Susan Berman
Encyclopedia
Susan Berman was a reporter and author who was the daughter of Davie Berman
, a mob figure
in Las Vegas
. She wrote extensively about her late-in-life realization of her father's place in a criminal empire. She was murdered execution style
with a nine-millimeter hand gun on Christmas Eve 2000 in Benedict Canyon
, California.
, who had replaced Bugsy Siegel
in Las Vegas
at the Flamingo Hotel
after Siegel's murder by the mob. Berman always maintained that her father died mysteriously on an operating table when she was 12. Berman also believed her mother Gladys' overdose suicide a year later was under mysterious circumstances.
Susan Berman was known affectionately as a "Jewish Mafia Princess." In 1981, Berman published the memoir Easy Street
about life as the daughter of a mobster. Susan Berman was represented in the 1970s by the William Morris Agency
, who talked with several Hollywood producers interested in adapting Berman's book into a screenplay. The movie rights were purchased from Berman, but the film project never got off the ground.
Various published accounts have speculated about possible connections between Berman's murder and the 1982 disappearance of Kathie Durst—the wife of Berman's college friend and heir to a New York real estate fortune Robert Durst
. Durst was considered a prime suspect in his wife's disappearance, along with another person of interest, but he was never charged in the case. Berman remained a friend of Durst after the disappearance of his wife, and Durst gave large cash gifts to Berman in the months before Berman's death. Almost two decades after Kathie Durst's disappearance, New York State Police
, at the request of Jeanine Pirro
, the district attorney at the time in New York
's Westchester County
, contacted Susan to interview her about the Durst case. She was killed within a few days of the query.
Berman lived right off the Sunset Strip
on Alta Loma Road
in West Hollywood
for several years prior to moving to her last residence in Benedict Canyon
. Nyle Brenner, Berman's manager, said to the Los Angeles Times
days after the murder that "many details of Ms. Berman's personal life are unclear" and added "she had been married once in the 1980s, and later helped rear the two children of a boyfriend." Berman's relationships were layered, often deep and mysterious. She kept close ties to friends on Alta Loma Road, where she once lived, the Las Vegas Strip
and in New York City
, including Durst.
Berman was a published author and a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles
with a master's degree in journalism from University of California, Berkeley
. She was a staff reporter for The San Francisco Examiner
and also wrote for Francis Ford Coppola
's City Magazine, the Westinghouse Evening Show on KPIX
and the People show on CBS
. She was a contributing writer for New York
, Cosmopolitan
and Family Circle
. Berman wrote Driver, Give a Soldier a Lift! and Lady Las Vegas, which accompanied the release of an A&E special for which Berman was a co-writer.
At the time of her death, she was working on a project for Showtime with attorney Kevin Norte. The title of the project was Sin City and was being planned as a Showtime's version of the HBO hit The Sopranos
.
David Berman (mobster)
David "Davie the Jew" Berman was a Jewish-American organized crime figure in Iowa, New York City, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also one of the pioneers of gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, a mob figure
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. She wrote extensively about her late-in-life realization of her father's place in a criminal empire. She was murdered execution style
Execution-style murder
Execution-style murder, also known as Chicago-style murder, and execution-style killing are news media buzzwords applied to various acts of criminal murder where the perpetrator kills at close range a conscious victim who is under the complete physical control of the assailant and who has been left...
with a nine-millimeter hand gun on Christmas Eve 2000 in Benedict Canyon
Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Benedict Canyon is an area in the City of Los Angeles, California near Sherman Oaks northwest of Beverly Hills.-Geography and history:The Canyon is a ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains that drops in a north to south direction from its high point at the crestline of the Santa Monica Mountains on...
, California.
Biography
Berman's father was mob figure Davie BermanDavid Berman (mobster)
David "Davie the Jew" Berman was a Jewish-American organized crime figure in Iowa, New York City, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also one of the pioneers of gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, who had replaced Bugsy Siegel
Bugsy Siegel
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American gangster who was involved with the Genovese crime family...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
at the Flamingo Hotel
Flamingo Las Vegas
The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.. The property offers a casino along with 3,626 hotel rooms...
after Siegel's murder by the mob. Berman always maintained that her father died mysteriously on an operating table when she was 12. Berman also believed her mother Gladys' overdose suicide a year later was under mysterious circumstances.
