John Simkin Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Dominick Dunne, the famed author and court reporter, begins his monthly Diary, which is titled “Spilling Secrets” this time, in the April 2006 issue of Vanity Fair with these words: “It amazes me how many people remember the mysterious death in 1965 of Dorothy Kilgallen, the controversial gossip columnist and television personality, which was reported in headlines nationwide as an accidental overdose of sleeping pills and liquor....”Dunne goes on to recount a telephone call that he received while a guest on the Larry King Live TV show from a woman in Oklahoma who asked if he had any opinion of Kilgallen’s death. He writes in his Diary that “What I recalled for the woman from Tulsa was a persistent rumor at the time that the sleeping pills in Kilgallen’s stomach had not dissolved, which meant that they were undigested. Liz Smith, another famous gossip columnist, told me recently that the late Arlene Francis, who was also on the panel of What’s My Line? [with Kilgallen], had been with Kilgallen the evening she had died, and she always maintained that Dorothy was not drunk that night. I forgot to tell the woman who called in that no notes or tapes from the Ruby interview [that Kilgallen had with Jack Ruby] have ever been found. Kilgallen told people that she was going to break the case, so Ruby must have told her something that someone important didn’t want her to print. At least that’s my interpretation. She once wrote in her column that if Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow ever told the whole story of her life with Oswald it would “split open the front pages of the newspapers all over the world,” according to Lee Israel in her biography of Kilgallen." The real story (maybe should tell Dunne) was the person Kilgallen met after Arlene Francis that night. In her book, Kilgallen, Lee Israel gave him the name of the “Out-of-Towner”. According to Israel she met him in Carrara in June, 1964, during a press junket for journalists working in the film industry. The trip was paid for by Twentieth Century-Fox who used it to publicize three of its films: The Sound of Music, The Agony and the Ecstasy and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Israel claims that the "Out-of-Towner" went up to Kilgallen and asked her if she was Clare Booth Luce. This is in itself an interesting introduction. Kilgallen and Luce did not look like each other. Luce and her husband (Henry Luce) however were to play an important role in the events surrounding the assassination. Luce owned Life Magazine and arranged to buy up the Zapruder Film . Clare Booth Luce had also funded covert operations against Fidel Castro (1961-63). I believe that Kilgallen suspected that "Out-of-Towner" was working for the CIA. She therefore told her friends this is what he said so that if anything happened to her, a future investigator would realize that he was a CIA agent with links to Clare Booth Luce. Lee Israel has always refused to identify the "Out-of-Towner". However, I discovered via a man called David Herschel that his real name was Ron Pataky. In 1965 he had been a journalist working for the Columbus Citizen-Journal who had published articles about the assassination of JFK. Here is a conversation that took place between Lee Israel and myself on the Forum on 20th December, 2005. John Simkin: In your book you make a lot of Kilgallen’s relationship with the man you call the "Out-of-Towner". In fact, you imply that he was in some way involved in her death. Is it correct that the man’s name is really Ron Pataky? Lee Israel: Yes. John Simkin: Did you find any evidence that Ron Pataky was working for the CIA? Lee Israel: No. Only that he dropped out of Stanford in 1954 and then enrolled in a training school for assassins in Panama or thereabouts. John Simkin: Do you believe that Ron Pataky murdered Dorothy Kilgallen? Lee Israel: He had something to do with it. Ron Pataky is still in the disinformation business. See the following: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3N6S...9937193-1916714 Her also has his own website: http://worlds-premiere-ransom-note-factory.us/index2.htm Unfortunately for him, if you do a search at Google for "Ron Pataky" my page comes up first. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKpataky.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 This from December of 1963. FWIW. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Geraghty Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I assume that you have tried to contact him John. Any success? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 I assume that you have tried to contact him John. Any success? Yes I have tried to contact him by email but he has not replied. He knows what I have been saying about him and so far he has not threatened legal action. However, he was able to pressurize Lee Israel not to use his real name in her book "Kilgallen". This is why I believe her answers above on Pataky are so significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feemster Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 john, what a tangled web they weave when they practice to decieve ! jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 A researcher has sent me a news clipping from an article by Dorothy Kilgallen fot the Journal American on 18th June, 1964: Since I've been in Europe for four days, not keeping up with the newspapers at all, I don't know how things are going at the United Nations, but I can testify that as of this minute in London, British-U.S. relations seem to be better than ever in history. The sun was smiling on England when landed at London Airport, and the Londoners were smiling on the Americans. Example One: At the airport, Ron Pataky, the Columbus Citizen-Journal columnist, invited me to ride into town with him. He said to the cab driver: "I haven't any pounds with me will you take American money?" The hackie grinned. "Hop in governor," he said. "It's the best money in the world '' Example Two: When I reached the Savoy Hotel and my luggage was sent up, I quickly pulled out a little black dress suitable for an evening on the town and rang for a valet. When he arrived. I gave him the dress and asked: "Could I have this pressed as soon as possible, please?" Another big smile: "You can have anything you wish, Miss." said the valet, taking the dress as tenderly as if it were one of the Queen Elizabeth's robes. Example Three: I rang for the waiter and ordered a club sandwich to tide me over until the night's festivities began By the time he returned I was sitting at my typewriter batting out