by Mark Shaw
There is also no absolute proof that Richard Kollmar, Carlos Marcello, J. Edgar Hoover or others who feared Kilgallen’s JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald assassination investigation, had her killed. Based on motive, Marcello is the chief suspect. Sadly, the very evidence to have sealed his fate may have existed in Kilgallen’s assassinations file, never recovered.
Any debate as to how Kilgallen died, and how, must include assessment of Marc Sinclaire’s 2000 interview statements where he disclosed his personal feelings about his dear friend’s death. He said, “Whatever happened, they didn’t realize that Dorothy wore a hairpiece. They also didn’t realize Dorothy wore false eyelashes. So they were not attuned to that side of it at all. They were really unprepared for how she dressed for the mornings. James [butler] would have known, Evelyn [James’ wife] would have known, everyone in that house would have known how she slept and where she slept.” He added, “So what is the conspiracy we’re talking about? That someone covered it up [her death] for what reason.”
Speculating, Sinclaire stated, “Let’s say Dorothy didn’t die at home. I don’t think she did. I think she died somewhere else. So that means you’ve gotta get her home, get her into the house, and take her upstairs. She didn’t die in that bedroom. That’s for sure. This is a mystery.” Adding to the intrigue, Sinclaire said, was the fact that Kilgallen’s regular chauffer Roosevelt Zanders was sick on the night before and morning of her death. A substitute was on duty, his name never disclosed.
Sinclaire added, “Whether [the mystery] can ever be solved I don’t know but it is a mystery. As I said, I don’t think she died at home. I think she was brought home.” Asked if Ron Pataky was involved, Sinclaire replied, “I think he had the connection but I don’t think he’d have enough guts to do something like that.”
In an audiotaped interview, Sinclaire addressed the “mystery” of Kilgallen death in a separate manner, stating, “There will be some things about Dorothy’s death you’ll never be able to find unless you have her [assassination investigation] notes. I don’t know whether Richard took those notes or whether they were ever in the house or what but she did have them at the time since I’ve seen her open them and look at them.”
Unfortunately, since November 8, 1965, a black cloud has hovered over Dorothy Kilgallen’s death. It began when Dr. James Luke deliberately, it appears from the ME documents, concealed evidence in the ME report and then added “circumstances undetermined” to the mix. Because of the uncertainly, because of the impression that he could not clearly indicate the true cause of death, Kilgallen’s reputation was soiled. Some called her a “pill-popper,” an “alky” or worse. With no conclusion reached as to her actual cause of death, rumors were the call of the day.
This remarkable woman of strong character, an inspiring and award-winning newspaper columnist, gifted wordsmith, insightful investigative reporter, author and revered television personality, and a true trailblazer in the fight for equal rights for women, deserves better. To the millions of fans, including the thousands of people who attended her showing and funeral service, she was a true hero, one who, as noted, broke the so-called “glass ceiling” long before the term became popular.
An apt description of Kilgallen, who never earned a college degree, confirms she was the type of person worthy of admiration. Her own Journal-
American portrayed the elegant woman, a true lady, as:
…a woman of alabaster complexion, china blue eyes and extreme sensibilities, [one] who dresses with stylist perfection, wears snow white kids gloves and picturesque hats, neither smokes or swears, drinks to moderation, and attends mass unfailingly each Sunday, she was romantic and sentimental, she weeps and blushes easily…she was warm and kind to her relatives and generous to her friends, loving to her children.
On the day of her funeral, the headline in the Journal-American was “They Came to Say Goodbye to Dorothy Kilgallen: People Came by the Thousands to Pay Last Respect.” The accompanied text read, “They came to say goodbye to Dorothy. From Washington Heights, from Flatbush, weaving mink hats or slightly shabby cloth coats, some frankly tearful, others solemn.” One mourner had flown to New York City from Gary, Indiana and another, Rita Swobodsin, called Kilgallen a hero of near superpower status, stating, “She brought my baby out of a burning building…the building I lived in caught on fire. Miss Kilgallen was across the street and she heard the sirens. She went into the building in her beautiful white and sequined dress and she took my little baby, wet diapers and all, and carried him out of the building.”
