William Richard "Billy" Wilkerson (September 29, 1890 – September 2, 1962) was the founder of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', a real estate developer in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and owner of such nightclubs as

Ciro's Ciro's (later known as Ciro's Le Disc) was a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California owned by William Wilkerson. Opened in 1940, Ciro's became a popular nightspot for celebrities. The nightclub closed in 1957 and was reopened ...

. His series of columns known as "Billy's List" helped to initiate the

red scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

that led to the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying emplo ...

Personal life

Wilkerson was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, on September 29, 1890. He began to study medicine in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, but when his father died leaving extensive gambling debts, Wilkerson quit school to support himself and his mother. He became a compulsive gambler himself, but quit when his son was born in October 1951. Wilkerson was in relatively poor health throughout the latter half of the 1950s due to decades of excessive smoking. He continued to head ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and write his daily "Tradeviews" column until shortly before his death. Wilkerson died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on September 2, 1962, at his Bel-Air home, one day before ''The Hollywood Reporter''′s 32nd anniversary. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Wilkerson was married six times. His wives were: * Helen Durkin - probably around 1913 or 1914 - probably New York or

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...

- Durkin died in the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918. * Edith Gwynn Goldenhorn - June 22, 1927 -

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

- August 7, 1935 - Cd. Juárez,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

* Rita Ann Seward - September 30, 1935 - Las Vegas - May 9, 1938 - Los Angeles, CA * Estelle Jackson Brown - December 12, 1939 - Las Vegas, NV - August 13, 1942 - Reno, NV * Vivian DuBois - May 9, 1946 - Las Vegas, NV - March 14, 1950 - Los Angeles, CA * Beatrice Ruby Noble - February 23, 1951 -

Phoenix, AZ Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United Stat ...

- His death

Career

When a friend won a

movie theater in a bet, Wilkerson agreed to manage it in exchange for half the profits. Expanding his work in the movie industry, he became district manager at

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

under

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

''The Hollywood Reporter''

Wilkerson published the first issue of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' on September 3, 1930. He began each issue with a self-penned editorial entitled "Tradeviews", which proved highly influential. In 1946, he began a series of columns in ''The Hollywood Reporter'', listing suspected Communist sympathizers; "Billy's List" helped to initiate the "

" that led to the

Business ventures

Wilkerson opened a series of social nightspots on Los Angeles'

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

. Seeing opportunities in Las Vegas, he made key investments there as well. Restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels that Wilkerson started: * Vendome Wine & Spirits Co. (1933) *

Cafe Trocadero Cafe Trocadero was an upscale nightclub that opened on the Sunset Strip in 1934 and immediately became the place where Hollywood stars went to be seen. Photographs of the stars out on the town at the Troc one night might appear in ''The Hollywood ...

(1934) * Sunset House (1936) (haberdashery & barbershop) * The Arrowhead Springs Hotel (1939) *

(1940) * Restaurant La Rue (

) (1944) * The

Flamingo Hotel Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property includes a casino along with 3, ...

(1945) Wilkerson named the hotel, then began development and building of the property, but ran low of money.

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish Mob, but along with his childhood frie ...

soon moved in to help finish the hotel casino with mob financing, and Wilkerson eventually sold out his share to Siegel. * L'Aiglon (1947) * Club LaRue (of

) (December 1950)

References

External links

William Wilkerson
at

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