True crimes

Jack Roland Murphy just about had it all: Kennedy-esque good looks, charm to burn, athletic talent and even a musical gift. Still, he wanted more. The man who became a legendary jewel thief – he bagged the priceless Star of India from a New York museum – before graduating to murder is the focus of the documentary series Murf the Surf : Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA , which premieres on MGM+ on Sunday. Renowned filmmaker R.J. Cutler directed and executive produced the four-part series. “ Murf the Surf tells the story of one of the most complicated and notorious American crime figures ever, Jack Roland Murphy,” Cutler has explained in a director’s statement, “who became America’s very first true crime television superstar in 1964, a mere few months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.” In episode 1 of the series, Murf describes his upbringing as “storybook.” It was hardly that, unless the book in question is Grimm’s Fairytales. When Jack was six, … [Read more...] about In ‘Murf The Surf,’ Director R.J. Cutler Explores Dashing Jewel Thief-Turned Murderer Who Became A Proto-True Crime Celebrity

As millions of viewers in the UK prepare to sit down on Sunday evening for the grand finale – and last ever episode – of hit crime drama Happy Valley , one small town will have a special reason to toast the success of this massively popular and critically acclaimed show. With just 4,500 residents, Hebden Bridge is a pretty market town in West Yorkshire , long known for embracing alternative lifestyles and providing a sanctuary for those wanting to get off the beaten track. But in recent years, it has become best known as the location for many of the scenes shot in hit crime drama Happy Valley , the BAFTA-winning show written by Sally Wainwright and starring Sarah Lancashire as the brow-beaten but never defeated Sergeant Catherine Cawood. The show began in 2014, but fans have had to wait seven long years for the third and final series, which has lived up to all hopes and expectations, with UK fans now waiting with bated breath for Cawood’s final showdown with her … [Read more...] about BBC Hit Drama ‘Happy Valley’ Has Tourists Flocking To Quiet Yorkshire Town

Jim Mahoney was one of Hollywood’s go-to guys. He spent 60+ years in public relations, guiding the public images of Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Christie Brinkley, Peggy Lee, and hundreds more. He was on the front lines when Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped, and was at the party at Peter Lawford’s house the night Marilyn Monroe died. He was also there with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas. Now age 95, Mahoney has captured all of that in a memoir, Get Mahoney!: A Hollywood Insider’s Memoir. “Get Mahoney!” was the phrase often used when stars and their handlers knew trouble was brewing and needed to keep their names out of the press. Mahoney was good at his job, and frequently referred to himself as a better “suppress” agent than press agent. “It was about ‘taming the lion’ – both the press and the clients themselves,” Mahoney said. That sometimes involved making arrangements with the authorities and media to keep … [Read more...] about Jim Mahoney, PR To Sinatra, McQueen, Gable, Explores 60 Years Of Hollywood In Memoir: “It Was About Taming The Lion”