Lana Turner was an American actress whose five-decade career spanned the 1930s to the 1980s. Among other things, Turner's body of work includes classic films like 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946), 'Peyton Place' (1957), 'Imitation of Life' (1959), and 'Madame X' (1966), as well as television shows like 'The Survivors' and 'Falcon Crest.' Turner is also famous for her romance with gangster Johnny Stompanato, who was killed in Lana's Beverly Hills home on the evening of April 4, 1958.

In this book, author Casey Sherman discusses Turner's life and career as well as the mobsters who infiltrated Los Angeles in the 1900s, especially Mickey Cohen, boss of the Cohen crime family. At one point Cohen hired Johnny Stompanato to be his bodyguard, and the two men became good friends and partners in crime.

Lana Turner, born in Idaho in 1921, was named Julia Jean (and called Judy) by her parents Mildred and Virgil Turner. The Turners were estranged when Virgil was murdered in 1929, a tragedy that haunted Lana forever. Years later, after Lana experienced much drama in her life, she wrote "The shock I suffered then may be a valid excuse for me now. I know that my father's sweetness and gaiety, his warmth and his tragedy have never been that far from me; that, and a sense of loss and of growing up too fast."

Judy and her mother moved to Los Angeles in 1936, and beautiful teenage Judy was discovered in a soda shop by Billy Wilkerson, publisher of the 'Hollywood Reporter.' Before long Judy was renamed Lana and getting small parts in movies, which eventually became major roles. Sherman writes a good bit about the toxic Hollywood culture, and bigwigs like producer David O. Selznick, who had a casting couch for young actresses. Powerful men in the industry seemed to consider this behavior to be commonplace, and their due. Swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn, who seduced underage Lana, wrote in his memoir, "You saw a young lady you fancied and you'd say, 'star's perks!'

Turner - who was always looking for love - was easily enamored, had numerous affairs, and married one man after another. Lana was wed to bandleader Artie Shaw; restaurateur Steve Crane; millionaire socialite Henry J. Topping Jr.; and Tarzan actor Lex Barker.

Lana had her daughter Cheryl with Steve Crane, and young Cheryl was sexually molested by Lex Barker when the actor was married to Lana. It seems that, though Turner was incredibly successful in her career, she was dismally unlucky in her private life.

Lana's bad luck came to a head with handsome mobster Johnny Stompanato, who made it his business to meet Turner in 1957. Crime boss Mickey Cohen and his henchman Stompanato had a plan to extort Lana, who had amassed a fortune from her film roles. Sherman writes, "The two gangsters reverse engineered the classic honey trap scheme, using Stompanato as bait to lure Lana into bed. They would need to stage a threesome of some kind while Cohen's men surreptitiously filmed the sex act." Cohen and Stompanato believed Lana would pay any amount to safeguard her reputation and maintain her career. According to Sherman, the two hoodlums regularly perpetrated this scheme, and their victims included superstars such as Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, and Spencer Tracy.

In any case, Stompanato fell in love with Turner while trying to execute the blackmail plan, and he decided to become a movie producer. So the hoodlum made it his business to become Lana's REAL boyfriend. Unfortunately for Lana, Stompanato was a controlling abusive man who shouted at the star, threatened her, hit her, and made her life miserable. Lana's teenage daughter Cheryl would sometimes hear the loud arguments between Lana and Stompanato, and become concerned for her mother.

All this came to a head on the evening of April 4, 1958, when Turner and Stompanato were in Lana's bedroom, and the actress tried to break it off with the mobster. Cheryl heard the resultant shouting and cursing and ran into her mother's room. Subsequently, Stompanato was stabbed with a newly purchased, sharp, eight-inch kitchen knife. Sherman writes, "With one thrust, the blade penetrated his abdomen, slicing into one of his kidneys, striking a vertebra, and puncturing his aorta. He stepped away from the knife, a plume of blood now expanding from where the weapon had entered his body. Johnny Stompanato, gangster, conman, and abuser, was dead."

The author goes on to discuss who stabbed Stompanato, the aftermath of the incident, and the continuing angst in Turner's life. Sherman includes his own speculations about the homicide, as well as a bibliography of works he used to research the book. Will the whole truth ever be known? Time will tell.

This is a well-written, engaging book about Lana Turner, Hollywood, and American gangsters. Highly recommended to true crime aficionados.

Thanks to Netgalley, Casey Sherman, and Sourcebooks for a copy of the book.

