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Jewish gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel is frequently credited with corrupting Hollywood’s unions and “inventing” Las Vegas. Siegel did have moviestar friends, but the true story of his involvement with the Flamingo casino is also the story of a much bigger movieland player: Hollywood Reporter founder/publisher/columnist Billy Wilkerson.
Bugsy Siegel mugshot, 1928
Virginia Hill, 1940's
Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “More” by Madonna.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
Yellow Leaves 5 - Peter Sandberg
Club Noir 2 - John Allen
One Two Three 5 - Peter Sandberg
Goofy Moments 3 - Magnus Ringblom
The Piano And Me 3 - Peter Sandberg
Kansas City Flashback 2 - Magnus Ringblom
In The Lounge 02 - Lars Olvmyr
City Fashion 3 - Björn Skogsberg
Eventually Maybe - Oakwood Station
Billy Wilkerson and his Hollywood Reporter staff
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.
Editor: Cameron Drews.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.
The Flamingo, Las Vegas, 1947