BACK ON THE RADIO AGAIN

November 30, 2015   Monday

Two weeks ago, I did an interview in the Seattle, Washington area. It was supposed to be for 20 minutes, but the host found my historical findings and career so interesting that he kept me on for 40 minutes.

Last evening, I did an hour-interview with Morgan White Jr.'s clear-channel broadcast from Boston that covers the eastern two-thirds of the country. We discussed the career of comedian Joe E. Lewis and how he single-handedly saved New York City's Copacabana from bankruptcy and transformed it into America's most famous nightclub, Ben Siegel's glamorous life in Hollywood as the most sought-after dinner guest by Hollywood's film elite, and the Chicago gang's huge, long-term extortion of the movie companies under the leadership of Frank Nitti. Morgan and I also talked about two Las Vegans who were good friends to both of us. They were my Castaways Hotel/Casino sports book director Sonny Reizner and my career-long mentor, accountant Leo Lewis. Morgan was close to both men but his friendships with them was two decades after the two were so central in my life and career.

Morgan White Jr. is a delightful and inquisitive man who bills himself as the master of trivia for his improv performances at his radio shows, club appearances, convention meetings, and private events. He can speak knowledgeably on almost any subject, but his success really derives from his being a consummate entertainer who keeps his audiences fascinated with interesting concepts as well as facts. Whenever I call to see how he is doing, it always turns into a long conversation, because of our shared interests in American history, especially the Las Vegas casino industry and entertainment in general. He can be reached for booking performances at TriviaMorganWhiteJr.com.

I was introduced to Morgan by another author, Bob Mills, who was an attorney until he became a comedy writer for Bob Hope. Mills wrote a book about his long career with Hope, The Laugh Makers: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers under his legal name Robert L. Mills. During all the years of their collaboration, Hope only woke Mills up in the middle of the night one time, when the comedian asked his writer to name Hope's just-completed manuscript about his golfing experiences. Mills shot back "Confessions of a hooker - my lifelong love affair with golf." This bestseller made more money for the USO than any of Hope's books. It is still available in pro golf shops long after his passing. I always seek Bob Mills' advice about my book titles, and now he is instructing me in how to tweet. Something I plan to begin doing in the next few weeks. Bob Mills is not only a very thoughtful and creative fellow, but as you would expect, he can be very humorous to talk to.

After last night's interview, this morning I did a 15-minute interview on another Boston station. It is my fourth interview about 30 Illegal Years To The Strip with this hostess. She has a health show, and she attends several health-product conventions in Las Vegas each year, so she is very knowledgeable about what the city has to offer. She is especially interested in the gambling experience and the problems of gambling addiction.

BOOK SIGNING FOR THE PBS FUNDRAISER AT THE LAS VEGAS' MOB MUSEUM

October 27, 2015   Tuesday

What a fun experience my first book signing was two days ago. It was held in the gangster atmosphere of the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. My signing was part of a PBS' fundraising event that featured a special crime mystery who-done-it show production. I am appreciative to PBS for promoting 30 Illegal Years To The Strip because PBS is the TV network that is most concerned with historical authenticity.

Go Miss Marple. A photo of  this featured character in the Masterpiece Mysteries series highlighted the PBS publicity release about my upcoming book signing that the station sent out to its supporters. This brought in many old-time Las Vegans, who kept me occupied at my table throughout the show and long afterwards talking about the early years of Las Vegas that we all remember. One retired businessman brought up our first meeting in 1967, when I was just beginning my historical research. Quite an experience reminiscing with someone about an encounter a half-century ago. I was glad to contribute to this community effort and to donate my book-sale royalties to this important network.

By the way, I am a big fan of PBS' Lawrence Welk show because its extraordinary musicians perform the big-band versions of the hits of my youth, including that era's favorite songs from cultures around the world.