Susan Berman was known affectionately as a "Jewish Mafia Princess." In 1981, Berman published the memoir Easy Street
Easy Street (book)
Easy Street is the first memoir of Susan Berman, daughter of Las Vegas mobster David Berman. In it, Berman chronicles her mother Gladys' and her own obliviousness to what went on around them...
about life as the daughter of a mobster. Susan Berman was represented in the 1970s by the William Morris Agency
William Morris Endeavor
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
, who talked with several Hollywood producers interested in adapting Berman's book into a screenplay. The movie rights were purchased from Berman, but the film project never got off the ground.
Various published accounts have speculated about possible connections between Berman's murder and the 1982 disappearance of Kathie Durst—the wife of Berman's college friend and heir to a New York real estate fortune Robert Durst
Robert Durst
Robert Alan "Bobby" Durst is a son of the late New York real estate mogul Seymour Durst, and brother of commercial developer Douglas Durst.-Early life:...
. Durst was considered a prime suspect in his wife's disappearance, along with another person of interest, but he was never charged in the case. Berman remained a friend of Durst after the disappearance of his wife, and Durst gave large cash gifts to Berman in the months before Berman's death. Almost two decades after Kathie Durst's disappearance, New York State Police
New York State Police
The New York State Police is the state police force of over 4,600 sworn Troopers for the state of New York. It was established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not...
, at the request of Jeanine Pirro
Jeanine Pirro
Jeanine Ferris Pirro is a former prosecutor, judge, and elected official from the state of New York, who is currently a legal analyst and television personality. A Republican from Westchester County, Pirro served as a county court judge before serving as the elected District Attorney of...
, the district attorney at the time in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, contacted Susan to interview her about the Durst case. She was killed within a few days of the query.
Berman lived right off the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
on Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road is the celebrity-filled cul-de-sac that runs a mere one block. It is off the Sunset Strip in the city of West Hollywood. It is one block west of La Cienega Blvd...
in West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
for several years prior to moving to her last residence in Benedict Canyon
Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Benedict Canyon is an area in the City of Los Angeles, California near Sherman Oaks northwest of Beverly Hills.-Geography and history:The Canyon is a ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains that drops in a north to south direction from its high point at the crestline of the Santa Monica Mountains on...
. Nyle Brenner, Berman's manager, said to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
days after the murder that "many details of Ms. Berman's personal life are unclear" and added "she had been married once in the 1980s, and later helped rear the two children of a boyfriend." Berman's relationships were layered, often deep and mysterious. She kept close ties to friends on Alta Loma Road, where she once lived, the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
and in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, including Durst.
Berman was a published author and a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
with a master's degree in journalism from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. She was a staff reporter for The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
and also wrote for Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's City Magazine, the Westinghouse Evening Show on KPIX
KPIX-TV
KPIX-TV is the CBS owned and operated television station in San Francisco, California. Through its parent company CBS Corporation, KPIX is co-owned with The CW affiliate KBCW-TV ....
and the People show on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. She was a contributing writer for New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
and Family Circle
Family Circle
Family Circle is an American women's magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought...
. Berman wrote Driver, Give a Soldier a Lift! and Lady Las Vegas, which accompanied the release of an A&E special for which Berman was a co-writer.
At the time of her death, she was working on a project for Showtime with attorney Kevin Norte. The title of the project was Sin City and was being planned as a Showtime's version of the HBO hit The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
.
External links
- Links to articles on Susan Berman
- This American LifeThis American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
episode 76: "Mob"; linked RealAudioRealAudioRealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
file includes a reading by Berman from Easy Street. - Homicide Special: A year with LAPD's Elite Detective Unit, Miles Corwin (2003) Chapter 14
- Cathy ScottCathy ScottCathy Scott is an American true crime writer and investigative journalist, born and raised in San Diego, United States growing up in nearby La Mesa, California...