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/



Lucky Luciano:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Luciano


Gene Malin and Patsy Kelly:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/09/patsy-faces-death.html


Guy McAfee:
http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/guy-mcafee


Geneva Mitchell:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2015/07/geneva-mitchell_11.html

Geneva Mitchell ( Denny Jackson's Glamour Girls Of The Silver Screen ):
http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/689/Geneva+Mitchell/index.html



Fred Otash:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652756/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Otash



George Raft:
benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/10/george-raft.html



Johnny Roselli:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roselli

Johnny Roselli and Lina Basquette:
https://books.google.com/books?id=LQsB66qPGmgC&pg=PA208&lpg=PA208&dq=johnny+roselli+william+donati&source=bl&ots=asev3Jw4P1&sig=S65XOKJ__rimr_PuF0QjQO8QguQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirkbjTh7bdAhVQ5awKHcY0D-oQ6AEwB3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=johnny%20roselli%20william%20donati&f=false


Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill:
http://filmstarfacts.com/2016/05/02/bugsy-and-virginia-a-hollywood-romance/



William Wilkerson:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/10/william-wilkerson.html





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Pat DeCicco And His Pals

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John Austin termed him a "Bootlegger and Pimp for Louis Meyer".

Michael P. Lentz termed him "A louse & sponge if ever there was one."

I would be hard pressed to improve on that, but I can put in a little more.



We'll start with Wikipedia:

Pat DiCicco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pat DiCicco
Born	Pasquale DeCicco (1909-02-14)February 14, 1909 Queens, New York, U.S.
Died	October 24, 1978(1978-10-24) (aged 69) New York, New York, U.S.
Other names	The Glamour Boy of Hollywood
Occupation	Agent, movie producer
Spouse(s)	Thelma Todd (m. 1932; div. 1934) Gloria Vanderbilt (m. 1941; div. 1945) Mary Jo Tarola (m. 1953; div. 1960)

Pasquale "Pat" DiCicco (February 14, 1909 – October 24, 1978) was an American agent and movie producer, as well as an alleged mobster working for Lucky Luciano.^[1] He married and divorced both Thelma Todd and Gloria Vanderbilt. He was a cousin of Albert R. Broccoli and gave him his well-known nickname "Cubby."

Personal life

Todd's marriage in 1932 to DiCicco was particularly unstable and frequently erupted in drunken brawls, one of which resulted in a broken nose for DiCicco and an emergency appendectomy for Todd.^[2] They divorced in 1934. Todd died a year later from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
At 17 years old, Gloria Vanderbilt went to Hollywood, where she married DiCicco in 1941.^[3] DiCicco proved to be a temperamental and abusive husband who called her "Fatsy Roo," and regularly beat her. "He would take my head and bang it against the wall," Vanderbilt said. "I had black eyes."^[4] They divorced in 1945.^[5]
In 1953, DiCicco married actress Mary Jo Tarola (born February 27, 1928), also known by her stage name, Linda Douglas. The marriage lasted seven years before ending in divorce in 1960.

Ted Healy incident

DiCicco is alleged to have been involved in an altercation with comedian Ted Healy just before the latter's death in 1937.
A source alleged that actor Wallace Beery, producer Albert R. Broccoli, and Broccoli's cousin, agent/producer Pat DiCicco beat Healy so badly that he fell into a coma and died.^[6] While there is no documentation in contemporaneous news reports that either Beery or DiCicco was present, Broccoli admitted that he was indeed involved in a fist fight with Healy at the Trocadero.^[7] He later modified his story, stating that a heavily intoxicated Healy had picked a fight with him, the two had briefly scuffled, then shook hands and parted ways.^[8] In other reports, Broccoli admitted to pushing Healy, but not striking him.^[9]
There is disagreement over whether Healy died as a result of the brawl or due to his well-known alcoholism.^[1] Because of the authorities' lack of interest in investigating Healy's death, an autopsy was not performed until after Healy's corpse had been embalmed; rendering the examiner's note that Healy's organs were "soaked in alcohol" and useless in determining a cause of death.^[1]
Following the autopsy, the Los Angeles county coroner reported that Healy died of acute toxic nephritis secondary to acute and chronic alcoholism. Police closed their investigation, as there was no indication in the report that his death was caused by physical assault.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c} Braund, Simon (June 2010). "The Tragic And Twisted Tale Of The Three Stooges". Empire Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2015. 
2. Jump up ^ "Who killed the Ice Cream Blonde?". Santa Monica Daily Press. May 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2015. 
3. Jump up ^ Vanderbilt, Gloria (2004). ""The Great Thing" (4)". It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir. Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: Simon & Schuster. p. 31. ISBN 0-7432-6480-0. 
4. Jump up ^ Last of the big spenders. Telegraph UK 11/23/2004
5. Jump up ^ Vanderbilt, Gloria. ""Happy Birthday" (6)". It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 36. ISBN 0-7432-6480-0. 
6. Jump up ^ Fleming, E.J. (2004). The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine. McFarland. pp. 174–177. ISBN 978-0-7864-2027-8. 
7. Jump up ^ staff (December 23, 1937). "Wealthy Sportsman Confesses Fight with Ted Healy". The Oxnard Daily Courier. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2013. 
8. Jump up ^ Cassara, Bill (2014). Nobody's Stooge: Ted Healy. BearManor Media. ISBN 1593937687. 
9. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} "Ted Healy Died of Toxic Nephritis". Lewiston Evening Journal. December 23, 1937. p. 8. Retrieved May 15, 2013. 

