The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty

by Taraborrelli, J. Randy

  Articles referenced: “Press Release from Arthur Foristall & Co.—Hilton Hotels,” November 30, 1956; Louella Parsons, “Cupid to Merge Oil, Hotel Fortunes,” Hedda Hopper Papers, October 28, 1958; Elaine St. Johns, “A Day in the Life of a Credit Card,” Chicago Tribune Magazine, May 25, 1958.

  Note: All conversations between Trish Hilton and Natalie Wood and Patricia McClintock Hilton and Nicky Hilton were reconstructed from Trish Hilton’s first-person accounts.

  PART EIGHT. FOR LOVE OR MONEY

  Zsa Zsa Is Not Wanted/“The Most Beautiful Woman”/Zsa Zsa Teaches Trish About the Hiltons

  Interviews conducted: Bob Neal (June 1, 2005; August 4, 2005); Jason Lederer (October 1, 2011); Timothy Long (October 4, 2011); Doris Roberts (January 4, 2012); Ed Lozzi (March 2, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 3, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (June 15, 2012); Steven D’Orio (September 4, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: Jolie Gabor by Cindy Adams; One Lifetime Is Not Enough by Zsa Zsa Gabor; Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank; A Dreadful Man: A Personal, Intimate Book About George Sanders by Brian Aherne.

  Articles referenced: Joan Winchell, “Hilton Trinidad Opening,” Hedda Hopper Collection, June 27, 1962; Leslie Bennetts, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Zsa Zsa World,” Vanity Fair, September 2007.

  Legal documents referenced: Miscellaneous file notes from: Zsa Gabor Plaintiff vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc. (November 1960); “Deposition of Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara,” (June 14, 1979; July 9, 1979; July 10, 1979); “Contestant Constance Francesca Hilton’s Responses to Defendants William Barron Hilton and James E. Bates Interrogatories” (July 20, 1979); “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979).

  NOTES

  The dialogue in “Zsa Zsa Is Not Wanted” is taken directly from Zsa Zsa Gabor’s deposition from: miscellaneous file notes from Zsa Gabor Plaintiff vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc. (November 1960). I also used as background Zsa Zsa Gabor’s interviews with Bart Andrews in the summer of 1985 for a proposed autobiography by Andrews and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

  All of the dialogue between Patricia McClintock Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor and Patricia McClintock Hilton and Nicky Hilton in “Zsa Zsa Teaches Trish About the Hiltons” was drawn directly from the first-person account of Trish Hilton.

  Success/Sibling Rivalry on the Rise

  Interviews conducted: Bob Neal (May 4, 2005; June 1, 2005; August 4, 2005); Thomas Worthington (September 12, 2011); Everett Long (December 14, 2011; January 15, 2012; March 3, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 10, 2012); Terry Moore (April 11, 2012); Robert Wentworth (June 11, 2012; June 12, 2012; June 13, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture by Annabel Jane Wharton; The Hiltons by Jess Oppenheimer; Hilton Hotels Corporation: A Strategic Analysis by Bethany Su-Lan Liou.

  Articles referenced: “Hilton: The Stuff of a Hotel Man,” Newsweek cover story on Conrad Hilton, September 27, 1954; “Hilton Takes New Job,” Associated Press, January 3, 1961; “Hotels: By Golly!,” Time cover story on Conrad Hilton, July 19, 1963; Christopher P. Anderson, “The Barron of Las Vegas Is a Buttoned-Down Hilton,” People, September 8, 1975; Peter Lester, “When This Hotel Barron Says He’s Staying at the Hilton, That Means He’ll Be at Home,” People September 28, 1981; Daniel R. Lee, “How They Started: The Growth of Four Hotel Giants,” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, May 1985; Thomas Moore, “Barron Hilton Fights for Hilton Hotels” Fortune May 27, 1985; “Honeymoon Hotelier: Hilton’s Stock Quickly Doubled,” Financial World, January 21, 1997; Melanie F. Gibbs, “Hilton Hotels Corp: The Sleeping Giant Awakes,” National Real Estate Investor, February 1997; Christina Binkley, “Hilton Shareholders Approve the Spinoff of Gambling Unit,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 1998; Christina Brinkley, “Hilton Agrees to Pay $4 Billion for Promus,” Wall Street Journal, September 8, 1999; Bill Dwyre, “Barron Hilton’s Chargers Turned Short Stay into Long-Term Success,” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2009.

