The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty (77 page)

Legal documents referenced: “Divorce Decree—Conrad Hilton v. Mary Barron,” miscellaneous documents and correspondence (June 11, 1934); “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (July 10, 1979); “Deposition of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 19, 1979).

Television programs referenced:
The Jack Paar Program
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 23, 1962;
The Jack Paar Program
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 29, 1964;
The Joey Bishop Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 8, 1968;
The Virginia Graham Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, June 10, 1970;
Phil Donahue
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, August 10, 1971;
The Pat Sajak Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 13, 1989;
Late Show with David Letterman
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 27, 1991;
The Howard Stern Summer Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 2, 1992;
The Rosie O’Donnell Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, February 25, 1998;
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Larry King Live: The Hiltons
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010.

PART THREE. ZSA ZSA

Conrad’s Inner Turmoil/For Love or Money

Interviews conducted: Cindy Adams (September 1, 1998); Terry Moore (February 10, 2012); Ed Lozzi (March 2, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 12, 2012); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012); Ruta Lee (April 23, 2012); Myron Harpole (August 15, 2012; August 17, 2012; August 20, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
Jolie Gabor
by Cindy Adams;
Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story
by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank;
One Lifetime Is Not Enough
by Zsa Zsa Gabor;
Gaborabilia
by Anthony Turtu and Donald F. Reute;
Eva Gabor an Amazing Woman: “Unscrupulous”
by Camyl Sosa Belanger.

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: “Reporter’s Transcript—Sari Gabor Hilton, sometimes known as Zsazsa Sari Hilton vs. Conrad Hilton,” by John F. Brill, official court reporter (September 17, 1946); “Last Will and Testament of Conrad Nicholson Hilton” (June 3, 1955); “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (June 14, 1979; July 9, 1979; July 10, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979); “Declaration of Gregson Bautzer” (undated—from
Zsazsa Sari Gabor v. Conrad Hilton
); “Declaration of G. Bentley Ryan” (undated—from
Zsazsa Sari Gabor v. Conrad Hilton
).

The Roosevelt

Interviews conducted: Marybeth Evans-Wright (September 28, 2011); Jason Lederer (October 1, 2011); Timothy Long (October 4, 2011); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012); Mark Young (July 20, 2012); David Gracie (March 1, 2012); Carole Wells Doheny (March 8, 2012); Mike Dipp (March 16, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
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: “Deposition of William Barron Hilton” (September 24, 1979; “Deposition of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 19, 1979); “Declaration of Frances Kelly Hilton” (October 23, 1979).

Television programs referenced:
Person to Person
, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955;
Larry King Live
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 26, 1991;
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010.

Note: We had access to Margaret Phillips-Brown’s extensive collection about the acquisition of the Roosevelt Hotel by Conrad Hilton.

Marriage: His/Marriage: Hers

Interviews conducted: Zsa Zsa Gabor (February 2, 1986); Jason Lederer (October 1, 2011); Timothy Long (October 4, 2011); Stanley Tucker (October 2, 2011; October 11, 2011); Cindy Adams (September 1, 1998); Doris Roberts (January 4, 2012); Patricia Skipworth Hilton (February 28, 2012); Mike Dipp (March 16, 2012); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 12); Noreen Nash Siegel (April 2, 2012; April 3, 2012; April 10, 2012); Dale Olsen (July 9, 2012); Myron Harpole (August 15, 2012); Steven D’Orio (September 4, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
The Man Who Bought the Waldorf
by Thomas Ewing Dabney;
Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier
by Mildred Houghton Comfort;
Jolie Gabor
by Cindy Adams;
Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story
by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank;
One Lifetime Is Not Enough
by Zsa Zsa Gabor;
Gaborabilia
by Anthony Turtu and Donald F. Reute;
Eva Gabor an Amazing Woman: “Unscrupulous”
by Camyl Sosa Belanger;
A Dreadful Man: A Personal, Intimate Book About George Sanders
by Brian Aherne.

Legal documents referenced: “Sworn Declaration of J. B. Herndon Jr.” (August 2, 1946); “Reporter’s Transcript—Sari Gabor Hilton, sometimes known as ZsaZsa Sari Hilton vs. Conrad Hilton,” by John F. Brill, official court reporter (September 17, 1946); “Declaration of ZsaZsa Sari Hilton” (September 20, 1946); “Declaration of Eva Gabor” (September 20, 1946); miscellaneous file notes from
Zsa Gabor Plaintiff vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc.
(November 1960); “Deposition of Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (June 14, 1979); “Contestant Constance Francesca Hilton’s Responses to Defendants William Barron Hilton and James E. Bates Interrogatories” (July 20, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979); “Declaration of Gregson Bautzer” (undated, from
Sari Zsa Zsa Gabor v. Conrad Hilton
).