a column. He wheeled up the sandwich and said, "I must say madam, it didn't take you long to get into action." I explained that I had been on a very fast, busy tour and had to snatch every opportunity to do my writing. "Extraordinary," the waiter beamed "you American ladies are marvelous." My compliments to the British Ministry of Tourism, or whatever they call it. Somebody up there is doing a splendid job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) A researcher has sent me a news clipping from an article by Dorothy Kilgallen fot the Journal American on 18th June, 1964:Since I've been in Europe for four days, not keeping up with the newspapers at all, I don't know how things are going at the United Nations, but I can testify that as of this minute in London, British-U.S. relations seem to be better than ever in history. The sun was smiling on England when landed at London Airport, and the Londoners were smiling on the Americans. Example One: At the airport, Ron Pataky, the Columbus Citizen-Journal columnist, invited me to ride into town with him. He said to the cab driver: "I haven't any pounds with me will you take American money?" The hackie grinned. "Hop in governor," he said. "It's the best money in the world '' Example Two: When I reached the Savoy Hotel and my luggage was sent up, I quickly pulled out a little black dress suitable for an evening on the town and rang for a valet. When he arrived. I gave him the dress and asked: "Could I have this pressed as soon as possible, please?" Another big smile: "You can have anything you wish, Miss." said the valet, taking the dress as tenderly as if it were one of the Queen Elizabeth's robes. Example Three: I rang for the waiter and ordered a club sandwich to tide me over until the night's festivities began By the time he returned I was sitting at my typewriter batting out a column. He wheeled up the sandwich and said, "I must say madam, it didn't take you long to get into action." I explained that I had been on a very fast, busy tour and had to snatch every opportunity to do my writing. "Extraordinary," the waiter beamed "you American ladies are marvelous." My compliments to the British Ministry of Tourism, or whatever they call it. Somebody up there is doing a splendid job. Regarding John's information regarding what Pataky is up to these days, it might be interesting to see the post Shanet Clark made awhile back regarding Gordon Novel and Michael Jackson. I thought it was interesting from a comparison standpoint. http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=4193 It really is a small world these days. Question for James Richards. James, why do so many of your posts reference a photo, as in your earlier post on this thread, but when you look at the post there is no photo? Am I missing something? Edited November 13, 2008 by Robert Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Robert, Regarding the missing images, sometime back, the forum was having some bandwidth issues and every now and then would exceed monthly limitations. I removed older attachments to help free up space. Cheers, James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Robert,Regarding the missing images, sometime back, the forum was having some bandwidth issues and every now and then would exceed monthly limitations. I removed older attachments to help free up space. Cheers, James Thanks, I knew there was a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 Robert,Regarding the missing images, sometime back, the forum was having some bandwidth issues and every now and then would exceed monthly limitations. I removed older attachments to help free up space. Cheers, James Can you remember the photograph you posted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Robert,Regarding the missing images, sometime back, the forum was having some bandwidth issues and every now and then would exceed monthly limitations. I removed older attachments to help free up space. Cheers, James Can you remember the photograph you posted? John, I have absolutely no idea. I have been having some problems of late with my electronically stored images and lost many in a rather nasty virus attack. The slow process of rescanning has begun but my filing system is so poor, I do not know what is where. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stapleton Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 (edited) Dorothy Kilgallen's last appearance on What's My Line--November 7, 1965--Arlene Francis and Tony Randall are also on the show. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfjkQE-l2Ho&...feature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=PSTgYIABk6w&...feature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=6gn6jS1UK78&...feature=related The show's host begins the following week's show with the announcement of her death: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ASeMN0XRef8&...feature=related Edited November 14, 2008 by Mark Stapleton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 An informant has told me that Pataky was left an apartment house and a Thunderbird automobile by Kilgallen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dolva Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 John, me hat's off to ye', guv. That's a really interesting topic. Never noticed it before. But the story of the celebration party with Clare when the news came Kennedy was dead, ah .to have been a fly on that wall. You got my attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Fokes Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Dorothy Kilgallen's last appearance on What's My Line--November 7, 1965--Arlene Francis and Tony Randall are also on the show.http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfjkQE-l2Ho&...feature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=PSTgYIABk6w&...feature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=6gn6jS1UK78&...feature=related The show's host begins the following week's show with the announcement of her death: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ASeMN0XRef8&...feature=related The host of What's My Line, John Daly was married to the daughter of Earl Warren. Virginia Warren Daly passed away recently. Here is her obit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9030303561.html Pataky is mentioned in a recent article in Midwest Today. The article includes picture of Daly and the What's My Line panel, including Kilgallen. http://www.midtod.com/new/articles/7_14_07_Dorothy.html Regards, Peter Fokes, Toronto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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