A Murder in Hollywood
by Casey Sherman
4.7/5 ✨🎬📽️🔪🖤❤️

This was an amazing read that I did not want to put down once I picked it up. I had to keep reminding myself that this was real life and a real story. What amazing history, and I feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to read about it!

To know Lana Turner was the Monroe before Monroe was incredibly helpful; I had heard her name, but not much about her. This was an amazing story. The glitz and glam of Hollywood mixed with the dark Mafia undertones kept my attention rapt.

If you’re interested in old Hollywood/the entertainment industry, I cannot recommend this enough for you. I love this era of history along with the icons that made it, and this was another great book to add to by read list. I loved the few photos sprinkled throughout. I can only recommend that you Google away while reading (especially Lana’s gowns - OMG & Stompanato’s crime scene photos).

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!! 🩷📚

Admittedly, out of all of the 'golden age of Hollywood' stars I've watched over the years, Lana Turner wasn't one of them. Going into A Murder in Hollywood, I knew very little of the actress and had no knowledge she was involved in a murder investigation.
Throughout this book Sherman not only lead up to the aforementioned event with great detail, he did it fluidly. There were so many different moving parts and people to help portray Lana's life, and it was written well.

Very interested in looking into this authors backlist.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to leave this review.

Combines The Glitz and Glamour of Hollywood with the Danger & Violence of the Mafia Underworld.
Casey Sherman's "A Murder in Hollywood" is a tale that combines the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with the danger & violence of the mafia underworld. A Murder in Hollywood transports us back to the golden age of film 20th century's most notorious true crime tales. This book is the dark story behind the bright lights of Tinseltown and is the story of Lana Turner’s life and what eventually led to the fatal stabbing of screen legend Lana Turner’s gangster boyfriend Stompanato inside her Beverly Hills mansion in the late 1950s. 
Casey Sherman takes a fresh look at the killing and explore how Turner was targeted for extortion by Stompanato and his boss Mickey Cohen. Lana jumped from relationship to relationship as she looked for love in all the wrong places. Larna married several times, all to avoid the gossip and her name being ruined due to the times when women were frowned upon living with a man let alone being single with a child. The men Lana chose all abused her either financially, physically, or both.
The story of Lana is heartbreaking. Johnny Stompanato, was a thug for the infamous west coast mob boss Mickey Cohen.
Lana found her personal life becoming more violent and unpredictable the longer she stayed with Stompanato . Lana's teenage daughter, Cheryl, grew up being sexually abused by one of Lana’s husbands and by her young teenage years she watched her beloved mother's life deteriorate as Stompanato's intense jealousy took over as he threatened and beat Lana regularly telling Lana that he would end her life or mime her and then do the same to Cheryl and her mother.
Eventually, the physical and emotional abuse became too much to bear, and after Lana attempted to break it off with Johnny—with disastrous consequences as Lana’s mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato was allegedly stabbed to death in her house by her daughter Cheryl Crane in 1958 but was it Lana who killed Stompanato or did her daughter Casey take the blame to avoid her mum going to the gas chamber.
Casey Sherman's "A Murder in Hollywood" is a tale that combines the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with the danger & violence of the mafia underworld. An excellent read plenty for Book Club readers to discuss. I had read and heard a little bit about Lana Turner, but this book was remarkably interesting and informative about Lana and her choices she made both personally and professionally in life working and living in L.A. and the consequences ad repercussions she faced through the choices she made.
I Highly recommend this book as the story is now a part of history. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



.

This book truly encapsulates the essence of Old Hollywood, delving into the glamorous yet dark world of true crime and mobsters. It is a captivating read that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. While the origin stories of Lana and Mickey Cohen could have been more concise, the narrative truly comes alive. It becomes fascinating with the introduction of Johnny Stompanato, adding an extra layer of intrigue and suspense.

The author skillfully navigates these sensitive topics, presenting them in a thought-provoking manner without sensationalizing or altering the facts. The writing style maintains a balanced tone, allowing readers to absorb the information while feeling engaged and invested in the story. The book serves as a reminder that even in the world of fame and fortune, hidden truths and disturbing secrets can be uncovered with careful research and exploration.

