Fred Otash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 78.26 (talk | contribs) at 16:55, 11 April 2018 (Removing link(s): Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Digital Journal closed as soft delete (XFDcloser)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fred Otash (January 7, 1922 – October 5, 1992) was a Hollywood police officer, private investigator, and author. Fred Otash has been interviewed numerous times in the media, including in 1957 by Mike Wallace, which can be viewed online at the University of Texas.[1]

Otash worked for Hollywood Research Incorporated, which did business with the tabloid magazine Confidential.[2] He is also known for being hired by Peter Lawford to investigate Marilyn Monroe.[2] An FBI file released as part of the JFK Assassination Records suggest that Otash was investigating Lawford and John F. Kennedy, and attempted to talk a call girl into arranging a meeting with Kennedy in which she would wear a wire to record incriminating statements.[3] Fred Otash also was involved in the investigation of the "Wrong Door Raid" involving Frank Sinatra. Otash died at the age of 70 on October 5, 1992. Otash suffered from emphysema and high blood pressure. He wrote about his life in his memoir, Investigation Hollywood: Memoirs Of Hollywood's Top Private Detective. Fred Otash was the youngest of 6 children and is survived by his daughter, Colleen Otash, and his four sisters, Evelyn Abisalih, Grace Steiner, Selma Otash and Lila Merhige, and one brother Mitchel.[4]

Author James Ellroy has used a fictionalized version of Fred Otash in two of his novels from the Underworld USA Trilogy.[5] Otash appears in The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's a Rover.[5] Otash is also the main character in another story by James Ellroy called Shakedown. The movie Chinatown's (1974) main character, played by Jack Nicholson, was also based in part on Fred Otash.[6]

As of December 2014, a Fred Otash TV show is in development at HBO and is being produced by Se7en director, David Fincher, as well as the writer of L.A. Confidential, a film which is very inspired by the life and times of Otash, James Ellroy.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Wallace Television Interview". 1957-08-25. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  2. ^ a b Galloway, Stephen (2013-06-06). "Rock Hudson's Wife Secretly Recorded His Gay Confession". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  3. ^ Jones, M.A. "US Government Memorandum" (PDF). National Archives. NARA. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ^ Oliver, Myrna (1992-10-08). "Fred Otash; Colorful Hollywood Private Eye and Author". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  5. ^ a b Galloway, Stephen (2013-06-06). "Rock Hudson's Wife Secretly Recorded His Gay Confession". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  6. ^ Morales, Eric (2013-06-10). "Private Investigator: 'I listened to Marilyn Monroe die'". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-16.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Otash&oldid=835930198"