                                             *                                 *                             *


Occasionally we come across the story that Pat DeCicco was working for Lucky Luciano.  There is no proof of this. It is more likely that DeCicco was only a small-timer who was not directly associated with Luciano even though he was involved in the same line of business and started out in the same part of the country.

The imdb has the following trivia item for Pat DeCicco:

Acted as procurer for Howard Hughes and Joseph Schenk while acting nominally as a talent agent.

The association of DeCicco with Howard Hughes is well known, and remarked upon by Jane Russell in her autobiography. She said something to the effect that Howard Hughes didn't want her to become involved with him.

The story about Ted Healy is unproven, as is the allegation that Healy had an affair with Thelma Todd, which is part of the same package. But to get back to Thelma Todd -

It seemed to begin all at once. Thelma Todd and Pat DeCicco suddenly eloped to Arizona, where it was easier to get married right away.

Pat DeCicco, Jean Malin, Thelma Todd, and Lois Wilson at the Club New Yorker, 1932. The wife of Jean Malin was involved in prostitution, like DeCicco.

This caption claimed that DeCicco was from Argentina. He wasn't, but that didn't keep them from telling people that. It was a recurring story in Thelma Todd's publicity. Another story was that DeCicco was an Italian count, and that because of that Thelma Todd was a countess.  

At the Brown Derby.

 This one seems to be at the Brown Derby, too. Chester Morris is at left.

Pat DeCicco and Thelma Todd ( center ) at the Coconut Grove.

At the Mayfair opening, 1933.

At the Cameramen's Ball, 1933.

At the premiere of the movie CAVALCADE, 1933.

Thelma Todd and Pat DeCicco with Phil Harris.

Phil Harris later married Alice Faye.

There were rumors that a divorce was imminent after Thelma Todd took a trip to England in 1933.

Thelma Todd filed for divorce in 1934. The divorce became final the following year.

March 2, 1934: Thelma Todd is granted a divorce.

Divorces in Hollywood were quite common, as can be seen by the names on the list.



After the death of Thelma Todd, Pat DeCicco was called back to testify before the grand jury. Here, he bids his mother farewell.

Jeanette Meehan said in a newspaper article that DeCicco had never taken Thelma Todd to Long Island to meet his family, claiming that she was too busy.  

DeCicco photographed during the investigation.

DeCicco was believed to have been one of the last people to have seen Thelma Todd alive., because he had shown up during the Lupino's party at the Trocadero. With him was Margaret Lindsay, who recently had made the movie BORDERTOWN with Paul Muni and Bette Davis.

That movie had a "garage murder" in it. People wondered if that could possibly have some connection with the death of Thelma Todd, since she had been found dead in a garage of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

No one was able to prove anything.

The historical record shows that Pat DeCicco lied about how recently he'd been around Thelma Todd, and how often. He told reporters he hadn't seen her for a year, and that he had last seen her at the Venodome.* 

From PHOTOPLAY, early 1935

 This account mentions him having been around Thelma Todd at the Trocadero earlier in 1935. Jeanette Meehan said that he had been telling his family that Thelma Todd wanted to "patch things up". Some people thought that DeCicco had been trying to get her back. 

Ted Healy had a run-in at the Trocadero a couple of years or so afterwards. Accounts differ as to whether or not this caused Healy's death. That story was in this book.

The story that Ted Healy was involved with Thelma Todd is in this book, too. But we find no mention of this affair from the period in which it was supposed to have taken place. 

