The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty (76 page)

Articles referenced: “Hilton: The Stuff of a Hotel Man,”
Newsweek
cover story on Conrad Hilton, September 27, 1954; “Hotels: By Golly!,”
Time
cover story on Conrad Hilton, July 19, 1963.

Legal documents referenced: “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (June 3, 1955).

NOTES

Details of the décor of Conrad Hilton’s home at this time—circa 1941—were culled from photographs of the home taken by Marcus deLeon.

The anecdote having to do with Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes is as per the memory of Stewart Armstrong.

The interaction between Conrad Hilton and Maria de Amaté is as per the memory of her daughter, Connie, and based on conversations mother and daughter had about Maria’s work for Hilton.

Special mention must be made of the work of Cathleen D. Baird, former director and archivist of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Houston. Her exhaustive online in-house biography,
Conrad N. Hilton: Innkeeper Extraordinary, Statesman and Philanthropist, 1897–1979
, was crucial to my research. It was last updated on April 2, 2004. I also referenced Ms. Baird’s excellent “Hats Off to Hilton,” a videotape presentation celebrating Conrad Hilton’s hundredth birthday, for the 1987 Gourmet Night program of the Conrad N. Hilton College.

Humble Beginnings/Hotelier/Losing It All

Interviews conducted: Connie Espinoza de Amaté (October 1, 2011); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012; March 12, 2012; June 15, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012); Stewart Armstrong (November 13, 2011; November 14, 2011; November 15, 2012); Mark Young (July 20, 2012; August 1, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
The Man Who Bought the Waldorf
by Thomas Ewing Dabney;
The Silver Spade
by Whitney Bolton;
Jolie Gabor
by Cindy Adams;
Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture
by Annabel Jane Wharton;
Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier
by Mildred Houghton Comfort;
Portals at the Pass: El Paso Architecture to 1930
by Evan Haywood Antone;
Historic El Paso: An Illustrated Biography
by Ken Flynn;
Pass of the North: Four Centuries on the Rio Grande
, volumes 1 and 2, by C. L. Sonnichsen;
El Paso: A Borderlands History
by W. H. Timmons. I also referenced the pamphlet
Downtown Historic Walking Tour: El Paso
, as well as Texas Historical Commission,
Texas Historic Sites Atlas
, http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us.

Articles referenced: Dora Jane Hamblin, “In 19 Lands, Instant America: His Hotels Keep Conrad Hilton Hopping,”
Life
, August 30, 1963.

Legal documents referenced: “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979); “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979); “Deposition of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 19, 1979);
Constance Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
[original filing]” (March 13, 1979); “
Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
[First Amended Contest of Purported Will]” (March 13, 1980).

Television programs referenced:
What’s My Line?
, Conrad Hilton, June 5, 1955;
Person to Person
, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955;
The Ed Sullivan Show
, Conrad Hilton (recites prayer), April 6, 1958;
The Hiltons
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010.

Georgia on His Mind

Interviews conducted: Zsa Zsa Gabor (February 2, 1986); Stewart Armstrong (November 13, 2011; November 14, 2011; November 15, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012; March 12, 2012; June 15, 2012); Patricia Skipworth Hilton (February 27, 2012; February 28, 2012; April 5, 2012), Debbie Reynolds (August 2, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton,
Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture
by Annabel Jane Wharton;
Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story
by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank;
One Lifetime Is Not Enough
by Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Articles referenced: “Hilton: The Stuff of a Hotel Man,”
Newsweek
cover story on Conrad Hilton, September 27, 1954; “Hotels: by Golly!,”
Time
cover story on Conrad Hilton, July 19, 1963; Dora Jane Hamblin, “In 19 Lands, Instant America: His Hotels Keep Conrad Hilton Hopping,”
Life
, August 30, 1963.

Legal documents referenced: “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (June 14, 1979; July 9, 1979; and July 10, 1979);
Constance Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
[original filing] (March 13, 1979);
Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
, [First Amended Contest of Purported Will] (March 13, 1980).