Even those who crossed hairs with Kilgallen, those with a grudge to bear, those who referred to her as “Dorothy Spillgarbage,” respected her courage. They also respected her dogged determination in search of the truth. William Randolph Hearst Jr., the second son of his legendary father, said of Kilgallen, “She was as good a reporter as ever came down the line,” adding, “Dorothy had three trademarks: a keen mind, a tailored exterior, and a steel rod as a backbone. [She] was life and death. She reached into the precipices of people’s emotions, in both her writings and her personal confrontations with her own existence. She was enthusiastic, open, full of life.”
What’s My Line? panelist and Murder One publisher Bennett Cerf commented on his friend during the November 14, 1965 tribute program shortly after Kilgallen died. After extolling her virtues as “a very tough game player; others knew her as a tough newspaper woman,” he then added, “But we got to know her as a human being, and a more loveable, softer, loyal person never lived, and we’re going to miss her terribly.” Guest panelist Steve Allen said of Kilgallen, “She was a brilliant woman, quick-minded intelligent.” This program is preserved at www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMT_
KFb1THA.
In his videotaped interview, Marc Sinclaire applauded Kilgallen. He stated, “She was very smart. And she didn’t appear tough. She didn’t come on like gangbusters but she was very brazen. She would write things that would shock people. She was a very good reporter, with the Sam Sheppard case, Profumo, with all that and remember it was a conservative time so what you might think as not startling today was startling then…She was the real thing.” In a separate audiotaped interview, Sinclaire added, “Someone said Dorothy was the first feminist, making money in a man’s world when women couldn’t do that.”
In a taped television interview with talk show host Joe Franklin, Johnnie Ray professed his admiration for Kilgallen. “People who did not know her totally misunderstood her. They thought she was a cold-hearted newspaper woman who would stop at nothing. That was cynical—attack, attack, attack. But Dorothy wasn’t any of these things; She was the softest, tenderest, most thoughtful, most loveable woman I have ever known.”
Ray added:
The relationship got to the point where I was always having to defend her. Every place we went, people knew we were close and they’d say, “What is she really like?” Unfortunately, she got that tough image from What’s My Line? She took that show very seriously. She took the game very seriously. She played it to win. She was a real game player. At P. J. Clarke’s at two or three in the morning we’d play games. [On the show], she’d forget there was a camera, forget there was an audience. So she had animage with the public of being aggressive and tough and she was none of those things.
Ray’s interviews, in four segments, are posted at www.youtube.com
/watch?v=lbobzDRDYRc.
To highlight Kilgallen’s life, the Journal-American devoted seven pages to Kilgallen’s life and times. Acclaimed lawyer Louis Nizer told a reporter Kilgallen had “keen insight, vivid and concise descriptive powers and an evaluating intelligence.” Producer David Merrick added, “Dorothy Kilgallen was one of the great reporters of our time. Her coverage of trials were journalistic masterpieces. She was a star and gave glamour and glitter to the world of journalism.” Sammy Davis, Jr. said, “Broadway won’t be the same without her.” Actress Joan Crawford lauded her close friend as “one of the gr
eatest women who ever lived.”
A Journal-American editorial following Kilgallen’s death celebrated
her life:
In a profession that is exacting in appraisal of its members, and cautious of excessive praise, Dorothy Kilgallen was recognized everywhere as an all-time great in the history of journalism. She was extraordinarily percept in getting inside events and the people who made them, whether they concerned the coronation of a queen or a murder trial.
She was continuously brilliant in putting down those perceptson paper, so clear and so meticulously attentive to selective details that readers were transported to the scene. Dorothy Kilgallen’s readers were not merely informed of happenings—they lived them.
