ISBN: 0753522306
Godina izdanja: 2018
Jezik: Engleski
Autor: Strani

Lee Server - Handsome Johnny: The Criminal Life of Johnny Rosselli, the Mob`s Man in Hollywood
Virgin Books, 2018
532 str.
meki povez
stanje: vrlo dobro

Handsome Johnny: The Life and Death of Johnny Rosselli: Gentleman Gangster, Hollywood Producer, CIA Assassin

The Mob`s `Man in Hollywood, ` Johnny Rosselli introduced big-time crime to the movie industry, corrupting unions and robbing moguls in the biggest extortion plot in history. He befriended many of the biggest names in the movie capital and seduced some of its greatest female stars. In a remarkable turn of events, Rosselli himself would become a Hollywood filmmaker, producing two of the best film noirs of the 1940s. Following years in federal prison, he oversaw the birth and heyday of Las Vegas. Working for new Chicago boss Sam Giancana, he became the gambling mecca`s behind-the-scenes boss. Server provides an amazing tale of organized crime as corporate power. -- adapted from jacket.

`Johnny Rosselli was at the center of the twentieth century`s darkest secrets. He was a legendary figure in the American underworld, his influence felt everywhere from Golden Age Hollywood to Mob-run Las Vegas, from Cold War battlefronts to the JFK White House. Al Capone`s last protégé, `Handsome Johnny` flourished for an extraordinary half century, beginning in the bloody bootlegging wars of the Roaring Twenties until he was tapped to be the Mob`s man in Hollywood, seducing seductresses such as Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe, and becoming indispensable to Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn. Later, Rosselli himself would even make movies, producing two of the best film noirs of the 1940s. In the 1950s, Rosselli was deployed by new Chicago boss Sam Giancana to oversee the creation of Las Vegas. He was the gambling mecca`s behind-the-scenes power, running the town from his suites at the Tropicana and Desert Inn, and enjoying Rat Pack nights with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He would later oversee the Vegas takeover by bizarre billionaire Howard Hughes. In his most unexpected and combustible role, Rosselli became a central figure in the ClA`s attempt to assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. And even that patriotic job, as an assassin, was not Rosselli`s final chapter. From a remarkable stylist, and written with the vivid and surprising detail that can only come from years of research, [this book] is full of glamour and grit, guns and gams, a rich roller coaster of a biography.`--Jacket.

“No one knew more about the mob, Hollywood and Las Vegas than Johnny Rosselli, and Lee Server got it all in Handsome Johnny.” (Nicholas Pileggi, best-selling author of Goodfellas)

A rich biography of the legendary figure at the center of the century’s darkest secrets: an untold story of Golden Age Hollywood, modern Las Vegas, JFK-era scandal, and international intrigue from Lee Server, the New York Times best-selling author of Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing....

A singular figure in the annals of the American underworld, Johnny Rosselli’s career flourished for an extraordinary 50 years, from the bloody years of bootlegging in the Roaring Twenties - the last protege of Al Capone - to the modern era of organized crime as a dominant corporate power. The Mob’s “Man in Hollywood”, Johnny Rosselli introduced big-time crime to the movie industry, corrupting unions and robbing moguls in the biggest extortion plot in history.

A man of great allure and glamour, Rosselli befriended many of the biggest names in the movie capital - including studio boss Harry Cohn, helping him to fund Columbia Pictures - and seduced some of its greatest female stars, including Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe. In a remarkable turn of events, Johnny himself would become a Hollywood filmmaker - producing two of the best film noirs of the 1940s.

Following years in federal prison, Rosselli began a new venture, overseeing the birth and heyday of Las Vegas. Working for new Chicago boss Sam Giancana, he became the gambling mecca’s behind-the-scenes boss, running the town from his suites and poolside tables at the Tropicana and Desert Inn, enjoying the Rat Pack nightlife with pals Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In the 1960s, in the most unexpected chapter in an extraordinary life, Rosselli became the central figure in a bizarre plot involving the Kennedy White House, the CIA, and an attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro.

Based upon years of research, written with compelling style and vivid detail, Handsome Johnny is the great telling of an amazing tale.

Table of Contents
Out of the past
Once upon a time in Los Angeles
Our man in Hollywood
Bleeding the dream merchants
The big squawk
Crime don`t pay
A warlock`s carnival
Neon Babylon
The spy who came in from the pool
A coffin for Johnny


Nonfiction, Biography, Crime, 0753522306