Television programs referenced:
Person to Person
, interview with Conrad Hilton, 1955;
The Merv Griffin Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, October 17, 1962;
The Jack Paar Program
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, December 4, 1964;
The Joey Bishop Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 5, 1967;
The Merv Griffin Show
, interview with Eva Gabor, February 18, 1970;
The David Frost Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 12, 1970;
The Virginia Graham Show
, interview with Eva Gabor, March 22, 1971;
One on One with John Tesh
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 10, 1991;
The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor
, 1991;
Vicki
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 10, 1992;
The Hiltons
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005.

NOTES

The conversations between Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor concerning their household budgets were reconstructed based on the accounts of both in their respective memoirs,
Be My Guest
and
My Story.

The actual text of Barron Hilton’s letter to his father regarding his allowance can be found in
Be My Guest.

The conversation between Conrad Hilton and J. B. Herndon Jr. was reconstructed using “Sworn Declaration of J. B. Herndon Jr.” (August 2, 1946).

A Frustrating Business Deal/The Plaza

Interviews conducted: Tyler Worthington (September 12, 2011); Dylan Terrell Thomas (October 22, 2011); Marva DeYoung (March 1, 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)

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
House of Hilton
by Jess Oppenheimer;
Gaborabilia
by Anthony Turtu and Donald F. Reute;
Eva Gabor an Amazing Woman: “Unscrupulous”
by Camyl Sosa Belanger;
Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture
by Annabel Jane Wharton;
The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story
by Whitney Bolton.

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: “Deposition of Zsa Zsa Gabor O’Hara” (June 14, 1979; July 9, 1979; July 10, 1979).

Television programs referenced:
What’s My Line?
, Conrad Hilton, June 5, 1955;
Larry King Live
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 26, 1991;
Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the World
, Arts & Entertainment, 2005;
Biography: Conrad Hilton
, CNBC, 2010.

NOTES

We had access to Margaret Phillips-Brown’s extensive collection about the acquisition of the Plaza Hotel by Conrad Hilton, which included color and black-and-white photographs of the hotel and the Oak Room taken in 1943.

The source of the conversation between Conrad Hilton and a representative of Atlas Corporation worked for Atlas at the time and asked for anonymity.

An Ominous Sign/A Priest’s Visit/Up in Flames

Interviews conducted: Zsa Zsa Gabor (February 2, 1986); Cindy Adams (September 1, 1999); Patricia McClintock Hilton (April 2, 2012; April 8, 2012; April 16, 2012; April 20, 12); Lena Burrell (September 12, 2012; October 11, 2012; December 2, 2012).

Volumes referenced:
Be My Guest
by Conrad Hilton;
Jolie Gabor
by Cindy Adams;
Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story
by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Gerold Frank;
One Lifetime Is Not Enough
by Zsa Zsa Gabor;
Gaborabilia
by Anthony Turtu and Donald F. Reute;
Eva Gabor an Amazing Woman: “Unscrupulous”
by Camyl Sosa Belanger;
A Dreadful Man: A Personal, Intimate Book About George Sanders
by Brian Aherne.

Legal documents referenced: “Reporter’s Transcript—Sari Gabor Hilton, sometimes known as ZsaZsa Sari Hilton vs. Conrad Hilton,” by John F. Brill, official court reporter (September 17, 1946); “Declaration of ZsaZsa Sari Hilton” (September 20, 1946); “Declaration of Eva Gabor” (September 20, 1946); miscellaneous file notes, including partial deposition from
Zsa Gabor Plaintiff vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc.
(November 1960); “Contestant Constance Francesca Hilton’s Responses to Defendants William Barron Hilton and James E. Bates Interrogatories” (July 20, 1979); “Deposition of Constance Francesca Hilton” (September 12, 1979; September 13, 1979; September 14, 1979).

Television programs referenced:
The Merv Griffin Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, October 17, 1962;
The Jack Paar Program
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 29, 1964;
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, June 17, 1970;
The Tonight Show
, interview with Eva Gabor, May 15, 1972;
The Geraldo Rivera Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, September 13, 1990;
The Howard Stern Summer Show
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, May 2, 1992;
One on One with John Tesh
, interview with Eva Gabor, 1992;
Late Show David Letterman
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, November 27, 1991;
Late Show with David Letterman
, interview with Zsa Zsa Gabor, December 22, 1993.