Dorothy was courageous both in her disregard for physical safety, which at times she risked, and in her determination to let no one and nothing stand in her way of getting to the heart of a story.
Bill Slocum, a fellow reporter at the Journal-American, wrote, “[Dorothy] was never one of the boys. She was always very much a dame. She could be quite grand when the mood or the necessity was on her. Or she could sit down with the boys and drink a little whisky…she did her job on this earth and, by God, whatever she had to do she did as well as anybody ever did.” Famed journalist Dominick Dunne wrote, “…she projected an aura of glamour with her magnificent evening dresses and jewels…She had wit, power, and a mean streak…Everybody read her, and a lot of people were afraid of her.”
Plaudits aside regarding Kilgallen’s reputation as a top journalist, the legacy of the famed newspaperwoman must focus on her quest for justice. She had an undeniable urge to reveal the truth that was strong at age 17 when she first became a reporter and was even stronger during the days leading up to her murder. It was her father Jim who influenced her to pursue the truth, but somewhere along the line Kilgallen decided to speak for those who were denied justice, for those whose constitutional rights were violated.
To understand how powerful Kilgallen’s fight was to demand justice for others, one only has to recall how she stood up and shouted to the world when questioning whether injustice or prejudice reared its ugly head. Examples include her outrage at the anti-Communist book, Red Channels, defending Johnnie Ray when he was arrested, questioning Marilyn Monroe’s death, testifying for Lenny Bruce at trial, condemning the Dr. Sam Sheppard jury verdict, and her quest to discover whether Jack Ruby was denied a fair trial.
As Kilgallen’s insightful analysis of the famous trials in Murder One indicates, she was a competent professional with the wisdom of a trial lawyer and her dedication to investigate unmatched when she smelled something “fishy” as she did with the Ruby case. Sadly, Kilgallen, in all likelihood, was slain for writing a book, an affront to every journalist and author before, or since, her senseless death.
119 It may be recalled that Garrison was the New Orleans district attorney who investigated the JFK and Oswald assassinations to the extent of indicting Clay Shaw who was found not guilty by a jury. During his investigation, staffers advised Garrison to investigate Carlos Marcello but he declined to do so.
120 On February 19, 2016, this author forwarded an email to Pataky providing him with another opportunity to speak about Kilgallen. It read: “If there is any further information you wish to provide that can assist in the investigation of her death, or any matters you want to clear up regarding the information you gave me, please let me know.” Pataky responded by avoiding the request and instead wrote, “As you know, I have always leaned toward believing that her death was a natural one, although I have no more solid reason for believing that than do those who believe she was murdered,” before closing his email by stating, “I continue to miss the gal terribly, still very much aware at my present age of eighty (eighty one in May) that knowing her was one of the absolute most joyous highlights of what has been a fascinating life for me.”
CHAPTER 37
To the end, Dorothy Kilgallen did not stop. She never gave up her search for the truth; she never gave up the demand for justice while investigating the JFK assassination. As she wrote after the Jack Ruby trial, “The point to be remembered in this historic case is that the whole truth has not been told. Neither the state of Texas nor the defense put on all of its evidence before the jury. Perhaps it was not necessary, but it would have been desirable from the viewpoint of all of the American people.” For historical accuracy, Kilgallen was right.
Dorothy Kilgallen in all her glory.
Sadly, the same justice Kilgallen advocated for others was not provided her when she died. Kilgallen suffered when those in charge swept her death under the rug with absolutely no investigation of any sort.
Instead of a rush to judgment, there was a rush to injustice. The police never searched for fingerprints, nor did they comb the townhouse for other clues as to Kilgallen’s death. Neither Detectives Green nor Doyle conducted interviews of potential neighborhood witnesses who may have seen anyone coming and going from the townhouse during the hours before her death. In addition, there were:
•No police interviews of anyone at What’s My Line?
•No police interviews of patrons at P. J. Clarke’s.
•No police interviews of any of those who saw her at the Regency Hotel Bar or its employees.
