Conrad Nicholson Hilton Jr. (July 6, 1926 – February 5, 1969) was an American socialite, hotel heir, and businessman. He was the eldest son of

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

founder Conrad Hilton and the first husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Life and career

Conrad Hilton Jr. was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. His father, Conrad Hilton, was the founder of

, and his mother was Mary Adelaide Barron. Hilton grew up with three younger siblings: William Barron Hilton,

Eric Michael Hilton Eric Michael Hilton (July 1, 1933 – December 10, 2016) was an American heir, hotelier, and philanthropist. Early life Eric Hilton was born on July 1, 1933 in Dallas, Texas. He was the third son of Conrad Hilton (the founder of the Hilton Hotel ...

and Constance Francesca Hilton. He is the great-uncle of

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

and

Nicky Hilton Nicholai Olivia Rothschild ( Hilton, October 5, 1983) is an American socialite, fashion designer and model. She is a member of the Hilton family by birth, and a member of the Rothschild family through her marriage to James Rothschild, a grands ...

. Growing up he did not take interest in the family business and he dropped out of Loyola University in Los Angeles to join the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. His father enrolled him at

École hôtelière de Lausanne The École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL, ) is a hospitality management school in Switzerland. The school is consistently regarded as the best hospitality school in the world. It trains students whose goals are to obtain managerial careers in the ...

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

but he was suspended after six months. In his later years, he was a director and chairman of the executive committee of the Hilton International Company. Hilton died at the age of 42 from a sudden heart attack due to

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

on February 5, 1969. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Church in Los Angeles. He is interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Personal life

Hilton had an affair with his stepmother,

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

, in 1944, according to claims made by Gabor after his death. In October 1949, Hilton met Elizabeth Taylor at Mocambo nightclub in Los Angeles. The couple were married at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills on May 6, 1950. They had a tempestuous 8-month marriage due to his

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, drinking,

heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Op ...

, and abusive behavior." During one of his violent outbursts, Hilton kicked Taylor in the stomach and caused her to have a miscarriage. Taylor announced their separation in December 1950; she was granted a divorce on grounds of mental cruelty on January 29, 1951. In September 1951, actress

Betsy von Furstenberg Countess Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway plays, films and tele ...

announced her engagement to Hilton but they never wed. Hilton gained a reputation for being a

playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

and becoming violent when he was intoxicated. In May 1954, Hilton was arrested on a drunk charge. Hilton dated various actresses such as Terry Moore,

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...

, Arlene Solof, and

Jeanne Carmen Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model (person), model, actress and trick-shot golfer. Early life and career Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running aw ...

. In 1957, he dated actresses

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

and

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

. Shortly after, he dated Mexican actress

Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (born 12 September 1931) is a Mexican actress. She began her career in the theater, venturing into cinema in 1949. Her film work and popularity in her native country led her to work in Europe (Spain and Italy). Pinal achiev ...

, whom he met at the opening of a hotel in Acapulco. In 1958, Hilton married Patricia McClintock, an oil heiress from Oklahoma. They had two sons, Conrad Nicholson Hilton III and Michael Otis Hilton. Their marriage deteriorated as Hilton came addicted to the sleeping pill

Seconal Secobarbital (as the sodium salt, originally marketed by Eli Lilly and Company for the treatment of insomnia, and subsequently by other companies as described below, under the brand name Seconal) is a short-acting barbiturate derivative drug that ...

and mixed it with

hard liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard l ...

. McClintock filed for divorce from Hilton on February 10, 1964, which was granted in 1965.

Life and career

Personal life

References

Further reading