  Speeches referenced: “The Graduation Address,” University of Detroit, June 9, 1953; “City of Hope Award” address, Los Angeles, October 4, 1953.

  Legal documents referenced: “Codicil to Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (April 1, 1947); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (1955); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (October 31, 1973).

  Television programs referenced: What’s My Line?, Conrad Hilton, June 5, 1955; Person to Person, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955; The Ed Sullivan Show, Conrad Hilton, April 6, 1958; Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World, Arts & Entertainment, 2005; Larry King Live: Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Dazzling Life, November 26, 1991; Biography: Conrad Hilton, CNBC, 2010.

  Francesca’s Summer of Discontent/Olive’s Appeal to Zsa Zsa/“Zsa Zsa Who?”

  Volumes referenced: The Man Who Bought the Waldorf by Thomas Ewing Dabney; Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier by Mildred Houghton Comfort; Jolie Gabor by Cindy Adams; Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank.

  Articles referenced: Lloyd Shearer, “He’s Americanizing the World,” Parade, July 21, 1963; Dora Jane Hamblin, “In 19 Lands, Instant America: His Hotels Keep Conrad Hilton Hopping,” Life, August 30, 1963.

  Legal documents referenced: “Deposition of Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara,” (June 14, 1979; July 9, 1979; July 10, 1979); “Contestant Constance Francesca Hilton’s Responses to Defendants William Barron Hilton and James E. Bates Interrogatories” (July 20, 1979); “Deposition of Olive Wakeman” (September 12, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979); “Deposition of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 19, 1979); “Declaration of Constance Francesca Hilton” (March 24, 1980).

  NOTES

  The letter from Conrad N. Hilton to Francesca Hilton (signed “Daddy” and undated), as well as the letters from Hilton to Francesca Hilton (April 30, 1966); from Olive Wakeman to Zsa Zsa Gabor (May 5, 1966); and from Zsa Zsa Gabor to Olive Wakeman (no date) were exhibits presented during discovery in the case Francesca Hilton v. The Estate of Conrad N. Hilton.

  The conversation between Zsa Zsa Gabor and Olive Wakeman was reconstructed using both Gabor’s and Wakeman’s depositions.

  The depositions of Olive Wakeman (September 12, 1979) and Frances Kelly Hilton (October 19, 1979) are both incomplete, with some pages having gone missing over the years. For my purposes, I utilized the pages that were available to me.

  “He’s Americanizing the World,” by Lloyd Shearer, was a nationally syndicated article in the Parade magazine supplement of many newspapers across America on July 21, 1963. In this thorough profile of (and interview with) Conrad, no mention was made of his daughter, Francesca. “He has three sons by his first marriage,” was all the writer had to say about Hilton’s children. This lapse mirrors Conrad’s autobiography, Be My Guest, which also doesn’t mention the existence of Francesca, even though it was published in 1957 when Francesca was about ten.

  I also referenced “Conrad Hilton Speech—Houston Texas, Groundbreaking for the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management,” October 28, 1969.

  The Simple Life/“It’s Going to Be Okay, Brother”

  Interviews conducted: Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 2012)

  Volumes referenced: Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton; The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story by Whitney Bolton; Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture by Annabel Jane Wharton.

  Legal documents referenced: “Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (October 31, 1973)

  All of the dialogue between Patricia McClintock Hilton and Mary Hilton in “The Simple Life,” and later between Trish Hilton and her family members, was drawn from the first-person account of Trish Hilton.
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  PART NINE. IN HIS FATHER’S HOUSE

  Nicky Causing Problems/The TWA Merger/“Tired of Being Misunderstood”/Nothing Personal/Showdown/A Done Deal

  Interviews conducted: Bob Neal (March 1, 1998; May 4, 2005; June 1, 2005; August 4, 2005); Patricia Skipworth Hilton (February 27, 2012; February 28, 2012; April 5, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 10, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (June 15, 2012); Myron Harpole (August 15, 2012; August 17, 2012; August 20, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: House of Hilton by Jerry Oppenheimer; The Man Who Bought the Waldorf by Thomas Ewing Dabney; Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier by Mildred Houghton Comfort; Hilton Hotels Corporation: A Strategic Analysis by Bethany Su-Lan Liou.