Overall, this elongated text highlights the book's ability to captivate readers by exploring Old Hollywood, true crime, and mobsters. The author's skillful storytelling and balanced approach make this book a must-read for anyone interested in delving into the hidden truths of the entertainment industry.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A Murder in Hollywood is an engaging but simple story that looks at Hollywood, The Mob and other common topics and views the life of Lana Turner and a murder that brings all these topics together. Overall Casey Sherman delivers a quick read that won’t stay in your mind long.

Casey Sherman's "A Murder in Hollywood" is a tale that combines the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with the danger & violence of the mafia underworld.

Lana Turner is a star from the Golden Age era of Hollyood. On the surface, he life seems perfect: she's a film star with a beautiful daughter and a cushy lifestyle. But the reality was far different. Sherman provides an in-depth look at the turbulent life she actually lived. The men Turner got involved with never seemed to truly have her best interests at heart. Instead, she was just a pretty piece of arm candy they often mistreated. Her relationship with mobster Johnny Stompanato would be the worst yet. After prolonged physical and emotional abuse, Turner had enough. But the relationship would end tragically: Stompanato ended up dead, stabbed by Turner's daughter in defense of her mother --as they claimed. What followed was the circus of a Hollywood murder trial, one that overshadowed the bread and butter of Hollywood: movies.

True crime Hollywood at its finest. Definitely a five-star read.

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I received this book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

I enjoyed the chapter sequence in the beginning of the book that every other chapter being Turner’s story and the next chapter being Cohen’s.

The author has clearly done their research and has written a thorough account of not just the murder but a bit of history revolving around old Hollywood and mob/gangsters.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of true crime.

Release Date: February 13, 2024
📖📖📖📖

From the outside, Hollywood starlet Lana Turner seemed to have it all—a thriving film career, a beautiful daughter, and the kind of fame and fortune that most people could only dream of. But when the famous femme fatale began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato, thug for the infamous west coast mob boss Mickey Cohen, her personal life became violent and unpredictable. Lana’s teenage daughter, Cheryl, watched her beloved mother’s life deteriorate as Stompanato’s intense jealousy took over. Lana attempted to break it off with Johnny—with disastrous consequences. The details of what happened that fateful night remain foggy, but it ended with Stompanato dead on Lana’s bedroom floor, with Cheryl claiming to have plunged a knife into him in an attempt to protect her mother. The subsequent murder trial made for the biggest headlines of the year, its drama eclipsing every Hollywood movie. This book is full of celebrity, rife with toxic masculinity and casual violence against women, and tells the story of Lana Turner and her daughter, who finally stood up to the abuse that plagued their family for years. A Murder in Hollywood transports us back to the golden age of film and one of the most notorious true crimes stories.

I’ve always been fascinated by this case. Did Lana really kill him and have her daughter stand trial? The story kept my interest on learning what happened on the life of Lana turner. I couldn’t wait to be able to read the next chapter to see what was going to happen in her very complex and constantly changing life. Couldn’t believe some of the people and thing involved in her life. Definite page turner.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#amurderinhollywood #tinseltownsmostshockingcrime #caseysherman
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First off I LOVE old Hollywood, and am a fan of a lot of Lana Turner's movies but this book was my first news of her involvement with the mob and a murder. There's a lot of backstory and context provided, it was fascinating.

It could be a bit slow, but was otherwise very interesting for any true crime reader.

Excellent - finally the truth behind what happened this night. The death of a mobster in a beautiful movie star’s bedroom has fascinated, now with thorough detail and research we have the answers -
Loved it

What a perfect book to read during my trip to Los Angeles. Old Hollywood, true crime, mobsters; this book has it all. It could have been a bit more streamlined, particularly the origin stories of both Lana and Mickey Cohen, but it was engrossing once Johnny Stompanato appears on the scene. As a side note, it's shocking how many famous actors from the past were paedophiles. I mean, it shouldn't be, given the culture of Hollywood in general, but it was.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book almost read like fiction and I could not stop reading it! I knew a tad bit about the scandal but the rest, I had no clue. I didnt know this was the last in a long line of abusive relationships she had gone through. And what irritates me the most is that, back in those days, you just had to accept that. Women didnt have the power they do now. So i am very glad Lana took her power back. If you dont know the story behind the beautiful face you really need to read this book.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I liked the alternating narrative between Turner’s story, which I was pretty familiar with going in, and the story of the LA mob, which I knew much less about.