The official Carole Landis site says at http://carolelandisofficial.blogspot.com/2011/11/myths-about-carole.html that Pat DeCicco, who was her boyfriend at the time, broke her nose. I didn't know ( or remember ) that story, but I wouldn't put it past him. He used to beat up Thelma Todd when he was married to her. Gloria Vanderbilt, too.

Carole Landis and Victor Mature in ONE MILLION BC. Reblogged from http://www.suspense-movies.com/stars/carole-landis/landis27.html

I guess "Director" sounded better than "Pimp", "Go-Fer", and similar titles for what in current parlance might be termed "Associates".

Pat DeCicco was the "Black Knight" the title referred to.

Some of the things she said about him were not good. She not only said that she had been told that he had killed Thelma Todd, but that he tried to kill her as well. This marriage ended in divorce, the same as the previous one. 

Pat DeCicco with Gorgeous Gussie.

Gorgeous Gussie was one of a great many women whose name was linked with his in later years.

But the last one to marry him was Mary Jo Tarola, in 1953.

Like his two previous marriages, it didn't last.

Pat DeCicco was not important in the underworld or the motion picture industry, and was known only as someone who was around the rich and famous. Today he is remembered mainly for the women he was associated with. 

*When he was summoned by the grand jury, DeCicco testified that "I saw her only about five times in the last two years, after we divorced". He also said that "There was no possibility of any reconciliation between us, and I made no overtures in that line." 

Both statements contradicted what he had previously represented as the truth.

*                 *                *

Rudy Schafer was the son of the manager of Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Café. In his later years he was able to communicate with me by e mail. What he told me about Pat DeCicco wasn't good. 

He said, "I met Pat Diccio (sp) once, but didn't know him.  The talk I heard was that he was rough on her and presumably beat her. There much sympathy for her on this score.

All I recall about this was from conversations I overheard at my grandparents home ( they raised me ) around the Sunday dinner table.  The family usually got together then.  The talk was that he was a sleaze ball and that he treated Thelma badly--verbally and physically.  I have no specifics."

*                   *                   *

Although usually cast in some role other than "actor",  Pat DeCicco did act in one movie, 1935's NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS. In this movie he was one of the Greek gods who came to life when a magic potion was used on their statues.

We see him here at right with the wicked-looking blade with which he was supposed to have whacked off the head of Medusa. And we can watch this movie online now that it has been put on youtube.

Watch THE NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS 

Wedding of Pat DeCicco and Gloria Vanderbilt

BORDERTOWN:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2015/06/bordertown.html

 Carole Landis Site Says DiCicco broke her nose:

http://carolelandisofficial.blogspot.com/2011/11/myths-about-carole.html

Pat DeCicco:

http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/66/Pat++DiCicco/

http://www.geni.com/people/Pasquale-Pat-DiCicco/6000000007171275211

Pat DeCicco as Perseus in THE NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS:

benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/11/pat-di-cicco-as-perseus-in-night-life.htm

Pat DeCicco in the news:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19460930&id=zRwqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k4YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3014,3336163

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DU4bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dUwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2297%2C1487892

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qGBSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x3oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6929%2C1654115

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V6IkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OvoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5787%2C3668569

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PuogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SW4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2745%2C3053633

DeCicco Bon-Bons:

https://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2019/01/decicco-bon-bons.html

Ted Healy:

http://hollywoodessays.com/2013/01/06/did-the-creator-of-the-bond-movies-kill-the-creator-of-the-3-stooges/

https://books.google.com/books?id=u30zCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT242&lpg=PT242&dq=pat+dicicco+and+errol+flynn&source=bl&ots=6Wc9j_gb7P&sig=HOqKKZj4h-Hl50bCwcL5l3mvlZc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwievtzRsYjdAhVRZKwKHVgBA3AQ6AEwDXoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=pat%20dicicco%20and%20errol%20flynn&f=false

Virginia Hill:

http://www.theerrolflynnblog.com/2016/11/19/egged-by-the-mob/

Howard Hughes:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0400652/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes

Patsy Kelly and Jean Malin:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/09/patsy-faces-death.html

George Raft:

benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/10/george-raft.html

Mary Jo Tarola:

http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/667/Mary+Jo+Tarola/index.html

Thelma Todd article by Jeanette Meehan, Part II:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2014/10/thelma-todd-by-jeanette-meehan-part-ii.html

Gloria Vanderbilt and Pat DiCicco

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/12/gloria-vanderbilt-and-pat-dicicco.html

Gloria Bullfinch and Prince Del Slimo in Wonder Woman comics:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/04/gloria-bullfinch-and-prince-del-slimo.html

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