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Freddy Otash was the man in the know and the man to know in ‘50s L.A. He was a rogue cop, a sleazoid private eye, a shakedown artist, a pimp—and, most notably, the head strong-arm goon for Confidential magazine.
Confidential presaged the idiot internet—and delivered the dirt, the dish, the insidious ink, and the scurrilous skank. It mauled misanthropic movie stars, sex-soiled socialites, and putzo politicians. Mattress Jack Kennedy, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson—Frantic Freddy outed them all. He was the Tattle Tyrant who held Hollywood hostage, and now he’s here to CONFESS.
“I’m consumed with candor and wracked with recollection. I’m revitalized and resurgent. My meshugenah march down memory lane begins NOW.”
In Freddy’s viciously entertaining voice, Widespread Panic torches 1950s Hollywood to the ground. It’s a blazing revelation of coruscating corruption, pervasive paranoia, and of sin and redemption with nothing in between.
Here is James Ellroy in savage quintessence. Freddy Otash confesses—and you are here to read and succumb.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 15, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593411049
- File size: 354366 KB
- Duration: 12:18:15
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from April 26, 2021
This devious and delicious side trip into the life and exploits of real-life Hollywood fixer Fred Otash from MWA Grand Master Ellroy (The Storm) has a cool conceit: Otash dies of a massive coronary in 1992, but has spent the last three decades stuck in purgatory, and his only way out is a full confession of his lifetime of misdeeds; and confess Otash does. In the 1950s, Otash transforms himself from bent cop to even more crooked private eye, delivering the dirt on Hollywood celebs, outing communist party members, and exposing then-verboten interracial relationships. When puritanical Chief William Parker of the LAPD builds a righteous legal case against Otash, he strikes a deal to let the ex-cop slide in exchange for help in taking down the salacious tabloid Confidential. And so Otash embarks on a dangerous path of playing both sides against the middle. Numerous celebrities appear in suitably compromising positions, including Rock Hudson, Jack Kennedy, and a sizzling cast of Hollywood femmes fatale. The infamous rape spree of Caryl Chessman (aka the Red Light Bandit) adds another layer of sordidness. Ellroy’s total command of the jazzy, alliterative argot of the era never fails to astonish. This is a must for L.A. noir fans. -
The intense opening of this audiobook and narrator Craig Wasson's delivery grab listeners from the start. The story focuses on Freddy Otash, a former cop who eventually becomes a private investigator who loves doing dirty work. Otash has also worked for CONFIDENTIAL MAGAZINE, a Hollywood rag, where he picked up dirt on just about everyone. Now he's telling what he knows. Wasson becomes Otash, narrating with the voice one expects from an unpolished former cop who once was as comfortable shaking down criminals as he was arresting them. Wasson also brings out the personalities of author James Ellroy's other characters in ways listeners will remember. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
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