My problems with the book were two, and I bumped my rating down one star per problem. First of all, I disliked the way Sherman put dialogue into the mouths of the individuals in the book. I suppose authors do this believing it will increase the readability of their books, but I don’t like it. To me, paraphrased dialogue (as opposed to authentic and cited quotes) has no place in a non-fiction book.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Sherman stated his hypothesis (that Turner actually stabbed Stompanato herself and let her daughter take the blame) as if it was established truth. He didn’t provide any compelling evidence and - speaking for myself - was not at all convincing. I read Cheryl Crane’s book, Detour, in which she confessed to the stabbing and find it much more believable than Sherman’s deduction.

Fairly informative true crime novel but a bit slow. Could have been better.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136276881

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
This book pulled me right in, and I read it very quickly. This is the story of Lana Turner and her involvement in mobster Johnny Stompanato's murder, but the author has included a lot of other interesting facts about Old Hollywood. I learned so much about the studio system, and how the women were treated (which was terrible). There's also a lot of information about the mobsters, and how they controlled so many people. Lana Turner was in an abusive relationship with mobster Johnny Stompanato, when he was stabbed by her daughter, Cheryl Crane.
The book seemed to be well-researched, and I enjoyed learning more about this time in Hollywood and the murder.

A very interesting read about Lana Turner, a Hollywood actress, and her involvement in a murder - well researched and brilliantly written.
Hollywood, gangsters, pretty actors/actresses - it's what you can find in this book. Highly recommended

Thank you to #netgalley, #caseysherman, and #sourcebooks for this ARC of a gripping, true crime story, old timey Hollywood, and Mobsters from the ‘40’s & ‘50’s

Lana Turner was a Hollywood Star who was caught up in a murder who done it? Her? Her daughter? Someone else?

I had known about the murder of Mafioso Joey Stampanato and that Lana Turner and/or her daughter were involved but didn’t really put too much effort into knowing more. It was old timey Hollywood stuff and I just didn’t care. Until I saw the cover of this book. The cover caught my eye and the synopsis grabbed my attention so I requested an ARC and was approved. I am so glad that I was because this story was so much more than just the murder.

The book also features Mickey Cohen, Bugsy Siegel, and other well-known Mobsters from that era.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. Much more than I thought I would. I flew through the pages and I kid you not, I read everything in a Humphrey Bogart tone: “Here’s looking at you, kid” If you like old timey Hollywood, if you like True Crime, if you like to read, I recommend this book 1000x over!

Anyone interested in Old Hollywood has probably heard about the scandalous murder of Lana Turner’s gangster lover. I knew little about what had happened so the premise of this book was very intriguing. This is non-fiction where the author embellishes situations by using his own imagination to bring situations to life. The benefit of this style of non-fiction is that story becomes more readable, compared to a purely factual, straightforward account of someone’s life. The drama of Lana’s life is just over the top and jaw-dropping at times.
But this book is not only about Lana Turner. There is more information about the history of gangsters than I expected, but since that is an integral part of Lana’s life as well as Hollywood history, it is another interesting facet of the whole picture.
The author is an advocate for Lana and her daughter, explaining how the system affected Lana’s choices, and illuminating her strength despite all the challenges she dealt with and poor decisions she made. Women in Hollywood at that time were pure pawns and she did fight the system as much as she could and stand up for herself, even against the criminal elements.
A great book for history buffs and especially those interested in Hollywood.

A MURDER IN HOLLYWOOD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF TINSELTOWN'S MOST SHOCKING CRIME
BY: CASEY SHERMAN

About 3.75 Stars!

SPOILER ALERT!

When I was just a very young little girl I used to watch the old movies with my Mother. I remember being very impressed with Lana Turner among many others. But, I particularly remember being enamored by Grace Kelly and Lana Turner. I have a ridiculously high cable T.V. bill getting just about every channel available. I get all of the premium channels plus I pay separately for Hulu and Paramount Plus, without the advertisements driving up the costs. After watching a couple of series that are featured on each premium channel I've pretty much exhausted what little I was interested in. This results in leaving me to keep paying each month for nothing, as I don't want to watch the movies or other series that these premium channels feature. I crave to be able to watch those old movies longing for the nostalgic experience that I shared with my now deceased Mother. I have Turner Classic Network which I recently added to my package, which sometimes offers those old movies, but it's nothing like I remember being able to watch in the early 1990's. For some reason in the early 1990's, cable T.V. offered all of the old movies, that featured all of the movie stars mentioned in this non-fiction book that Lana Turner interacted with during her iconic years as the reigning queen of the silver screen. I was able to re-watch the same old movies as a young woman, that I enjoyed watching with my Mom. Consequently, since I'm more of a reader I only watch T.V. right before bed falling asleep with the T.V. on.