  Articles referenced: Frank Lee Donoghue, “Hilton to Open Huge Hotel in New York,” Herald-Examiner, June 25, 1963; Frank Lee Donoghue, “Boom of Cannon Opens Hilton Hotel,” Herald-Examiner, June 26, 1963; Harrison Carroll, “Nicky, Trish Hilton Marriage on the Rocks,” August 6, 1963, Hedda Hopper Papers; Suzy, “Happy Birthday Dear Connie,” Town & Country, December 1963; Daryl E. Lembke, “Hilton Opens S.F. Hotel, Vows to Keep Building,” Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1964; Daniel R. Lee, “How They Started: The Growth of Four Hotel Giants,” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, May 1985; “Personal Account: A Hotel Man Remembers,” New York Times, December 2, 1990.

  Legal documents referenced: “Deposition of Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (July 9, 1979; July 10, 1979); “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979).

  NOTES

  The conversation between Conrad Hilton and Nicky Hilton found in “ ‘Tired of Being Misunderstood’ ” was witnessed by Bob Neal, and is reconstructed here using his first-person account.

  The quote from Frank Wangeman is drawn from “Personal Account: A Hotel Man Remembers,” New York Times, December 2, 1990.

  The conversation between Nicky Hilton, Barron Hilton, and Conrad Hilton in “Showdown” was witnessed by Bob Neal and reconstructed using his first-person account.

  I referenced “The Oral History and Interview of Frank Wangeman” by Cathleen D. Baird.

  I also referenced the “Hilton Hotels Corporation Annual Report” (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969).

  Trish Enters Conrad’s Den/Nicky Considers Suing His Family/From Kings to Paupers/Trish Tries Again with Conrad

  Interviews conducted: Arthur Crowley (January 4, 2005); Stewart Armstrong (November 13, 2011; November 14, 2011; November 15, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012; June 15, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 12); Myron Harpole (August 15, 2012; August 17, 2012; August 20, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton; The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story by Whitney Bolton; Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture by Annabel Jane Wharton.

  Articles referenced: “Nicky Hilton’s Wife Filed for Divorce?,” Associated Press, February 11, 1964; Hedda Hopper, “Nicky Hilton and Wife in Marital Trouble,” Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1964; Louella Parsons, “Nicky Hilton’s Abroad,” Herald-Examiner, May 15, 1965; “Nicky Hilton Threatens Expose,” Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1968; Hedda Hopper, “Nicky Hilton v. Family,” Los Angeles Times, December 11, 1968; Louella Parsons, “Nicky Hilton Ousted?,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, January 4, 1969; Christopher P. Anderson, “The Barron of Las Vegas Is a Buttoned-Down Hilton,” People, September 8, 1975; Daniel R. Lee, “How They Started: The Growth of Four Hotel Giants,” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, May 1985; “Honeymoon Hotelier: Hilton’s Stock Quickly Doubled,” Financial World, January 21, 1997; Melanie F. Gibbs, “Hilton Hotels Corp: The Sleeping Giant Awakes,” National Real Estate Investor, February 1997; Christina Binkley, “Hilton Shareholders Approve the Spinoff of Gambling Unit,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 1998; Christina Binkley, “Hilton Agrees to Pay $4 Billion for Promus,” Wall Street Journal, September 8, 1999); Bill Dwyre, “Barron Hilton’s Chargers Turned Short Stay into Long-Term Success,” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2009.

  NOTES

  The conversations between Patricia McClintock Hilton and Conrad Hilton in “Trish Enters Conrad’s Den” and in “Trish Tries Again with Conrad” were reconstructed using her first-person accounts.

  The meeting between Arthur Crowley and Nicky Hilton was reconstructed using Crowley’s first-person accounts. Mr. Crowley was interviewed regarding Nicky Hilton on January 3, 2005, for my biography of Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth.

  The conversation between Nicky Hilton and Stewart Armstrong in “From Kings to Paupers” was reconstructed based on Armstrong’s first-person account.

