BBL Books 2 Brad Lewis Hollywood’s Celebrity Gangster The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen BBL Books All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by: BBL Books www.bradleylewis.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author and BBL Books. Copyright © 2007 by Brad Lewis First edition ISBN-10: 1-929631-65-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-929631-65-0 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lewis, Bradley. Hollywood’s celebrity gangster : the incredible life and times of Mickey Cohen / Bradley Lewis. -- 1st ed. p. : ill. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-929631-65-0 ISBN-10: 1-929631-65-0 1. Cohen, Mickey, 1914–1976. 2. Criminals-- California--Los Angeles--Biography. 3. Gangsters-- California--Los Angeles--Biography. 4. Jewish criminals--United States--Biography. 5. Organized crime--California--Los Angeles--History. HV6248.C64 L49 2007 364.109/2 5 Brad Lewis has penned a beauty titled Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster: The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen (396 pages, paperbound, $22). Mickey Cohen, who died in 1976, was a colorful, feared West Coast gangster-gambler who knew the biggest names in Hollywood including the Rat Pack, was a bodyguard for Bugsy Siegel, a friend of Las Vegas' late Liz Renay and on first names with the biggest guys in the Mafia. Well-indexed and illustrated, Lewis book about Cohen draws from thousands of resources -- a virtual treasure trove of Mafia-related books, articles and interviews. The book is divided into five parts: Cohen's early days from 1913 to 1938, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles; from 1938 to 1947 Headliners: Mickey and Bugsy; 1947 to 1955 Mickey, The Celebrity; 1955 to 1967, Mickey Redux; and 1967 to 1976, The Survivor. Each section has something for everyone interested in the Mob with theories on who shot Bugsy in 1947; a look at the early days of Las Vegas and why Cohen liked certain hotels; and his connection with Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Cohen was a survivor. Not a big man (he was five-five), he managed to survive gang wars; feuds; the federal government's attempts to put him away; and he had some of the biggest name lawyers representing him. His real name was Meyer Harris (Michael) Cohen and there's some doubt to when he was born (1911, 1913 or 1914) "purportedly" in Brownsville's section of Brooklyn, but he grew up in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles. He'd get educated later on the streets of New York, Chicago and Detroit. Cohen's life crossed the lives of many. The book's index includes the Mob's Albert Anastasia; stripper Candy Barr; Hollywood big shot Harry Cohn; Frank Costello; gangster Jack Dragna; Jimmy Fratianno; Momo Giancana; J. Edgar Hoover; racket investigator Estes Kefauver; Mob brain Meyer Lansky; actor George Raft; the dapper Johnny Rosselli; ; President John Kennedy and his brother Robert. This is both a fascinating history of time gone by and a biography of a survivor and Lewis has written it with flash and substance. -- Howard Schwartz - Gambler's Book Club, Las Vegas "I found Celebrity Gangster intense, dramatic, a real page turner." -- --Irwin Winkler, Producer of Rocky, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Night and the City and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. -- Irwin Winkler "Never in my years of reading for pleasure, has such an infamous mobster as the late Mickey Cohen been written about with such insight, truthfulness and good humor as Brad Lewis has accomplished in this page-turning bio. For anyone into Jewish or even gentile folklore, this is a must read." ----Arthur Marx, author of Life With Groucho, The Nine Lives of Mickey Rooney, Goldwyn: A Biography of the Man Behind the Myth , Red Skelton, The Secret Life of Bob Hope , Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself ) - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and the play, The Impossible Years. -- Arthur Marx A colorful biography of the Mick, a nattily attired, 5-foot-5-inch L.A. gangster who declared he never killed anyone who ``didn't deserve killing" and who feared nothing but germs (hence, his habit of taking 2- to 3-hour showers). ``Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster" is a fascinating portrait of how a Boyle Heights newsboy grew up to cross paths with movie stars, religious leaders, jetsetters and newspaper folks when he wasn't dodging assassination attempts on Sunset Boulevard. Lewis' book shines a light on an often overlooked chapter of the history of crime, L.A.'s mid-20th century underworld (called the ``Vicecapades'' by one columnist). Mickey struck me as a guy I would have loved to dine with as long