This non-fiction book features a comprehensive history of Lana Turner's life beginning with both of the origins of both her mother Mildred and her father Virgil's lineage. Virgil Turner had recently visited his nine year old daughter who was his and Mildred's only child. Her name was Julia Jean Turner who was called, "Judy," and "JuJean" by her parents who sent her to live with foster parents. At nine years old she complained of being used as a scullery maid and beaten by the foster family that she was living with. Her father asked her if she would like him to buy her anything special? She had told her father that she wanted a bicycle when he visited her last. A glistening red bicycle was what he set out to earn the money to make good on his promise to his daughter by his winnings at gambling. That same night he was murdered on December 14, 1930. He had won the money and had a diamond stick pin that his killer(s) stole leaving his body sitting upright to appear that he had passed out from being drunk. He was struck in the face or head by a blunt force object when his body was discovered. His estranged wife Mildred and Virgil had not been living together at the time of his death. Mildred had been fired from her job as a hairdresser having been accused of stealing money from the cash register.

When the young Lana was discovered at around fourteen or fifteen years old at a counter having a soft drink because of her striking beauty she wasn't yet named Lana. The name Lana was given to her by a movie studio executive. She was for many years under contract with MGM where she upstaged Joan Crawford who spoke down to Lana. Joan Crawford spoke to a much younger Lana Turner which was similar to the way she spoke to her daughter Christina, who would call Joan Crawford, "Mommy Dearest." Lana Turner was the reigning queen of movie stars with MGM interacting with many famous movie stars in that era. When she starred with Clark Gable his wife Carole Lombard was so distraught that she committed suicide.

What didn't work for me was the equal attention in alternating chapters that dealt with the gangsters of organized crime dating as far back as Al Capone. I do understand why the author mentioned the many different gangsters setting the stage for Mickey Cohen's rise to power on the West coast. How he came about to wield the power that he did and how influential he was.

Lana Turner had already been married with four disastrous outcomes prior to meeting Johnny Stompanato. Mickey Cohen schemed with the thug Johnny Stompanato from Woodstock, Illinois to hatch a plan that they concocted together originally to embarrass Lana Turner to extort money from her. Johnny Stompanato was relentless in his pursuit of trying to win the attention of this famous actress by sending her enormous quantities of bouquets of flowers. When Lana finally lowered her guard and agreed to meet with Johnny her troubles began. Johnny was not the charmer that she thought he was initially, but instead a wolf in sheep clothing.

Johnny flew into jealous rage without any rational reason. He stalked Lana showing up making accusations which often led to brutal physical beatings, emotional and verbal abuse. Lana was afraid of the public scandal it would raise if she reported him to the police. He threatened to slash her face and often threatened to kill Lana, her mother Mildred, and Lana's daughter Cheryl.

After Lana bought her new home after returning from filming abroad, as she went into her bedroom she found Johnny waiting for her. He started beating her and this time she stabbed him with a knife she had bought that day with an eight inch blade. This is what I read in the text leading me to believe that she killed Johnny, not Cheryl because that's what the text stated. Lana immediately called four people who quickly arrived at her new home. Her long time personal physician, her mother Mildred, a lawyer, and Steve Crane, her second husband and her daughter Cheryl's father.

It was decided since Cheryl was only fourteen rendering her a minor that would guarantee that Cheryl wouldn't receive the death penalty, that they would tell the police when they arrived that it was Cheryl who stabbed and killed Johnny believing her mother's life was endangered. So that was decided and when the police arrived that's what was told to them.

Did I enjoy reading this? No. I found Lana's life story to be incredibly sad and hard to endure. Am I grateful for having read this? Yes. All I knew about Lana Turner's life prior to reading this was that she was a beautiful and successful actress. Would I recommend this? Yes. I would definitely recommend this to all fans of the true crime genre. I also want to emphasize what I truly felt was impressive is that most statements made and dialogue was footnoted making this more authentic because at the end each footnote is annotated with a Bibliography. There is still a treasure trove of details to discover that I haven't included in this review. This was a fascinating well above average written account of the sensational murder that stunned the nation.

Publication Date: February 13, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Casey Sherman, and SOURCEBOOKS for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AMurderinHollywood #CaseySherman #Sourcebooks #NetGalley