Here I am greeting the supporters of PBS, as they entered and left the Mob Museum's event room. I am sitting under a large photo of Ben Siegel's girlfriend, Virginia Hill, with a display of my books and flyers in front of me.

BACK ON THE RADIO WITH TWO INTERVIEWS

October 26, 2015   Monday

A week ago, I did a half-hour radio interview with a network that is new for me. Based in Vero Beach, Florida, the host was most genial, and he had me tell the stories I find most interesting from my book, 30 Illegal Years To The Strip.

Today, I did a fifteen-minute radio interview with a host in Boston, my third with her in the past six months. She wanted to talk about what the gambling experience was like for players in Las Vegas when the focus was on the casinos rather than conventions.

MY REVIEW OF MY FAVORITE TRUE-CRIME AUTHOR

September 10, 2015   Thursday

When true-crime author Dina Di Mambro reviewed my 30 Illegal Years To The Strip on Amazon.com, I reread her book so I could review it and confirmed she earned 5-Stars. My review follows.

Carefully researched and interesting true-crime writing in the glamour of Hollywood!

I really enjoyed True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, because the author handled every element of the presentation extremely well. I am impressed with her depth of research, her coherent organization of the issues, and the clarity of her writing. With each of the dozen murders, she presents a very human view of the lifestyle and character of the victim and the relevant key figures in his or her life. While factually too little evidence was ever discovered in some cases to judge guilt, in the other cases, she draws well-reasoned conclusions based on a strong preponderance of evidence. This all combines to create interesting, first-rate writing. That is why this book established her as my favorite true-crime author.

On a personal note, I was 17-years old when the press reported George Reeves committed suicide. Since Superman was one of my favorite early TV shows, I was very disturbed by this event. It was hard for me to process how a man who had so much going for him would commit suicide. In this book, the author proves Reeves' was murdered and points to the likely suspect. The author's excellent analysis transformed what appeared to be a suicide, which I found unsettling, into a murder that, while sad, is understandable.

MY THIRD APPEARANCE WITH A RADIO HOST

September 8, 2015

I did a third 45-minute interview with the female radio host in Los Angeles who is interested in legal issues. I think I have become her favorite return guest when an opening arises in her schedule.

MY THIRD RADIO INTERVIEW FOR SENIORS

August 13, 2015   Thursday

Today, I did the third one-hour monthly interview on the seniors' network. Each interview featured a different theme from 30 Illegal Years To The Strip. The network went into such detail because the senior listeners lived through the last of the era covered in the book and most knew these gangsters' names well. This show also focused on some of the many legal injustices of that era.

A READER'S WELCOME REVIEW!

August 7, 2015   Friday

Dina Di Mambro is my favorite true-crime author, so I was thrilled when she called to tell me she had read my book 30 Illegal Years To The Strip and critiqued it on Amazon.com with 5 Stars. This is her revue.

Well researched and fascinating!

This book is exhaustively researched and fascinating reading. Future authors who cite this work will owe a debt of gratitude to Bill Friedman for putting a wealth of documented information all in one place. "30 Illegal Years to the Strip" is more of an information bank than advertised "mafia encyclopedias", the exception being that it is well written, exciting and captures the reader's interest. It is not just a dry listing of the facts but is most readable. In addition to research on the previously published, the author does not rely strictly on secondary resources having done interviews of his own with mob legends such as "Jimmy Blue Eyes" and others. The author gives well rounded portrayals of leading mob figures showing them as real human beings---neither all good nor all bad. One myth that has been perpetuated over the decades is that Charles "Lucky" Luciano was involved with narcotics and prostitution for which he was arrested in 1936. Friedman sets the record straight; Luciano was framed by Thomas Dewey. While most definitely a foremost leader in organized crime, Luciano, at this point, was not involved with drugs and flesh peddling. The fact that Friedman corrects this misconception leads me to believe the veracity of the other information presented in this book. Love "30 Illegal Years to the Strip: The Untold Story" and I'm looking forward to reading other works by this author.