•No police interview of Western Union manager Dave Spiegel.
•No police interview of Katherine Stone.
•No police interviews of Bob or Jean Bach.
In addition, neither Marc Sinclaire nor Charles Simpson was interviewed. No substantial interviews at the Kilgallen townhouse with the maid, Marie Eichler, the butler, James Clement, or any of Kilgallen’s children were conducted. There was also no interview of the tutor and family companion Ibne Hassan, and apparently only one brief interview with Richard Kollmar at the townhouse that was tainted, according to other accounts.
Perhaps most sadly, there was no police interview of Ron Pataky, despite his claims to the contrary. There was not one interview of anyone at his Ohio newspaper, including Jane Horricks. There were no interviews of football player Jim Otis or Anna Maria Alberghetti, both of whom had witnessed a violent side of Pataky. There was no police interview of the substitute limousine driver.
At fault, besides the police, were Kilgallen’s journalistic colleagues. They did not follow up on evasive statements made by Dr. Luke including his use of the quizzical words “circumstances undetermined” regarding cause of death. When he told the media he would not comment on “the form” in which Kilgallen had taken the barbiturates, that he would “leave that up in the air,” saying “we don’t want to give that out—well, just because,” these were red flags, just cause for further inquiry.
If a skilled reporter like Kilgallen had read Dr. Luke’s shady remarks, he or she would have been on alert that something was amiss. This would have caused them immediately to pound on his door, demanding answers. However, her journalistic colleagues were apparently paying little attention, since no one followed up on the curious comments. They let Dr. Luke get away with unprofessional conduct across the board.
Without doubt, this caused the first potential for the investigation to fail. From the medical examiner documents prepared by Dr. Luke, it is clear that his startling discovery that Tuinal was present in Kilgallen’s system—unaccounted for due to the lack of a prescription—should have triggered him to pass this information along to the police or the District Attorney. They, in turn, could then have launched an investigation—one that would have included questioning the witnesses mentioned who had firsthand knowledge of Kilgallen’s personal life, personal habits, drug and drinking habits, and her conduct during the night and the early morning hours before her death on November 8. For instance, if they had spoken to Bob Bach regarding Kilgallen’s never leaving P. J. Clarke’s until after midnight, or Western Union office manager David Spiegel, who spoke to Kilgallen at 2:20 a.m., they would have known Richard
was lying about Kilgallen having retired to bed before midnight.
This investigation would have, it is logical to believe, turned up new evidence that something was amiss regarding her death; that it was not the certain case of accidental death. However, Dr. Luke’s actions prohibited any possibility of an investigation. Instead, Kilgallen was mistakenly perceived as a druggie and a drunk who caused her own demise. Friends who loved her, and apparently family members to this day also took Dr. Luke’s decision at face value, none fighting like Kilgallen would have fought to uncover the truth when so many questions existed about how she died. They all let her down, walked away, and left poor Dorothy with a tarnished reputation that overshadowed the career of one of the most remarkable media figures in history.
Three years following her death, in 1968, Dr. Charles Umberger and John Broich had the second chance to right the wrong done to Kilgallen. They had proof, through the fresh toxicological tests, confirming the presence of the three dangerous barbiturates in her system, and they could have notified their superiors and/or police authorities of the new evidence. They did not do so, with Broich admitting that he kept the information “under his hat” as instructed by Dr. Umberger.
A decade later, two investigations failed to provide Kilgallen with the justice she deserved. Author Lee Israel first attempted to do so via her Kilgallen biography. To her credit, her research of the famous reporter and television star’s private and business lives was admirable. Also, toward the end of the book, she attempted to provide several possibilities as to how Kilgallen died. However, for whatever reason, Israel’s investigation was incomplete, since she never researched in depth the NYC ME’s documents by which she would have discovered the “smoking gun” presence of Tuinal in Kilgallen’s system noted in the autopsy report. This is true, unless that portion of the documentation was somehow deleted from any reports the author viewed.