as it wasn't on Sunset Boulevard. ----Steve Harvey, "Only in LA", Los Angeles Times -- Steve Harvey, "Only in LA", Los Angeles Times This is Mickey Cohen! Inside and Out! The most comprehensive biography ever written about Hollywood's bantam gangster. Bradley Lewis gives us the complete story of the most famous West Coast mobster in history, complete with his ties to the underworld hierarchy across the United States. Lewis shows us multiple sides of Cohen and for the first time gives us a clear understanding of his far-reaching 7 influence, separating fact from fiction along the way. -- AmericanMafia.com - Allan R. May -- Allan R. May Americanmafia.com "I found Celebrity Gangster intense, dramatic, a real page turner." -- --Irwin Winkler, Producer of Rocky, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Night and the City and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. "Never in my years of reading for pleasure, has such an infamous mobster as the late Mickey Cohen been written about with such insight, truthfulness and good humor as Brad Lewis has accomplished in this page-turning bio. For anyone into Jewish or even gentile folklore, this is a must read." ----Arthur Marx, author of Life With Groucho, The Nine Lives of Mickey Rooney, Goldwyn: A Biography of the Man Behind the Myth , Red Skelton, The Secret Life of Bob Hope , Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself ) - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and the play, The Impossible Years. "This is Mickey Cohen! Inside and Out! The most comprehensive biography ever written about Hollywood's bantam gangster. Bradley Lewis gives us the complete story of the most famous West Coast mobster in history, complete with his ties to the underworld hierarchy across the United States. Lewis shows us multiple sides of Cohen and for the first time gives us a clear understanding of his far-reaching influence, separating fact from fiction along the way." -----Allan R. May, AmericanMafia.com 8 For Mr. 9 Acknowledgments The book was considerably enriched by Linda Lewis, Jack Scovil, and Allan May The criminal has no hates or fears—except very personal ones. He is possibly the only human left in the world who looks lovingly on society. —Ben Hecht Screenwriter and author Contents Prologue ........................................................... ix Part One From Brooklyn to Los Angeles 1913–1938 1. Once Upon a Time in Boyle Heights ......... 3 2. Not-So-Famous Jewish Boxers ................. 10 3. Tinsel Town .............................................. 18 Part Two Headliners: Mickey and Bugsy 1938–1947 4. Setting Up Shop ........................................ 29 5. The Jews Return to the Desert ................. 47 6. Goodbye Bugsy ......................................... 62 7. Hello Mickey ............................................ 67 Part Three Mickey, the Celebrity 1947–1955 vii 8. The Fundraiser ......................................... 77 9. The Virtuoso ............................................. 83 10. Mickey and the Seven Dwarfs .................. 95 11. Shootout on the Sunset Strip ................... 110 12. More Vicecapades ................................... 121 13. Bad Boy Mickey...................................... 130 14. Federal Heat ........................................... 143 15. Showtime ................................................ 154 16. The Fighter Stumbles ............................. 165 17. Extended Vacation by the Bay ............... 176 viii Part Four Mickey Redux 1955–1967 18. Starting Over ........................................... 187 19. Prime-Time Mickey ................................ 201 20. There’s No Business Like Show Business213 21. Who Dunnit? ........................................... 221 22. I Want To Be in Pictures ........................ 231 23. Another Knockdown ............................... 238 24. Mickey’s World ....................................... 246 25. Let’s Get Mickey ..................................... 258 26. Time Out for Politics .............................. 263 27. Down for the Count ................................ 270 28. Stripes But No Stars ............................... 282 Part Five The Survivor 1967–1976 29. Things Change ....................................... 301 30. Mickey’s Back in Town .......................... 306 31. Mickey, the Elder Statesman .................. 314 32. The Last Round ...................................... 319 Epilogue ........................................................ 327 ix Mickey Cohen Headlines .............................. 331 Jewish Mob Deaths ....................................... 332 Bibliography .................................................. 333 Notes ............................................................