  “Connie talked about Nicky a lot,” his niece Frances Peterson confirmed in her interview for this book. “He said he was sorry the way Nicky had ruined his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, and that he felt badly that Elizabeth had gotten such a raw deal out of it. He said he had empathy for Elizabeth. He also told me that, as he got older, he had come to a new understanding of Nicky’s pain and suffering, and that he now viewed Nicky’s alcoholism as a disease and not a human weakness. He talked about the TWA takeover and said he regretted the way it happened, but that it was purely business. Still, it hurt him because of what it did to Nicky. So, yes, Nicky was on his mind a lot.”

  Marilyn Hilton’s Plea to Elizabeth Taylor/Elizabeth Makes a Decision/A Grasp at Happiness/The Death of Nicky Hilton/The Wake at Casa Encantada

  Interviews conducted: Patricia Skipworth Hilton (February 27, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012; March 12, 2012; June 15, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 2012); Robert Wentworth (June 11, 2012; June 12, 2012; June 13, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton; The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story by Whitney Bolton; Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture by Annabel Jane Wharton; House of Hilton by Jess Oppenheimer.

  Articles referenced: “Hilton: The Stuff of a Hotel Man,” Newsweek cover story on Conrad Hilton, September 27, 1954; Christopher P. Anderson, “The Barron of Las Vegas Is a Buttoned-Down Hilton,” People, September 8, 1975; Jeff Higley, “Hilton’s Portfolio Set for Long Haul,” Hotel and Motel Management, February 19, 2001; Daniel R. Lee, “How They Started: The Growth of Four Hotel Giants,” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, May 1985.

  NOTES

  The meetings that took place between Marilyn Hilton and Elizabeth Taylor were recounted by a close friend of Marilyn Hilton’s who requested anonymity.

  The conversations between Trish Hilton and Nicky Hilton in “A Grasp at Happiness” and “The Death of Nicky Hilton” were reconstructed using Mrs. Hilton’s first-person accounts.

  The conversation between Patricia Skipworth Hilton and Barron Hilton in “The Death of Nicky Hilton” was reconstructed using Mrs. Hilton’s first-person account.

  PART TEN. SECRETS

  Interviews conducted: Carole Wells Doheny, (March 8, 2012; March 12, 2012; June 15, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012).

  Volumes referenced: Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton; The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story by Whitney Bolton; Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture by Annabel Jane Wharton.

  Articles referenced: Christopher P. Anderson, “The Barron of Las Vegas Is a Buttoned-Down Hilton,” People, September 8, 1975; Christina Binkley, “Hilton Agrees to Pay $4 Billion for Promus,” Wall Street Journal, September 8, 1999; Christina Binkley, “Hilton Shareholders Approve the Spinoff of Gambling Unit,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 1998; Bill Dwyre, “Barron Hilton’s Chargers Turned Short Stay into Long-Term Success,” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2009.

  Legal documents referenced: “Codicil to Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (April 1, 1947); “Hilton Hotels Corporation Press Release�
�� (April 23, 1947); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (June 3, 1955); miscellaneous file notes from Zsa Gabor Plaintiff vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc. (November 1960); “Letter from Conrad N. Hilton to Francesca Hilton” (September 20, 1971); “Letter from Conrad N. Hilton to Mr. G. Bentley Ryan and Mrs. Olive M. Wakeman” (September 20, 1971); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton” (October 31, 1973); “Contestant Constance Francesca Hilton’s Responses to Defendants William Barron Hilton and James E. Bates Interrogatories” (July 20, 1979); “Deposition of Olive Wakeman” (September 12, 1979); “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979); “Deposition of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 19, 1979); “Declaration of Constance Francesca Hilton” (March 24, 1980).

  Television programs referenced: The Joey Bishop Show, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, July 14, 1969; The David Frost Show, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, August 20, 1970; The David Frost Show, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 12, 1970; Phil Donahue, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, August 10, 1971; One on One with John Tesh, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 10, 1991; Larry King Live, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 26, 1991; Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World, Arts & Entertainment, 2005; The Hiltons, Arts & Entertainment, 2005; Biography: Conrad Hilton, CNBC, 2010.

  NOTES

  Zsa Zsa Gabor’s telegram (October 29, 1968), and Conrad Hilton’s response to it (October 29, 1968), were both produced in the discovery process of the case Constance Francesca Hilton v. Frances Hilton.