Television programs referenced:
Person to Person
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1953;
Person to Person
, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955;
The Merv Griffin Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, October 17, 1962;
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 16, 1963;
The Joey Bishop Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 5, 1967;
The David Frost Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, August 20, 1970;
The Virginia Graham Show
, interview with Eva Gabor, March 22, 1971;
Phil Donahue
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, August 10, 1971;
The David Frost Show
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1971;
The Pat Sajak Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 13, 1989;
Vicki
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 10, 1992;
Larry King Live
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 26, 1991;
The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor
, 1991;
One on One with John Tesh
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1992;
Intimate Portrait: Eva Gabor
, February 1, 1998;
The Hiltons
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005.

Loneliness at the Top/Buying the Town House

Interviews conducted: Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012); Patricia Skipworth Hilton (April 5, 2012); George Schlatter (April 7, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 10, 2012); Ruta Lee (April 23, 2012); Dale Olsen (July 9, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story
by Whitney Bolton;
Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture
by Annabel Jane Wharton.

Articles referenced: Dora Jane Hamblin, “In 19 Lands, Instant America: His Hotels Keep Conrad Hilton Hopping,”
Life
, August 30, 1963.

Legal documents referenced: “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (June 14, 1979); “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979).

Television programs referenced:
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010.

Note: For the narrative descriptions of the hotels described on these pages, from “Buying the Town House” forward, I referenced the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places. I also referenced photographs of the hotels from the Conrad Hilton Collection, Hospitality Industry Archives.

Courting Zsa Zsa/Catholic Stumbling Block/Conrad Breaks the News to Zsa Zsa

Interviews conducted: Zsa Zsa Gabor (February 2, 1986); Stewart Armstrong (November 13, 2011; November 14, 2011; November 15, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012; March 12, 2012; June 15, 2012); Myron Harpole (August 15, 2012; August 17, 2012; August 20, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012); Connie Espinoza de Amaté (October 1, 2011); Helen Lamm (July 25, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story
by Whitney Bolton;
Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story
by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank;
Jolie Gabor
by Cindy Adams;
House of Hilton
by Jerry Oppenheimer;
The Man Who Bought the Waldorf
by Thomas Ewing Dabney;
Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier
by Mildred Houghton Comfort.

Legal documents referenced: “Codicil to Last Will and Testament of Conrad Hilton” (March 20, 1947); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (December 19, 1953); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (June 3, 1955); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (October 21, 1960); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (January 27, 1967); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (August 19, 1970); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (October 31, 1973);
Constance Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
[original filing] (March 13, 1979); “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (July 9, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979); “Declaration of Myron Harpole” (July 29, 1982);
Francesca Hilton v. Frances Kelly Hilton
[First Amended Contest of Purported Will] (March 13, 1980).

Television programs referenced:
Person to Person
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1953;
What’s My Line?
, Conrad Hilton, June 5, 1955;
Person to Person
, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955;
The Ed Sullivan Show
, interview with Conrad Hilton, April 6, 1958;
The Jack Paar Program
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, October 19, 1962;
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 16, 1963;
The Joey Bishop Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 5, 1967;
The Joey Bishop Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, February 24, 1969;
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, July 28, 1970;
This Is Your Life
, Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 29, 1989;
The David Frost Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, June 12, 1972;
The Geraldo Rivera Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 13, 1990;
Showbiz Today
, interview with Eva Gabor, August 19, 1991;
The Howard Stern Summer Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 2, 1992;
Late Show with David Letterman
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, December 22, 1993;
That’s Entertainment! III Behind the Screen
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1994;
Intimate Portrait: Eva Gabor
, February 1, 1998);
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010;
Larry King Live
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 26, 1991.

PART TWO. MARY

Interviews conducted: Stanley Tucker (October 2, 2011; October 11, 2011); Jarrod Barron (November 20, 2011); Ken Heinemann (August 2, 2011); Patricia Skipworth Hilton (February 27, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture
by Annabel Jane Wharton;
The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story
by Whitney Bolton.